Whole Wheat Okara Bread Recipe (sourdough and/or yeast)

I've been making my own tofu lately (see that video and recipe here ) and Okara, the leftover pulp from making soy milk for tofu, is an amazing food ingredient I cannot bear to waste!

This video demonstrates a simple whole wheat bread recipe that uses one batch of okara from my regular home tofu making process.

This recipe uses a sourdough starter as well as commercial yeast, however it can be made with sourdough or yeast exclusively. If you are familiar with my bread making, you will know I am all about sourdough! I have made this bread with success without baker’s yeast, but I happened to share this hybrid version on my on my Facebook page recently, and there were a few requests to share it!

I can see more versions of this bread in my future, but this is a good starting place :)

I hope you enjoy the recipe, please feel free to leave comments and questions below or in the video comments in YouTube.

Whole Wheat Okara Bread Recipe

*All volume measures Australian metric
Please view the video in YouTube for a full demonstration of the process, and more tips!

INGREDIENTS

• 250g whole wheat flour
  My flour was freshly milled in my Mockmill 200, however store bought whole wheat flour will be fine too. Just go for stoneground and unsifted if you can get it! (Australian suppliers listed here).

• 250g bread/baker’s flour (refined white flour for bread making)
  You can use all whole wheat flour in this recipe, however your final loaf will be more dense. Okara is a very special ingredient that is naturally packed with all the fibre of soy beans! So I didn’t think there was much harm in lightening this loaf up a bit with some refined flour.

• 8g salt /1.5 tsp salt

• 3 tsp brown sugar
  Optional, but I loved the flavour in this loaf

• 2 tbsp / 11g psyllium husk
  Optional, but does help to bind this loaf

• 100g sourdough starter of any kind
  Optional, you can use 1tsp of yeast for this bread if you do not have a sourdough starter

• 0.5 to 1 tsp instant yeast
  Optional, you can make this bread all sourdough if you prefer, just expect longer fermentation times, a slightly more dense loaf and a more complex, less sweet flavour! Okara is a challenging ingredient for bread baking, but some yeast really gives it a boost!

• 1 batch, approximately 220g Okara / soy bean pulp
  This sized batch of okara is what remains from making soy milk and tofu from 1 cup dried soy beans (that recipe here). I do not dehydrate or treat my okara in any way before using it for bread. It is stored in a container in the fridge or freezer until required.

• 250-280g water
  If using psyllium husk, add the full 280g of water, if not, use only 250g. The liquid amount for this recipe may need to be adjusted due to the natural variation in flours, soy beans, and the amount of water you have squeezed out of your okara. Be prepared to add more water or flour as needed, check the video demonstration to see how the dough should look and feel. To see a demonstration of how I make my soy milk and tofu, see that video here.

METHOD - HAND MIXING

1. Add all dry ingredients to a medium-large bowl and mix well.

2. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients (including okara, it may look dry, but it will dissolve into water in a flash!) and then mix into dry ingredients until combined.

3. Knead the dough thoroughly until smooth. This may take you at least 10 minutes! Don’t worry though, you can still make the bread without much kneading, but the more you knead, the better the texture will be (there’s no stretching and folding to be done with this dough - okara just doesn’t lend itself to that method).

4. Cover the dough and ferment for about 3 hours (see video for details/further discussion). If using only sourdough, this may take 4-8 hours, depending on your climate and kitchen temperature.

5. When looking risen and a bit puffy (1.5 - 2 times original volume), knead the dough again briefly then roll into a log shape to suit your bread pan.

6. Place dough into greased pan and cover again to prevent drying out.

7. Proof the dough for approximately 40 minutes before baking in a preheated 220°C / 430°F oven. I bake my pan loaves inside a roaster with a lid (for the added steam) however you can carefully add some boiling water to a baking tray on the bottom rack of your oven to add steam, if you do not have a suitable roasting dish with a lid.

8. Bake for 30 minutes covered, then remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes uncovered.

9. Wait for your bread to cool completely before slicing (it will be best after at least 6 hours cooling - to properly set inside).

METHOD - MACHINE MIXING

Follow the same method as above, however if using a machine to mix your dough, add all ingredients except the flours to the mixer first, followed by the flours.

This dough was mixed for 20 minutes in my Bear dough mixer (similar to a bread machine style mixing) however a stand mixer will require less mixing time (eg. 5-8 minutes in KitchenAid on second speed). Mix the dough until it is smooth and pliable, as demonstrated in the video.

Proceed as per above.

Let me know if you try this, I’d love to know!

Elly 🌸

Looking for more?

• Learn more about sourdough terminology and techniques

• Visit my whole grain sourdough YouTube channel

• Learn how to make and maintain a sourdough starter

• Find out about my Mockmill 200 and where you can purchase one from just about anywhere in the world!
  (There are discounts available in some locations).

• See my state-by-state listing of grain suppliers in Australia

• If you would like to support my work you can ‘buy me a coffee’ here (big thanks to all of you who have 🌼)

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