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Naturally Fermented Bread: How to Use Yeast Water Starters to Bake Wholesome Loaves and Sweet Fermented Buns
Learn to bake healthy, gut-friendly loaves and sweet fermented buns using wild yeasts cultivated from fruits, flowers, vegetables, and plants.
Like sourdough baking, baking bread botanically draws on the amazing process of fermentation and the ancient art of breadmaking. The method described in this book, while unique, is informed by the author’s knowledge of both bulk fermentation and sourdough breadbaking, resulting in an innovative process and delicious, nutritious results.
To bake naturally fermented bread—fruit, vegetables, plants, or flowers are submerged in water and left for a few days to a few weeks to ferment. Yeasts living in this newly fermented water, or botanical water, will, like a sourdough starter, raise the dough more slowly than commercial fresh or dried yeast resulting in a more flavorful and gut-friendly bread.
You can use this technique to make traditional long-fermented loaves and also a range of sweet fermented buns that showcase the subtle and surprising flavors of your own botanical starters.
Recipes include:
Tomato and Basil Pizza Dough
Cucumber Burger Buns
Chocolate Orange Brioche
Botanical Laminated Pastry
And much more!
Naturally Fermented Bread is the first and most authoritative introduction to this innovative baking technique—a must for any baker's library.
Like sourdough baking, baking bread botanically draws on the amazing process of fermentation and the ancient art of breadmaking. The method described in this book, while unique, is informed by the author’s knowledge of both bulk fermentation and sourdough breadbaking, resulting in an innovative process and delicious, nutritious results.
To bake naturally fermented bread—fruit, vegetables, plants, or flowers are submerged in water and left for a few days to a few weeks to ferment. Yeasts living in this newly fermented water, or botanical water, will, like a sourdough starter, raise the dough more slowly than commercial fresh or dried yeast resulting in a more flavorful and gut-friendly bread.
You can use this technique to make traditional long-fermented loaves and also a range of sweet fermented buns that showcase the subtle and surprising flavors of your own botanical starters.
Recipes include:
Tomato and Basil Pizza Dough
Cucumber Burger Buns
Chocolate Orange Brioche
Botanical Laminated Pastry
And much more!
Naturally Fermented Bread is the first and most authoritative introduction to this innovative baking technique—a must for any baker's library.
- GenresNonfictionCookbooks
144 pages, Paperback
Published January 14, 2025
6 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Paul Barker
3 books3 followersPaul Barker, with more than 35 years of baking behind him, Paul is seen as a trailblazer in his field. From craft baking through to scientific research and product development Paul has amassed a comprehensive skill-set. Paul, who has won many UK baking industry awards for his products and innovation, set up Cinnamon Square bakery and training school in Rickmansworth UK in 2005, which also saw the launch of his now famous Cinnamon Square Buns.
Paul's ethos when baking and teaching is to use a 'measured approach.' Precision baking with passion led to the launch of his first publication in 2017, Cinnamon Square A Measured Approach. A book predominantly aimed at home bakers, shares his knowledge and techniques to enable the reader to reproduce fantastic bakes confidently in their own kitchens.
Paul is currently working on his second publication which is due to be launched in October 2020.
Paul's ethos when baking and teaching is to use a 'measured approach.' Precision baking with passion led to the launch of his first publication in 2017, Cinnamon Square A Measured Approach. A book predominantly aimed at home bakers, shares his knowledge and techniques to enable the reader to reproduce fantastic bakes confidently in their own kitchens.
Paul is currently working on his second publication which is due to be launched in October 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 23, 2020
This book has taken my sourdough baking to a new & enjoyable level. This is the first I'd heard of using what the author calls "botanical water" or what I have started calling a "botanical ferment" to make a starter. If you are already familiar with doing cultures at home, it's really not much different. I've been making my own ferments for nearly 2 decades, so it's kind of second nature at this point. But even so, I do find myself learning something new here & there. For me, the hardest part is keeping everything far enough apart in my tiny log cabin.
Anyway, a botanical water is for example, sliced apples in water left to sit out & you got it, ferment. You then use this ferment with flour & start the sourdough starter. Running my own eco farm, this has created a really fun way for me to experiment with different plant products to see what botanical waters I can create for any batch of bread. Ironically, or not, my first choice was to use apples because I have my own apple trees & still have apples on hand. This also happens to be what the author recommends starting with. I plan on utilizing elder flowers next year when my elderberry bushes are blooming. The author recommends adding a bit of honey to an elder flower water, but I'm planning on using dates. Time will tell how that works out for me.
I should also point out that the author uses exact measurements which is excellent. If you don't have a kitchen scale, I strongly suggest getting one. If you enjoy cooking &/or baking you wont regret it. You can using traditional measuring tools, but you will save yourself a lot of time & effort by using a scale instead.
Once your starter is ready, you are ready to bake. I haven't made many or the recipes yet as they do take time, but out of what I have made, they are delicious. Not as pretty as the pictures, but tasty to be sure. So far I have made French Baguettes utilizing the apple botanical water & the Stilton & Raisin Loaf which uses a raisin botanical water. As you might have guessed, the raisin bread goes great with a hot cuppa in the morning.
Side Note: If you are one of the many of us who follow a low FODMAPs diet, you'll definitely want to consider making your own sourdough as the natural fermentation process greatly reduces the FODMAPs.
The book itself is hard cover, slightly oversized but slim. The pages are glossy with plenty of full color photos & step by step instructions. It is somewhat involved & can seem pretty intimating at first glance, but once you start, you'll see how easy it can be. Naturally fermented bread is nothing like that boring mushy stuff sold in store. After all these years, I cannot even imagine eating store bought. Blech!
Anyway, a botanical water is for example, sliced apples in water left to sit out & you got it, ferment. You then use this ferment with flour & start the sourdough starter. Running my own eco farm, this has created a really fun way for me to experiment with different plant products to see what botanical waters I can create for any batch of bread. Ironically, or not, my first choice was to use apples because I have my own apple trees & still have apples on hand. This also happens to be what the author recommends starting with. I plan on utilizing elder flowers next year when my elderberry bushes are blooming. The author recommends adding a bit of honey to an elder flower water, but I'm planning on using dates. Time will tell how that works out for me.
I should also point out that the author uses exact measurements which is excellent. If you don't have a kitchen scale, I strongly suggest getting one. If you enjoy cooking &/or baking you wont regret it. You can using traditional measuring tools, but you will save yourself a lot of time & effort by using a scale instead.
Once your starter is ready, you are ready to bake. I haven't made many or the recipes yet as they do take time, but out of what I have made, they are delicious. Not as pretty as the pictures, but tasty to be sure. So far I have made French Baguettes utilizing the apple botanical water & the Stilton & Raisin Loaf which uses a raisin botanical water. As you might have guessed, the raisin bread goes great with a hot cuppa in the morning.
Side Note: If you are one of the many of us who follow a low FODMAPs diet, you'll definitely want to consider making your own sourdough as the natural fermentation process greatly reduces the FODMAPs.
The book itself is hard cover, slightly oversized but slim. The pages are glossy with plenty of full color photos & step by step instructions. It is somewhat involved & can seem pretty intimating at first glance, but once you start, you'll see how easy it can be. Naturally fermented bread is nothing like that boring mushy stuff sold in store. After all these years, I cannot even imagine eating store bought. Blech!
November 8, 2020
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Naturally Fermented Bread is a recipe and tutorial guide for making and using wild yeast starters for baking. Released 13th Oct 2020 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 160 pages and available in hardcover and ebook formats.
This is a very well written and accurate and factual guide to using wild-caught yeasts from fruit and vegetables to make bread. The yeasts and bacteria aren't isolated in any way so the water cultures will often not just leaven baked goods but also impart a subtle flavor as well of whatever fruit or veg was used to start it.The intro gives the reader all the necessary background info to succeed with the method. The introduction proceeds logically and understandably and includes what materials to start with (and why), safety and cleanliness, tools and equipment and basically everything that the reader needs to get going. The second chapter is a basic tutorial for a basic loaf with tips and troubleshooting for the proper temperatures, kneading, proofing, lots of baking advice, and more general advice for milling grains and using the botanical solutions for probiotic drinks.
The following chapters contain the recipes arranged thematically: loaves, sweet buns, and sourdough options. The recipes include an introduction, yields, ingredients in a bullet point sidebar list (with metric measures given and American standard in parentheses), followed by step by step instructions. Alternative ingredients or flavors are listed at the end of the recipes. Nutritional information is not provided. The ingredients, especially the flours used are quite specific and may need to be sourced from a very well stocked grocery or bake-shop supplier. Every recipe is pictured and the photography is clear and easy to follow. The appendices are comprehensive and full of extra info and include a glossary, safety tips about potentially poisonous plants and fruit items, and a cross referenced index.
This is a really in-depth book but shouldn't intimidate beginning bakers. This would make a superlative selection for smallholders, self-sufficiency readers, gardeners, community gardening and food-resource activists, keen cooks looking to expand their skill-sets and other DIY fans. Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Naturally Fermented Bread is a recipe and tutorial guide for making and using wild yeast starters for baking. Released 13th Oct 2020 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 160 pages and available in hardcover and ebook formats.
This is a very well written and accurate and factual guide to using wild-caught yeasts from fruit and vegetables to make bread. The yeasts and bacteria aren't isolated in any way so the water cultures will often not just leaven baked goods but also impart a subtle flavor as well of whatever fruit or veg was used to start it.The intro gives the reader all the necessary background info to succeed with the method. The introduction proceeds logically and understandably and includes what materials to start with (and why), safety and cleanliness, tools and equipment and basically everything that the reader needs to get going. The second chapter is a basic tutorial for a basic loaf with tips and troubleshooting for the proper temperatures, kneading, proofing, lots of baking advice, and more general advice for milling grains and using the botanical solutions for probiotic drinks.
The following chapters contain the recipes arranged thematically: loaves, sweet buns, and sourdough options. The recipes include an introduction, yields, ingredients in a bullet point sidebar list (with metric measures given and American standard in parentheses), followed by step by step instructions. Alternative ingredients or flavors are listed at the end of the recipes. Nutritional information is not provided. The ingredients, especially the flours used are quite specific and may need to be sourced from a very well stocked grocery or bake-shop supplier. Every recipe is pictured and the photography is clear and easy to follow. The appendices are comprehensive and full of extra info and include a glossary, safety tips about potentially poisonous plants and fruit items, and a cross referenced index.
This is a really in-depth book but shouldn't intimidate beginning bakers. This would make a superlative selection for smallholders, self-sufficiency readers, gardeners, community gardening and food-resource activists, keen cooks looking to expand their skill-sets and other DIY fans. Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
October 21, 2020
"Naturally Fermented Bread" is a cookbook that describes how to use wild yeasts found on fruit and vegetables to make bread. The author started by describing how to culture these wild yeasts found on various fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, and flowers. He then gave step-by-step instructions on how to make your own breads using this instead of prepackaged yeast. The breadmaking part is basic enough to help those not used to baking as well as those simply not used to working with higher hydration doughs or wild yeast cultures.
Most of the book was recipes for yeast breads and sweet buns that included tips on making that ferment (using raisins or figs or whatever) and things like how to modify the hydration levels as well as the recipe for that type of bread. Each recipe included a picture of the finished loaf. The author also included some recipes for sourdough breads. Overall, the author made naturally fermented bread making sound relatively easy and doable, and I will soon try making some bread using apples. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in trying this process.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
Most of the book was recipes for yeast breads and sweet buns that included tips on making that ferment (using raisins or figs or whatever) and things like how to modify the hydration levels as well as the recipe for that type of bread. Each recipe included a picture of the finished loaf. The author also included some recipes for sourdough breads. Overall, the author made naturally fermented bread making sound relatively easy and doable, and I will soon try making some bread using apples. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in trying this process.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
December 23, 2020
Naturally Fermented Bread by Paul Barker is a must buy book for me. I am writing this review as a person who bakes a lot of old-fashioned sourdough, but I haven’t tried anything botanical and would like to advance my skill.
Initially when I started this book, I was a little confused as to where he was going with fermenting fruit. As I read, I was learning so many wonderful tricks to improve the sourdough I already make. I am stoked to try out several of these techniques. As the book went on the botanical fermentation started to make much more sense.
Everything was very well explained. There was complete explanation as to why you are to do something so you gain some knowledge on how you can work this bread to work with your style of baking.
The photography was also wonderful and made me very hungry just looking at all the mouth-watering photos.
My only suggestion is I would not recommend this for an absolute beginner. I think once you have a basic sourdough down or are getting close to it, this book would be much more exciting and accessible to you.
I received an eARC from Quarto Publishing Group and Quarry Books through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.
Initially when I started this book, I was a little confused as to where he was going with fermenting fruit. As I read, I was learning so many wonderful tricks to improve the sourdough I already make. I am stoked to try out several of these techniques. As the book went on the botanical fermentation started to make much more sense.
Everything was very well explained. There was complete explanation as to why you are to do something so you gain some knowledge on how you can work this bread to work with your style of baking.
The photography was also wonderful and made me very hungry just looking at all the mouth-watering photos.
My only suggestion is I would not recommend this for an absolute beginner. I think once you have a basic sourdough down or are getting close to it, this book would be much more exciting and accessible to you.
I received an eARC from Quarto Publishing Group and Quarry Books through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.
October 12, 2020
I was surprised and overwhelmed with the wealth of information in this book. The author has really worked hard on perfecting the art of naturally fermenting bread. I have only done the sourdough but myself, and I’m not yet happy with the outcome. Hopefully after using the tips and recipes in this book I’ll be happy with what I’ll be baking in the future.
The recipes sound absolutely delicious! I highly appreciate all the time and effort put into this book. I don’t mean only the writing, but all the time it must have taken to find the best practices and recipes. I’m sure there has been trial and error in the way. Now I can utilize the things that seem to make great results!
I haven’t yet tried any of the recipes, but I will soon. I’m a bit worried about how things will turn out in the beginning. There are quite a few things to think about, and several important stages, but I’m sure I’ll get it right following the very detailed steps. I am excited about baking my first botanical bread!
The recipes sound absolutely delicious! I highly appreciate all the time and effort put into this book. I don’t mean only the writing, but all the time it must have taken to find the best practices and recipes. I’m sure there has been trial and error in the way. Now I can utilize the things that seem to make great results!
I haven’t yet tried any of the recipes, but I will soon. I’m a bit worried about how things will turn out in the beginning. There are quite a few things to think about, and several important stages, but I’m sure I’ll get it right following the very detailed steps. I am excited about baking my first botanical bread!
November 9, 2020
I received this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.
I normally like cook books to have photos of finished products and I wish this book had more of them.
This is such an interesting concept! While certainly not new I'm not familiar with this kind of baking. The instructions on creating a botanical started could be a little clearer, but generally the recipes and steps are helpful.
There's sweet and savory recipes included that sound delicious. Some of these are time intensive and recipes list weight instead of measurement.
Overall it's an interesting recipe book.
I normally like cook books to have photos of finished products and I wish this book had more of them.
This is such an interesting concept! While certainly not new I'm not familiar with this kind of baking. The instructions on creating a botanical started could be a little clearer, but generally the recipes and steps are helpful.
There's sweet and savory recipes included that sound delicious. Some of these are time intensive and recipes list weight instead of measurement.
Overall it's an interesting recipe book.
December 14, 2020
This book describes the most interesting fermenting methods that I have ever seen. It is well written and you can tell that the author really loves this subject. The instructions are easy to follow and thorough. I loved looking at all of the beautiful pictures of bread in this book.
'Naturally Fermented Bread' would make a great gift for someone who loves to make bread, make fermented food, or make food from scratch.
'Naturally Fermented Bread' would make a great gift for someone who loves to make bread, make fermented food, or make food from scratch.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews