Desem bread (DAY zum) is a 100% whole wheat sourdough bread. The starter, which is only made once, is made by fermenting a small ball of dough buried in flour at a cool temperature for over a week. Once you have the starter, the bread is very easy to make because it only calls for three ingredients: whole wheat flour, water, and salt.

In this video series, I show you how to make the starter from scratch and bake the first loaf of Desem bread step by step. You can get the full Desem Bread recipe and instructions here.

Day 1: Starting the Desem

Day 3: Feeding the Desem for the First Time

Day 4: Second Feeding

Day 5 is the same as day 3 and 4.

Here’s day 6, a slightly different feeding:

Day 7 late morning: We’re starting the first loaf today!

Day 7 evening or bedtime

Day 8 (morning): Final Rise

Day 8 (midday): Baking the desem bread

Day 8: The finished first loaf!