I am relatively new to sourdough (3 months or so). I made this bread with my own "homegrown" sourdough made from white flour and pineapple juice. It worked! - it just took time and patience. I've been baking some sort of sourdough bread weekly since then. I love a heavy bread that is full of whole grains and this is one of those. At first I made the bread as written but have tried variations (added oatmeal, used only molasses vs. half honey etc.). My sourdough works best when well fed - I usually keep it in the refrigerator during the week and take it our Thursday night or Friday morning for Saturday baking. My base (the amount kept for later baking) is a small amount (1/4 cup or so) to allow for multiple feedings of flour and water just before baking spaced about 6 to 8 hours apart. Well fed starter makes the difference for me as to whether my bread will rise without using commercial yeast. Before putting back into the refrigerator I feed the small amount reserved from baking (1/4 cup) with an equal amount of flour and a very small amount of water to make a very thick batter - this helps the starter to keep in the cold until taken back out a day or so before baking.

Reviewed On: Oct. 18, 2008