Ingredients

200g rye flour, plus extra for dusting

200g strong white or wholemeal flour
7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
tsp fine salt
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp caraway seed (optional)

Method
1. Tip the flours, yeast and salt into a bowl. In a jug, mix the honey with 250ml warm
water, pour the liquid into the bowl and mix to form a dough. Rye flour can be quite
dry and absorbs lots of water, if the dough looks too dry add more warm water until
you have a soft dough Tip out onto your work surface and knead for 10 mins until
smooth. Rye contains less gluten than white flour so the dough will not feel as springy
as a conventional white loaf.
2. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm
place for 1-2 hrs, or until roughly doubled in size. Dust a 2lb/900g loaf tin with flour.
3. Tip the dough back onto your work surface and knead briefly to knock out any air
bubbles. If using caraway seeds work these in to the dough. Shape into a smooth oval
loaf and pop into your tin. Cover the tin with oiled cling film and leave to rise
somewhere warm for a further 1 1.5 hr, or until doubled in size.
4. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Remove the cling film and dust the surface of the
loaf with rye flour. Slash a few incisions on an angle then bake for 30 mins until dark
brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and leave to
cool for at least 20 mins before serving

Ingredients
For the starter

700g strong white flour500g strong white flour

1 tsp fine salt
1 tbsp honey
300g sourdough starter

Method
1. First make your starter. In a large jar (a 1litre kilner jar is good) or plastic container, mix 100g
of the flour with 125ml slightly warm water. Whisk the batter until smooth and lump free,
whisking will help incorporate some airborne yeast particles to get your starter going. Leave
the jar or container lid ajar for an hour or so in a warm place (around 25C is ideal), then seal
and set aside for 24 hrs.
2. For the next 6 days you will need to feed the starter each day. To do this, tip away half the
original starter and add an extra 100g of flour and 125ml slightly warm water, whisking well
each time, try to do this at roughly the same time everyday. After 3-4 days you should start
to see bubbles appearing on the surface, and it will smell yeasty and a little acidic. This is a
good indication that the starter is working. The time it takes for fermentation to begin can
vary between 1 to 5 days depending on temperature and environment, persevere for up to 6
days, if you still dont see any signs of life, or the starter smells unpleasant, throw it away
and start again. On the 8th day the starter should be quite bubbly and smell much sweeter.
It is now ready to bake with.
3. Now you can make your first loaf. Tip the flour, 225ml warm water, salt, honey and
sourdough starter into a large bowl, or a table top mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir with a
wooden spoon, or on a slow setting in a machine, until combined, adding a little extra flour if
its too sticky or a little extra warm water if its too dry. Tip onto a work surface and knead
for about 10 mins until soft and elastic, if using a mixer, turn the speed up a little and mix for
5 mins. The dough is ready when it bounces back when gently pressed with a finger.
4. Place the dough in a large, well oiled bowl and cover with an oiled sheet of cling film. Leave
in a warm place to rise for 3 hrs. You may not see much movement after this time, but dont
be disheartened, sourdough takes much longer to rise than a conventional yeasted bread.
5. Line a medium-sized bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it well, if you have a proving
basket you can use this. Tip the dough back onto your work surface and knead briefly to
knock out any air bubbles. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and dust it with flour. Place

the dough, seam side up, in the bowl or proving basket, cover with a sheet of oiled cling film
and leave for 6-8 hrs, until roughly doubled in size.
6. Place a large baking tray in the oven, set to 230C/210C fan/gas 8, to heat up. Fill a small
roasting tin with a little water and place this in the bottom of the oven to create some
steam. Remove the large tray from the oven, sprinkle with flour then carefully tip the risen
dough onto the tray.You can slash the top a few times with a sharp knife if you like. Bake for
35-40 mins until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Leave to cool on a wire
rack for 20 mins before serving.