Valeria’s Wine Bread in 5 easy steps

For lack of a better description, we’ve dubbed Valeria’s recent breads as “Wine Bread”. We call it wine bread because it’s made with yeast collected from wine. I know you’re probably confused, so read this short previous entry about the process.

Now that you have your mother yeast, when you are ready to bake all you will need is:

• 8 oz. of the mother yeast mixture (half a jar)
• 8 oz. of bread flour of your choice
• 4 oz. of hot water

If you want, you can add herbs and spices to your dough. For this recipe Valeria chose:

• 1/4 of Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp of sesame seeds

Salt and fresh chopped sage are also good alternatives

1. Combine the mother yeast mixture with the flour and hot water in a bowl.

2. Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes. Be sure to take some of this mixture and place it back in the jar. The newly added flour will reactivate the fermentation process and keep the yeast alive. You can leave the jar without adding new flour and water for up to two days in the fridge. But with this easy way to make bread, you can keep using and building on the natural yeast and have freshly baked bread every day!

3. Add any seasonings that you would like. Valeria likes olive oil and sesame seeds because it’s easy and tasty.

4. Roll the dough into small balls (1-2 in diameter is good if you want small pieces) and cover with a dry towel. Let the dough rest (you’ll also see it rise a little) in a dry warm area for 8 hours.

5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees when you’re ready to bake. Bake for 10-15 minutes or 20 minutes, time depends on oven. Enjoy the warm baked goodness and satisfaction of cultivating your very own yeast!