Kamut Soft Sourdough Bread

Recipe taken from the book For the Love of Sourdough

Yields

Makes 2-4 loaves large loaves, or 6-10 “baby” loaves

Ingredients

Leaven

Prepare this leaven about 10-12hrs before you plan to start baking.

IngredientWeight
Starter40g
White Flour200g
Water200g / 90ºF

Note: Should you want to use a kamut-based starter for the leaven, that should work just fine. In my experience the weights or ratios won’t need to change.

Final Dough

IngredientWeight
Water425g
Whole Milk160g
Leaven300g
High-Quality Honey160g
Kamut Flour675g
High-Quality White Flour290g
Melted Butter4tbsp
Salt17g

Timing

Sample Schedule

Assuming that a longer bulk fermentation is needed

Steps

  1. Combine the water and milk in a small pot and warm on the stovetop
    • Don’t boil, just bring it to where it’s warm and not hot to the touch
    • If it’s too hot, it could kill the natural yeast in the leaven
  2. Mix the following in a larger bowl or tub:
    1. Leaven
    2. Warmed water + milk
    3. 80g of the honey
      • Note: This is NOT all of the honey
    4. All (675g) of the kamut flour
  3. Let this sit covered for 20mins
  4. Add the following and mix well
    1. Remaining honey (80g)
    2. Standard white flour (290g)
    3. Melted butter
    4. Salt
  5. Pour out onto a floured surface and knead till elastic and satin-like
  6. Bulk ferment while covered on the counter for 4-10 hours, depending on the activity of your leaven
    • Look to see it almost triple in size
    • Note: Depending on the weather and your ambient temp in your house, it could take longer. On warmer days I’ve had this rise entirely in 4 hours, and on colder days it’s taken the full 10.
  7. Divide the dough according to your preferred loaf sizes and shape
    • If baking mini loaves, ~220 grams is an ideal weight
  8. Place in the bread pans, cover, and let rise 2-4 hours (depending on ambient temp and leaven activity)
  9. Preheat the oven to 400ºF
  10. Place loaves in the oven and drop the temp to 350ºF as soon as they’re loaded into the oven
  11. Bake 40-50mins
  12. Brush the tops of the loaves with butter as soon as they’re out

References