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Chef de la Maison’s gut healthy sour dough

Here’s a home-friendly Chef de la Maison–style sourdough recipe, grounded in their philosophy of gut health, slow fermentation, and natural ingredients.





🌾

Chef de la Maison Sourdough Bread



Gut-healthy • Fermented • Naturally leavened





🔬

Why it’s good for you



  • Long fermentation = easier to digest

  • Naturally fermented = better for your gut microbiome

  • No commercial yeast

  • Uses wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria






✨ What You Need




🧪

For the Starter (makes 1 jar)



  • 100g organic wholemeal or rye flour (good wild yeast content)

  • 100ml filtered or spring water




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For the Dough



  • 500g organic strong white bread flour (or a 70:30 white to wholemeal mix)

  • 350ml filtered water (cool, not cold)

  • 100g active sourdough starter (from above)

  • 10g sea salt (no iodine)






🧂 Day-by-Day Method




Chef de la Maison Step 1: Make the Starter (5–7 days)



  1. Day 1: Mix 100g flour + 100ml water in a clean jar. Stir, cover loosely (tea towel or jar lid not sealed). Leave at room temp.

  2. Days 2–6: Discard half. Add 50g flour + 50ml water daily. Stir well.

  3. When it’s bubbly, doubled in size, and smells tangy, it’s ready to use.



🧠 Tip: Rye flour kickstarts fermentation. Once it’s active, you can feed it with white if preferred.





Chef de la Maison Step 2: Make the Dough (Morning or Evening)



  1. In a large bowl, mix flour and water only. Rest for 30 mins (autolyse).

  2. Add starter and salt. Mix into a shaggy dough.

  3. Knead or stretch & fold for 5–10 mins until slightly elastic.

  4. Place in a bowl, cover with a cloth or wrap. Let it rest for 4 hours, doing stretch & folds every 30 mins.



🌀 Stretch & Fold: Grab one side, stretch up, fold over. Turn bowl. Repeat 4x.





Chef de la Maison Step 3: First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)



  • Let it ferment for 4–6 hours at room temp until puffed up.

  • For gut-health & flavor, cover and place in fridge overnight (12–18 hours). This slows fermentation and improves digestibility.






Chef de la Maison Step 4: Shape & Final Rise



  1. Take dough out, gently shape into a round (or place in a loaf tin).

  2. Dust a banneton (or bowl lined with cloth) with flour. Place dough seam side up.

  3. Rest at room temp for 1–2 hours OR refrigerate again for 4+ hours.






Chef de la Maison Step 5: Bake



  1. Preheat oven to 240°C (460°F) with Dutch oven or tray inside.

  2. Tip dough onto parchment. Score top with a sharp blade.

  3. Transfer to hot Dutch oven, bake 20 mins with lid, then 20–25 mins without until golden.

  4. Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.



✅ Crusty outside, chewy inside, tangy but gentle on the gut.





🥄 Serving Idea from Chef de la Maison



Serve with whipped kefir butter, a drizzle of raw honey, or house-made garlic & herb butter. Also perfect for open rye sandwiches with fermented veg.



once you repeat and practice you will discover a new world of baking and satisfaction. Soul food, therapeutic and incredibly tasty! Chef de la Maison’s bakery is one of my happy places


Nathan Higgins CEO Chef de la Maison Peterborough

 
 
 

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