Black Bread

To make this quintessential Baltic loaf, you’ll need to get your sourdough starter under way three days beforehand (unless you already have one on the go, of course). I used to make mine from just rye flour and water, but in the Baltics I learnt to use something that has living cultures in it, like kefir or buttermilk. This makes perfect sense and works brilliantly — after only a day my starter was bubbling away, so make sure you use a large jar!

If you intend to make bread regularl