Made with a mix of organic white, wholemeal and heritage grain flours, this easy sourdough recipe is the one I come back to time and time again. I used a local heritage grain called Chidham red - an old red wheat from a town called Chidham near Chichester (local to me) which is nutritionally ON THE MONEY as far as flour is concerned, and amplifies that golden crust to perfection.

There seems to be a resurgence of traditional heritage grains taking place, with a growing army of independent farmers dedicated to cultivating its growth via regenerative farming practices. Anyone who is interested in this should check out the Wildfarmed flour project - a movement that is set to change the way we grow, think about and consume flour. Better for us, better for animals, wildlife and planet - it’s a million miles away from the industrialised flour we see lining the supermarket shelves.

Anyway, I digress. Back to the bread! This sourdough traditionally takes 24 hours from mixing to baking, but you can extend it to three days if life takes over. Just leave it to cold prove in the fridge for an extra day. If you like the ‘sour’ in sourdough, this extra resting time will reap huge flavour rewards as the extra fridge time will dial up the sourness even more. Result!

INGREDIENTS:

• 350g Organic white bread flour

• 100g Chidham Red Heritage flour

• 50g organic wholemeal flour

• 340g water (warmed to suit your kitchen temp - mine was warmed to 39 degrees in a 19 degree kitchen)

• 80g sourdough starter

• 12g fine sea salt

• A little semolina to dust over the base

METHOD:

1. Mix all of the flours and water and leave to autolyse for one hour.

2. Add the starter, massaging it in with your hands and leave for half an hour.

3. Add the salt, pinching it into the dough. Leave for another half an hour.

4. Stretch and fold the dough, pulling it from one side across to the other x 4, until it’s in a ball shape. Cover and leave for 45 minutes.

5. Perform three coil folds, with 45 minute gaps in between each one.

6. Once the dough is almost proved (tension has built, it’s risen slightly, bubbles are forming at the sides) tip it out onto a floured surface and shape into a batard.

7. Flour a banneton with rice flour. Place your dough seam side up in the banneton and use your fingers to pinch the seam together. Cover and leave for 1 hour for the final stage of bulk fermentation.

8. Place the dough in the fridge to cold prove overnight (if you want to bake straight away reduce this to one hour before baking - the cold temperature will make scoring easier).

9. Place your bread pan in the oven and preheat to 230C for around 40 minutes.

10. Take the bread out of the fridge, sift some semolina onto the base, then tip it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use a bread lame to score it (along with your preferred choice of pattern) then put it into the hot bread oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes on 215C.