How to make Turmeric Sourdough Bread {Whole Grain}

Make this Turmeric Sourdough Bread for an eye catching golden crumb and incredible flavor! You are sure to impress with this loaf!

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Turmeric has long been touted for its health benefits and beautiful yellow color it adds to different dishes.

Adding turmeric powder to a loaf of sourdough bread adds a delightful earthy flavor with a hint of spice on the back end that will wake up your taste buds!

Why Sourdough?

Sourdough is the age old method of fermenting flour and water to build wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria to make a sourdough starter.

Using a sourdough starter to ferment bread dough may take a long time compared to conventional yeast, but this process actually makes the bread healthier and adds the signature tang, as well.

If you are brand new to the sourdough journey, you will need to make a sourdough starter.

Thankfully, it’s very straight forward and easy to do!

Ingredients you will need to make this Turmeric Sourdough Bread Recipe

• Flour – I prefer to use fresh milled flour in all of my recipes, but you can use all purpose flour or bread flour as well as store bought whole wheat flour. For this recipe I used a mixture of hard red wheat and hard white wheat. To mill my wheat berries, I use the Nutrimill Grain Mill.
• Sourdough Starter – Use bubbly starter (active sourdough starter) for this recipe.
• Water – For best results, use filtered water.
• Salt – I use a fine sea salt.
• Turmeric Powder – Organic turmeric powder is preferred.
• Olive Oil – The olive oil is to dissolve the turmeric powder so that it is easily incorporated in the dough.

For complete ingredient amounts, see recipe card below

How to make Turmeric Sourdough Bread

Mix the dough

In a large mixing bowl, add 400 g water and 100 g sourdough starter. Mix well until cloudy.

Add in 500 g flour and 11 g salt. Mix well until no dry bits of flour remain. The dough will be shaggy.

Autolyse

Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Stretch and Folds & Add-ins

After the autolyse period, you will start performing a series of stretch and folds.

My stretch and fold technique is simple. Simply lift up the corner of the dough and fold it over the center of the dough.

Continue this all the way around the bowl turning it a quarter turn every time.

Aim to do 3-4 sets of these about 30 minutes apart.

You will notice that the dough gets stretchier every time as the gluten and structure develops.

On the last set of folds, mix the turmeric and olive oil together to make a thin paste.

Pour half over the dough and do a couple of stretch and folds.

Pour the remaining amount and finish folding as long as it takes to incorporate the turmeric mixture evenly throughout the dough.

Bulk Fermentation

After this last set of folds, cover the bowl and let it rise on the counter at room temperature for an additional 3-4 hours depending on how warm it is in your kitchen.

You are looking for the dough to be puffy and feel like it is full of air before you move on to shaping the dough.

One tip if you are new to making sourdough bread is to use glass bowls for the bulk fermentation process and keep an eye on the under side of the dough. When it is full of bubbles, that’s a good sign it is ready to shape.

Shape the dough

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.

To shape the dough, gently lift and fold the dough (much like a set of stretch and folds) all the way around.

Picture that you are trying to “tighten” the dough ball. This step is important for a good oven rise.

Once you have tightened up the dough, turn it over and drag it against the table in a circular motion a few times to make sure the top of the dough is tight.

Prepare your banneton basket by dusting liberally with flour.

Turn the dough, seam side up, into the basket.

Pinch the seam as best as you can to keep the top tight.

Cold Fermentation

Cover the basket with plastic wrap or a shower cap and put it in the fridge overnight to finish proofing.

This cold fermentation process slows the rise and adds a depth of flavor to the bread. It also allows you to ferment the dough longer for more health benefits.

Score the dough

The next day, at your convenience, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a dutch oven inside the oven as it gets hot.

Once it is preheated, take the dough out of the fridge and turn the dough onto a piece of parchment paper.

Using a razor or very sharp knife, make a slash across the top of the dough.

This allow the dough to expand where you want it to, instead of busting on the sides.

Bake the bread

Carefully take the dutch oven out of the hot oven.

Remove the lid and carefully lift the parchment paper by the corners and lower it into the dutch oven.

Replace the lid and put in the oven.

Bake 20 minutes with the lid on and remove the lid.

Continue baking without the lid for an additional 15 minutes.

Let the bread cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Storage

Store cooled bread in a plastic bag on the counter for 3-4 days.

Freeze in a freezer safe bag for up to 3 months.