When you feed your sourdough starter, it's easy to use your sourdough discard to make two different breads from one basic dough. The recipes I'm offering you below will give you two great bread options for the week--one a rich-tasting rye bread with chopped dates and toasted walnuts and the other a basic whole-wheat bread that's great for toast, sandwiches, and munching alongside soups, sandwiches, and dinner. I decided to split my dough and opt for two different breads because a giant loaf is simply too much for us. Plus, we like variety. I hope you do, too! Both of the loaves are easy to make, and I usually cook them in the air fryer, which gives them a nice, crispy crust and a soft interior. If you'd prefer, you can also bake the loaves in a regular oven. I was trying to decide which bread I prefer, but I like both. They are quite different and equally good! Both also include no refined sugar, plenty of whole grains, and are acceptable (in moderation) if you're on a diabetic diet or want to "eat healthy." Enjoy!
One Dough, Two Sourdough Breads: Date-Nut-Rye and Simple Whole-Wheat (Diabetic Friendly) -- Two Medium-Sized Loaves
Basic Dough
1 cup of starter/discard
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 large egg
1/4 cup of date puree (pour just enough boiling water over pitted dates to cover them,
let them sit until cool, and mash them well with a fork or use a blender or food
processor to puree them)
1/2 cup of milk
1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
Add the starter/discard, oil, egg, date puree, and milk to a large bowl and mix them well until they are completely combined. Stir in the flour until combined. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for at least an hour. I usually let my mixture sit for 3-4 hours, and it's fine.
When you're ready, divide the mixture into two parts in two separate bowls.
Date-Nut-Rye Bread
For the date-nut-rye bread to one-half of the basic dough mixture add:
1 cup of rye flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Stir, then knead the rye flour and salt into the basic dough mixture. You may need a bit more flour to knead the dough, which you should do for 3-5 minutes until the dough is smooth and not too sticky. Knead in:
1/2 cup of chopped, pitted dates
1/2 cup of chopped, toasted walnuts
Form the dough into a round loaf and put the loaf in a 6-inch round pan that you have spritzed with non-stick cooking spray. You can slash the dough with a sharp knife (about 1/4-inch deep) in a decorative pattern, if you'd like. Spritz the top of the loaf and loosely cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 1-2 hours or until the dough has increased in volume by about one-third. Air fry the dough at 320 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the loaf has nicely browned and registers 190-200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Let the bread sit in its pan for 5 minutes or so before removing it to cool completely. Alternatively, you can bake the dough in a regular oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the bread for 40-45 minutes.
Simple Whole-Wheat Bread
To the second half of the basic dough mixture add:
1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Stir, then knead in the flour and salt. You may need a bit more flour to knead the dough, which you should do for 3-5 minutes until the dough is smooth and not too sticky. Shape the bread into a small loaf. Spritz a small loaf pan (I use an 8 x 4-inch pan) with non-stick cooking spray. Place the dough loaf into the pan and spritz the dough with non-stick cooking spray. You can use a sharp knife to slash the loaf (about 1/4-inch deep) in a few places, if you'd like. Loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1-2 hours or until it increases in volume by about one-third. Air fry the dough at 320 degrees for about 35 minutes or until it is a deep, golden brown and registers 190-200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Alternatively, you can bake the bread in a regular oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the bread for about 45 minutes. Let the bread cool in its pan for about five minutes before removing it to cool completely.
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