This is the bread for which I got a sourdough starter from a friend – it came to Gdynia from Krakow, I distributed it to my friends , lost , and now it came back to me from them.  I could give it again to Ania, from whom I had got it before, and who also lost it later . So this bread keeps great circle of friendship.

This is what I think about while making this bread – my friends .

Apparently, you can make a sourdough starter yourself. I have never checked how but a  friend of mine, Vivi-Mari, from Finland says that you make it like that: „well I have made it myself  I brought sour rye bread from Finland to make it from. I think you just mix it with water and leave it for 12 hours. You can probably also use live yoghurt with flour.  Don’t use coarse flour for this.”  She also gave me this website with the recipe: http://nourishedkitchen.com/how-to-make-a-sourdough-starter/

The bread is delicious and for sure healthy.

It is mixed with hand in the bowl and left for 8 or more hours before baking.

Here is the recipe :

1 glass of flax seed

1 glass of oatmeal

1 glass of sunflower

1 glass of sesame or pumpkin seeds –

These 4 cups of ingredients are interchangeable , you can change the grain , remember only that there must  remain four cups of them

1 glass of boiled buckwheat

1 glass of bran

2 tablespoons of salt

1 tablespoon of sugar

2 tablespoons of honey dissolved in a glass of warm water

5 glasses of water

1 kg of wheat flour

2 glasses of rye flour

3 tablespoons of a sourdough starter

if you like add 3-4 tablespoons of caraway – it will make the taste more Polish 

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly with hand , in a large bowl or large pot , thinking only about pleasant things 😉 .

When you consider that the dough is well mixed, put aside 3 tablespoons of it into the jar ( this is your sourdough starter ) , you can put down 3 more for friends and insert the closed jars in the fridge – it can stay there for a month.

Pour the bread dough into two large or three small rectangular molds and leave covered in a peaceful place for the night (in other words, for about 8 or more hours).

In the morning bake bread in a preheated to 180 degree oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

If you want you can freeze the bread.

I’ll tell you that sometimes I just put the bread 1 hour and 30 minutes before getting up into the oven and when I wake up again the smell of baking bread fills my home. These are really nice mornings and breakfasts!

All photographs taken by Barbara El:

 http://barbarakunickaportfolio.blogspot.com/