How to Make Higher Protein Sourdough Bread

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This Higher Protein Sourdough Bread is so soft and light, you would never even imagine that it is made with anything other than white flour, not to mention that extra injection of protein!

One of my favourite things to do as a mother is to sneak healthy ingredients into more palatable meals. No fuss, no fights. Sourdough Bread is one of the foods I know my son will always eat. This means it is always a target for my wild schemes!

Can you put different ingredients in Sourdough Bread?

Yes! Sourdough Bread is actually a surprisingly flexible recipe, in that you can make it bend to whatever flavour you wish (with careful measurements, that is).

If your desired flavour is wet, then you simply adjust the wet ingredients.

And if that flavour is dry, such as dried fruit, then you add enough that will flavour the dough but not compromise the stability of the dough.

For example, for most recipes, you can add up to 100 grams of fruit for each 500g of flour.

The key is to ensure your hydration ratio is not put out of kilter by what ingredients you add to it.

How do you sneak extra protein into Sourdough Bread?

Ok, so are you dying to know the healthy ingredient that i sneaked into this recipe? The healthy ingredient that gave it an extra injection of protein? Have you guessed already?

Ok, here it is: WHITE BEANS!

The idea to use beans in bread came from the discovery of pumpkin sourdough bread. This bread uses pumpkin puree as part of the liquid portion.

Now, pumpkin-flavoured Sourdough Bread always turns out soft and delicious. It got me thinking: what else has the consistency of pumpkin puree, that I can experiment with? And then hey-presto, the answer came to me: bean puree!

And thus birthed a new chapter in my bread-making book, with a new hero: Beans! I am trying so many experiments, and REALLY enjoying the results. I love how the beans make the loaves really soft. There aren’t as many air pockets in this bread!

Check out my recipe for Mexican Inspired Sourdough Bread which also goes into the benefits of using beans in bread, or Taste of Tuscany Sourdough, which is delicious and herbaceous!

This promise is becoming a bit of a bean-recipe cliche but – you can’t actually taste the beans. Pinky swear.

Higher Protein Sourdough Bread Timeline:

The timeline to make the Higher Protein Sourdough Bread is pretty much the same as your usual sourdough bread timeline. It takes 2 sleeps to get your loaf, by feeding the starter the night before dough-mixing, and then baking it the day after you’ve given it an overnight cold ferment.

The Night Before:

Feed your starter.

In the morning:

Blend the starter, beans, salt and water until smooth.  The best way to do this is with a blender or a Whizz Stick. You do not want any bean skin to be perceptible! 

Add the flour. Mix (get your hands in there!) until the dough appears to have consistent moisture throughout (i.e no major floury bits).

Leave to rest for half an hour.

Stretch and Fold

For the next 2 hours, do 4 stretch and folds, 30 minutes apart.

Bulk Ferment

If your bowl is big enough, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for a minimum of 6 hours (be careful not to over-prove at this stage.  If it’s warm, leave for a maximum of 8 hours, just to be safe).

Shape

Tip the dough out onto the bench.  With wet hands, stretch the dough out as far as it will go without tearing.  Then, bring each corner to the centre of the dough. 

Flip it over. Cup your hands at the top of the dough and pull it across the bench towards you.  This should make the surface of the dough nice and taut. Turn it back over, seam side facing up.

Leave for 40 minutes on the bench.

Repeat these shaping steps, leaving the taut surface of the dough remaining upwards. 

Overnight Cold Ferment

Line your proving bowl with a tea towel, and dust with flour.  Transfer the dough, with the taut surface facing down into the bowl.

Leave overnight in the fridge.

Bake

Preheat a casserole dish/dutch oven in the oven at 250 degrees Celsius. 

After 45 minutes, carefully transfer dough to a sheet of baking paper.  Score the tight surface of the dough to any extent your artistry desires. Transfer to the (hot) casserole dish, putting the lid firmly on top.

Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, taking the lid off in the last 10 minutes so the loaf can brown on top.

Higher Protein Sourdough Bread Notes:

• I actually leave the lid on for the full 45 minutes baking time. If you desire, take the lid off after 30 mins and bake with the lid off a further 15-20 minutes, to give the bread a deeper colour.
• It’s easier to cut the dough after waiting for a few hours but sometimes you just want to see those air pockets straight away!

Serving Suggestions for Higher Protein Sourdough Bread

This Sourdough Bread recipe is wonderful in that the flavour profile is pretty neutral, so it lends itself to both sweet AND savoury toppings. Some of my favourites are:

• Poached eggs with mayonnaise
• Peanut butter, sauerkraut and nutritional yeast
• Peanut Butter and Honey
• Hummous, Diced Tomato and Red Onion
• Peanut Butter and Jam
• Omelette
• Avocado, Tomato and Balsamic Glaze
• Ham, Cheese and Coleslaw
• Cottage Cheese, Honey and Cinnamon

How to Store Sourdough Bread

As soon as your bread has come to room temperature, it has set and can be sliced more easily. If you slice it any sooner, you will not get as many pieces out of it. It’s even easier the next day!

Slice it (I usually get about 8 or 10 slices), separate into meal-sized potions (usually about 2 slices) and put into ziplock bags. Then, bung them into your freezer!

I love storing it this way because it stays fresh, and by pre-slicing it, I don’t have try and hack away at frozen bread or wait for it to defrost. I can just put my slices straight into the toaster!