Sourdough Molasses Brown Bread
|Sourdough Molasses Brown Bread|
This Sourdough Molasses Brown Bread is everything warm, sweet, and inviting. Ultra soft, shred-able texture with deep, warm molasses flavor and easier digestibility thanks to the sourdough. Pretty much everything you could ask for on a cold winter evening.
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Well this, and some butter of course. Because what is bread without butter??
We’ve entered the deep, long days of winter here in the north. The holidays have passed and, while the days are inching closer to spring in length, the drab weather has just settled in.
It’s these days that pass slowly, with nothing but spring to look forward to. It’s these days that I try to lean into the slow, comfortable pace of winter. I try hard not to yearn too much for spring.
For when spring comes, I know it’ll be a flurry of preparing the garden to grow, purchasing of chicks, and long days that run together. So I’m trying to accept these days and use them to spend time with good food and family.
But alas, I do dream of a lush garden and the dog days of summer…
This bread is a good distraction for those dreams. It is everything a cozy winter day needs. The kneading of the dough, the slow rising, the rich smell and warmth from the oven. Then the baking and the sharing. How very blessed is a kitchen who has this bread.
Molasses and sourdough marry in such an old time-y way in this recipe. It makes me feel as though I’m in touch with my old pioneer ancestors. Although the honey in this recipe is much more of a luxuriant ingredient that our pioneer ancestors would have relished. And the avocado oil they would have only dreamed of!
This Sourdough Molasses Brown Bread is soft, tear-able (not to be confused with terrible 😉 ), rich, slightly sweet and just all around GOOD.
The sourdough makes it healthier and adds depth to the flavor. The molasses makes it rich and warm. The honey, sweet and floral…
Just go ahead and make it, then YOU tell me how it tastes!
This is a pretty straight forward recipe but here are a couple of tips to ensure success:
- This dough (like my Buttermilk Honey Bread) needs intensive kneading. You need to achieve window pane development (see my resources page if you don’t understand what I mean). If you do not achieve windowpane it won’t be as soft.
- If your kneading has been going on for a while and the gluten is developing slowly, feel free to knead in 15 minute intervals. Knead for 5 minutes or so then let it rest (covered) for 15 minutes and repeat. This allows the gluten to relax and form tighter bonds so that it develops easier.
- Use a scale to measure your ingredients. I’ll be on my death bed shouting this. Scales make baking so much more accurate. They aren’t much of an investment and so worth it! (This is similar to the one I use.)
- Resist the urge to add more flour. This dough starts out very wet but as the gluten develops it becomes a workable slightly sticky dough.
- Don’t skimp on the rise times. If your kitchen is cooler it may take a little longer, if your kitchen is warmer it may be a bit shorter but as is the nature of sourdough, it takes a while for a full rise.
- You can shape these into a pan loaf or rolls or maybe even a “rustic” free form loaf. The sky is the limit. Have fun.
Sourdough Molasses Brown Bread
Servings: 2 large loaves
Ingredients:
- 540g Water
- 100g sourdough starter
- 120g molasses
- 15g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 40g avocado oil
- 110g honey
- 12g sea salt
- 300g whole wheat flour
- 500g bread flour
Instructions:
- Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook knead for about 10 minutes. Check for gluten development. If it is not at windowpane yet, let rest for 10 minutes then knead again for 5 minutes. Repeat as many times as it requires to achieve windowpane development.
- Once the dough is a slightly sticky but cohesive mass and has achieved windowpane development, cover and let rise until double for about 8-10 hours.
- When the dough has doubled prepare two loaf pans with a light greasing and dusting of flour.
- Dump dough out onto a lightly floured counter and shape into loafs. Place in the loaf pans and cover (I put them inside a clean garbage bag and twist it trapping air inside so that the bag isn’t touching the loaves). Let proof in the covered pans for another 6-8 hours or until they have reached the top of the pans or a little over the top of the pans.
- When the final proofing is done preheat the oven to 400*f and brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter or cream.
- Bake at 400*f for 10 minutes then turn the oven down to 375*f and bake another 20-30 minutes for a total of 30-40 minutes. Or until fragrant and browning.
- Take out of the oven and let stand for 5 minutes then turn out of the pans and let cool the rest of the way. Enjoy!
Sourdough Molasses Brown Bread
This Sourdough Molasses Brown Bread is everything warm and inviting with a soft, shred-able texture with deep molasses flavor.
Ingredients
- 540 g Water
- 100 g sourdough starter
- 120 g molasses
- 15 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 40 g avocado oil
- 110 g honey
- 12 g sea salt
- 300 g whole wheat flour
- 500 g bread flour
Instructions
-
Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook knead for about 10 minutes. Check for gluten development. If it is not at windowpane yet, let rest for 10 minutes then knead again for 5 minutes. Repeat as many times as it requires to achieve windowpane development.
-
Once the dough is a slightly sticky but cohesive mass and has achieved windowpane development, cover and let rise until double for about 8-10 hours.
-
When the dough has doubled prepare two loaf pans with a light greasing and dusting of flour.
-
Dump dough out onto a lightly floured counter and shape into loafs. Place in the loaf pans and cover (I put them inside a clean garbage bag and twist it trapping air inside so that the bag isn’t touching the loaves). Let proof in the covered pans for another 6-8 hours or until they have reached the top of the pans or a little over the top of the pans.
-
When the final proofing is done preheat the oven to 400*f and brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter or cream.
-
Bake at 400*f for 10 minutes then turn the oven down to 375*f and bake another 20-30 minutes for a total of 30-40 minutes. Or until fragrant and browning.
-
Take out of the oven and let stand for 5 minutes then turn out of the pans and let cool the rest of the way. Enjoy!
Yum, thank you for sharing!! I halved the recipe and it’s the perfect amount for a house of 2.. we’ll be enjoying it with leftover chili throughout the week 🙂 Turned out moist and just the right amount of sweet.
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it!
I was so excited to try this as I dreamed of it since eating breads like this in a Germany. Unfortunately, I could not achieve “window pain” while kneading in my stand mixer, even after an hour of following the directions. I decided to let it rise… no rising. Then I realized there was no yeast or wheat gluten called for in the recipe! I added and it rose. It’s now in the oven. I’m really nervous!
I’m sorry this didn’t turn out for you. I do not use commercial yeast nor wheat gluten in this recipe and it turns out just fine. However I do use a strong bread flour and allow plenty of time for it to rise (8+ hours for the first rise). Hopefully something edible was able to come from your oven 🙂
I had to leave a second review as I’ve tried this recipe again and again and it’s become a MOST favorite ! Definitely user error! Perfect and delicious, dangerously addictive! Thank you for sharing!
The bread looks super yummy and I really want to try making it. However, I do not have access to avocado oil. Is there something else that would be an acceptable substitute? Thanks!
Any neutral tasting oil would work well! You could do melted coconut oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil basically any liquid oil that doesn’t have a strong taste.
Amazing bread, thank you! It didn’t start to rise until I put a blanket over it and it took about two days, but it was worth it!
Oh I’m so glad you liked it!! It’s definitely a bread that requires patience.
What size loaf pan is this. I just have a banana bread type loaf pan (4×8). Your pans look quite large
Mine are 4″x 8″ or 3.5″ x 9″ (i have two different sizes) but still fit the same amount either way 🙂
I love the texture & taste of this bread and my family does too! I now make it each week for us and to share with friends.
Oh I love that your family loves it! Thank you so much for the review!
Good morning, can this bread rise (first rise) longer than 8-10 hours- thinking 12-14 with my schedule. Would that be ok? Thanks.
Yes that would be totally fine! This bread moves very slowly so you don’t have to worry about it over fermenting with a couple extra hours 🙂
Thank you! This bread is absolutely divine! Ohmylan! I took it to an extended family dinner and everyone loved it. It’s also a very simple recipe that just requires time and patience. I think I did 5-6 intervals of knead-rest to get to the window pane spot! Def a keeper recipe!
I’m so glad that you loved it!! Thank you for the review!
Hi, this looks amazing. Is the sourdough starter active or unfed? Thank you!
Active 🙂
No molasses in molasses brown bread?
If you look at the recipe there is molasses in it 🙂
Attempting now and the dough is supppper thin. Is that normal? Should I start over?
It is a very wet and sticky dough to start with. I wouldn’t start over but just alternate between resting and kneading for at least 30 minutes and if you don’t see the texture starting to firm up then try adding just a bit more flour but don’t overdo it. This dough is very enriched and therefore should be on the sticky side to get a nice soft bread 🙂
I’ve tried a couple sourdough breads and this is now my go to. It’s perfect! I do have to add about 100g more flour and put it in two bread pans instead of one so it’s not doughy in the middle. It’s perfect me and my family love it, my kids are picky with sourdough if it’s sour there not a fan. They gobble this up. Thank you for the great recipe
That is so great to hear! Thank you so much!
My two loaves are absolute perfection. I made the dough in the morning, took just over an hour to reach windowpane without adding additional flour. I’m very new to bread making, so this taught me to be more patient with dough. Let it rise until bedtime, put in pans and let rise overnight. Baked them when I got up. Not only do they look perfect but the taste is amazing. Thank you for the detailed step by step directions. This will be made regularly in our home.
i am so glad you loved them! thank you for leaving a comment <3
Have you tried making this with AP or bread flour? I don’t have whole wheat and am trying to find the best substitute.
That should be fine 🙂
How long would you bake if you were making rolls?
id say 15-20 minutes.
I’m having some difficulty with mastering this recipe! It took at least 4 intervals (15 rest/5 kneading) to reach windowpane. Left to rise overnight – 12 hours later, it has not risen. HELP!
hmm. was your starter active when you used it? and how cold is it in your home?
My starter is very active. Use it to bake 2-3 times per week with no issue. It was very humid when I tried this recipe.
I’m wondering if the dough actually got too warm then? I notice less rise and a very floppy loose dough when the dough gets too warm. Ideal temperature for the dough is a room temp of about 68-70*f.