Sourdough Sweet Molasses Brown Bread

A sweet, nutty bread with a soft crust, leavened entirely with a sourdough starter. It gets its brown color from the molasses and whole wheat flour in the dough. This bread is so good with a heavy spread of salty butter, and if people don't eat it all up the day you make it, it keeps particularly well thanks to the sugar and molasses.

I love sweet sourdough breads (like this honey whole wheat sourdough loaf) because I think the sweetness pairs so perfectly with the slight tang of a slowly-fermented bread. This bread is no exception!

The flavor and long shelf life (by fresh-baked sourdough standards, that is!) make this a winner of a recipe, but it also is FUN to make. You can mix it by hand, and since the dough isn't overly sticky, it is a great recipe for beginners and is a fun one for kids to help shape!

The dough

You'll mix the dough up, let it sit for 30 minutes or so to rest and allow the flour to hydrate, then knead it a few times to form it into a ball. Then that's it! You can cover it and tell it goodnight and come back to it in the morning.

Ingredients:

• Water - the liquid in this bread, because they're freestanding loaves and we want them to have good structure.
• A healthy, active sourdough starter (of course!) - and lots of it. This dough is quite heavy so it needs lots of starter to get the leavening job done.
• Brown sugar - A good bit of the sweetness here comes from the brown sugar, and it also helps to caramelize the crust, and increase the bread's shelf life. Because there's a decent amount called for in the recipe, I don't recommend substituting a liquid sweetener here (like maple syrup or honey) because it would throw off the hydration level.
• Molasses - The flavor the molasses adds to this bread is so, SO good! It's sweet, it's just a hint bitter, it's robust and the perfect compliment to the whole wheat flour. Use any kind except for blackstrap! I use this molasses.
• Egg - The egg makes this bread super soft and helps with the rise.
• Whole wheat + all purpose flour - The combination of both flours is the best of both worlds. You get the flavor of whole wheat, with the texture of all purpose.
• Salt - Don't forget it!

Shaping

This recipe makes 4 (10-inch) loaves of bread, so you'll divide the dough into 4 pieces.

Then, roll each one into a loaf. The technique here is exactly like making a play-doh worm. (Remember when I told you kids love shaping this? They have the perfect skill set for it.)

The dough is wet enough that it kind of seals itself while rolling, but do a little extra pinching at the ends and seams if needed.

How to tell when the rise is done

At the end of the first rise, the dough should be doubled in size. It can be slightly more or less, and you'll have no problems moving on to the next step, but you want to see really substantial growth and a domed top.

At the end of the second rise, the dough will be notably puffed up. The second rise can take a while, so don't be afraid to give it more time if needed. It has taken up to 6 hours for me before.

A note about times - I have times listed for each rise in the recipe, but these are just generally how long this dough takes to rise in my kitchen. It could be different for yours! The times listed are meant to give you an estimate but, as always, go by visuals rather than the clock.

Storage

Once the loaves have cooled completely, you can place them in a plastic bag and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

You can also freeze this for up to 3 months.

The crust gets softer as it's stored, and I think the flavor gets better and better. I love this bread the day it's baked, but I think it's even better days 2 and 3!