Milk and honey, the dreamiest combination. Adding them to sourdough creates a gently sweet and very soft loaf with a beautiful crunchy crust. Fresh bread is always a treat but add in some golden honey and rich raw milk (what I choose to use, you can also use regular whole milk) and you’ve got yourself something special.
You’ll need:
125g of sourdough starter
200g of raw milk
160g of filtered water
20g of organic honey
500g of unbleached, organic flour
10g of salt
Day One
Start by measuring out your starter (sometimes I use room temperature starter and sometimes it’s straight from the fridge, it works either way), water, milk and honey in the same bowl, mix them together combined. Don’t worry if it doesn’t mix completely, it will all get mixed when you add the flour! Measure out the flour and mix it in to the liquid. I start by using a spoon and then switch to using my hands when it gets too difficult to stir. Gently knead until all of the flour is incorporated, cover with a damp tea towel/cloth or plate and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
After the 30 minute rest is complete, add in the salt and use a little extra water (maybe 2 tbs or so) and knead the salt into the dough. Rest for another 30 minutes.
Next you’ll want to start the stretch and fold process. After you’ve folded the dough over itself (I tend to do about 4-6 folds each time), let it rest again for another 30 minutes. Repeat the stretch and folds 3-4 times, resting 30 minutes in-between.
If it’s helpful to see it this way..
stretch and fold
rest 30 mins
stretch and fold
rest 30 mins
stretch and fold
rest 30 mins
stretch and fold
note: if I end up making my bread late in the evening and I don’t have time to do four rounds of folding, I only do two and let the dough rest for just 15 minutes between folds. I’ve not noticed much difference in my loaves when I do this! They still turn out beautifully, rise well and taste so good. Sourdough really is just an experiment and you get to change the recipe/method to suit you! Don’t let the ‘rules’ scare you because they’re really flexible.
After that, I put the dough it the fridge to proof overnight. You can shape the dough now and pop it into a basket in the fridge to proof or wait until tomorrow.. totally up to you!
Day Two (morning or afternoon)
If you haven’t already shaped your loaf, now is the time to do that. I set the oven to 450 F/ 232 C, put the dutch oven in and let it heat for around 30 mins or until the dutch oven is really hot. This makes sure that the loaf rises well. Then I’ll bring my dough out of the fridge after 20 minutes of the oven heating up. I do one pre shape, let the dough rest for 20 minutes and do a final shape. I usually put a little water on the surface before I tip the dough out of the bowl, just so it doesn’t get stuck and is easier to shape.
Next, I place the loaf on a piece of parchment and score the top before putting it in the oven. I like to put an ice cube in the dutch oven, underneath the parchment and bake for 35 minutes with the lid on and 10 minutes with the lid off. Aaaannnd there you have it! You have a delicious loaf of bread to enjoy.
Love,
Em x
Just curious why you have to wait to add the salt! When making regular sourdough I add it in with the water, starter & flour and let it rest/autolyse for 30 minutes before starting stretch and folds but just wondering if the salt is added last due to some sort of reaction with the milk or honey or if it could all be mixed at once?