Freshly Milled Flour and Whole Grain Simple Sourdough (for lazy people)

Ben Starr, the Ultimate Food Geek, shows you the easiest way to incorporate fresh milled flour, whole grain flour, and ancient grains (einkorn, spelt, kamut, etc.) in his famous recipe that requires no significant kneading, no feeding or discarding for your starter, no slapping/folding/coiling or strength building, and without even preheating the oven! Printable Recipe for Freshly Milled Flour: https://benstarr.com/2025/02/24/simpl... Printable Recipe for Whole Grain/Ancient Grain Store-bought Flours: https://benstarr.com/2025/02/24/simpl... Full MasterClass:    • Master Class: Ben Starr's 10 minute Simple...   How to Make Starter:    • The Easiest Way to Make Sourdough Starter ...   Properly sized Dutch Oven: https://amzn.to/4bcfGLm Ascorbic Acid: https://amzn.to/4bgH35t (This amount will last for years.) (I'm an Amazon affiliate and make a few cents when you buy something from my links. Thanks!) FRESHLY MILLED RECIPE: In a large bowl, measure: 4oz / 113g sourdough starter (must be at 100% hydration, and ideally cold, unfed, straight from the refrigerator) Into a quart jar, measure: 12.5oz / 354g water (ideally filtered, room temp or cold) 1/8 teaspoon Vitamin C powder/ascorbic acid Seal and shake the jar vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Add to the bowl with the starter and mix to distribute the starter into the water. Then add: 8oz / 227g freshly milled flour (from any gluten-containing grain: wheat, barley, rye, ancient wheat varieties) 12oz / 340g AP or bread flour (bread flour will give a better overall rise) 0.7oz / 19g salt (any type) Stir to combine, then finish bringing into a uniform dough with your hands. Rise at room temp until double. (SEE NOTE BELOW ON RISE TIMES!!!) Shape into a boule, place in a greased or parchment lined Dutch oven, rise a second time, then score and place into the center of a cold oven. (For loaf pan baking, see my MasterClass video, linked above.) Turn the oven on to 425F/220C and start a 45 minute timer. Remove the lid after 45 minutes and bake an additional 15 minutes. WHOLE GRAIN RECIPE WITH STORE-BOUGHT FLOURS: In a large bowl, measure: 4oz / 113g sourdough starter (must be at 100% hydration, and ideally cold, unfed, straight from the refrigerator) 13oz / 369g water (ideally filtered, room temp or cold) (Optional: 1/8 teaspoon Vitamin C powder/ascorbic acid, dissolved by rapidly shaking it with the water amount listed above.) Mix the starter and water together to dissolve most of the starter. Then add: 8oz / 227g whole grain flour(s) (whole wheat, barley, rye, ancient grains like einkorn, spelt, kamut, etc.) 12oz / 340g AP or bread flour (bread flour will give a better overall rise) 0.7oz / 19g salt (any type) Stir to combine, then finish bringing into a uniform dough with your hands. Rise at room temp until double. (SEE NOTE BELOW ON RISE TIMES!!!) Shape into a boule, place in a greased or parchment lined Dutch oven, rise a second time, then score and place into the center of a cold oven. (For loaf pan baking, see my MasterClass video, linked above.) Turn the oven on to 425F/220C and start a 45 minute timer. Remove the lid after 45 minutes and bake an additional 15 minutes. UNDERSTANDING PROOFING TIMES: To know how long to proof your bread properly, you need to know how long it took the loaf to double on the FIRST rise. So mix up this bread in the morning on a day off, rise in an oiled ziploc bag, and begin watching it around 6 hours. If it doubles in 12-24 hours, your second rise should be 60 minutes. If it doubles in 8-12 hours, your second rise should be 45 minutes. If it doubles in UNDER 8 hours, your second rise should be 30 minutes. INDEX FOR VIDEO: 0:00 In the "good old days," all bread was bad 2:14 Anatomy of the seed 3:02 15% of the seed is our enemy 6:58 Water is good...but also bad 8:18 Freshly milled flour is TERRIBLE for bread 11:52 Bread from freshly milled flour is NOT healthier than storebought 13:52 Ancient Grains (einkorn, spelt, etc.) are also TERRIBLE for bread 16:55 Demo: Freshly milled vs. Storebought Whole Wheat flour 21:43 Modest underproofing improves rise! 24:16 The secret ingredient that improves rise 26:10 Demo: Freshly milled flour with Vitamin C 29:51 Results