How To Make Sourdough Bread With Yeast

Have you ever wondered if you could have the convenience of baking with active dry yeast and the benefits of long fermented grains? This is actually totally possible! I love having this recipe in my arsenal for when I need to bake bread but I don’t have 48+ hours to wait on it. I love making my regular artisan sourdough bread when I have time, but this combination sourdough bread with yeast is the perfect alternative that can be made from start to finish in about 10 hours. No 2-3 days of planning with this recipe – start the morning of and have fresh bread that evening for dinner!

Sourdough Bread With Yeast Method

So how exactly does this work since sourdough starter and active dry yeast are basically opposite? Well we need to remember that sourdough starter is used for two different tasks – leavening and fermentation. When using sourdough starter to leaven bread, it has to be active. The time needed to take your starter from the discard state to an active state can be anywhere from 6+ hours sometimes requiring close to 24 depending on room temperature.

Then once active, the starter will need to be added into your dough and given enough time to leaven. Again this can take as little as 6-8 hours, but it can also take much longer depending on various factors. By the time the sourdough starter has leavened your dough, it has also fermented the grains making them easier to digest. However, as you can tell, this is a long process of leavening.

If you are only using sourdough starter to ferment grains in a recipe, and not relying on it to leaven, it will need about 6-8 hours at room temperature once added to your dough. The starter can be either active or discard to accomplish this. This is where the yeast comes in. For this recipe, we’re only relying on the starter to ferment the grains. We are not relying on the starter to leaven. We are relying on the active dry yeast to leaven the bread. So by combining the yeast and the sourdough starter (active or discard), we accomplish leavening with the yeast and fermentation with the starter.

Ingredients Needed

1. Active Dry Yeast
2. Sourdough Starter – Active OR Discard
3. All Purpose Flour
4. Whole Wheat Flour
5. Salt
6. Water

Mixing Your Sourdough Yeast Bread

Mixing your sourdough yeast bread is simple. All you need to do is add the yeast and warm water to a large bowl and stir well. Then add in the sourdough starter and stir this very well to combine.

After this step, add in the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and salt and stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Alternatively, you can mix this with your hand. The main goal is to mix this very well so there is no visible dry flour.

The Rising/Fermentation Period

The rising and fermentation period for this recipe could not be more simple! All you need to do after thoroughly mixing your dough components is to place a large dinner plate on top or cover with plastic wrap. This dough doesn’t require kneading and it doesn’t require stretch and folds.

Leave the dough at room temperature for about 6 hours if your kitchen is warmer and 8 hours if it is cooler. The dough will rise ALOT, so be sure to choose a large enough bowl when mixing. Once this room temperature fermentation period is over, simple transfer the dough to the refrigerator to chill. The dough needs to be chilled before shaping and baking. You can leave it to chill a minimum of 2 hours, or you can leave the dough in the fridge for up to 48 hours before shaping and baking.

Baking Your Sourdough Yeast Bread

Once chilled, you’re ready to bake the bread. I like to bake three smaller loaves from this recipe, but you can choose to make two larger loaves if you prefer. However you choose, remove the first section of dough and place on a floured work surface. Begin shaping the loaf by pushing it away from you and tucking it back towards you to create a ball and to create tension.

Next take a banneton basket of a tea towel lined bowl and flour the inside. Place the sough in the basket tension side down and allow to rise and come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. While the bread is resting, pre-heat a Dutch oven at 425 degrees for the same amount of time.

After the resting period, take a piece of parchment paper and plop the dough onto the center. Dust the top with flour and transfer to the preheated Dutch oven. No scoring is necessary. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes at 425 then remove the lid and bake for an additional 10 minutes at 475 degrees. Then immediately remove from the Dutch oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy with lots of butter and your choice of jelly or apple butter!

If you decide to make your own Sourdough Yeast Bread, be sure to tag us in a post Instagram or Facebook @almostheavenhomesteading

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