Ingredients
240 grams water (1 cup)
200 grams active, bubbly sourdough starter (3/4 cup)
42 grams honey (2 tablespoons)
510 grams bread flour (4 1/4 cups)
6 grams Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt (2 teaspoons)
60 grams very soft butter (about 4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick)
about 1 ounce of melted butter for brushing dough before baking
Instructions
- Place water, starter, and honey in bowl of stand mixer and mix well. Add flour and salt to this mixture.
- Mix with dough hook until dough has come together which should take about 2 minutes. It will be sticky and not smooth at this stage. Scrape down sides as needed during this stage to ensure all ingredients incorporate well.
- Add soft butter about 1 tablespoon at a time while the mixer runs. Let each addition mix in before adding the next.
- When all butter has been added, allow the dough to knead for 10 minutes on speed 2. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Cover dough and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size. This will take about 8 hours at a 70 degree room temperature. You can speed it up a bit if desired by placing the dough in a warmer environment or using a bread proof setting on your oven.
- Once dough has doubled, cover and place in refrigerator overnight.
- The next morning, butter a 9x4x4 pullman loaf pan and set aside.
- Roll or pat dough into a roughly 8x12 inch rectangle/oval shape (see photos in blog post for reference)
- Beginning on the 8 inch side, roll dough tightly to form a log the same length as the pan.
- Place the dough log into the prepared pan and give it a firm squish to evenly distribute.
- Cover and let rise until dough has just risen above the edge of the pan. Do not let it go more than an inch above.
- Preheat oven to 375 with a rack in the lower 3rd of the oven.
- Brush dough with melted butter, place on a sheet tray to avoid butter dripping, and bake for 50 minutes. Cover the loaf after about 2o minutes to prevent over-browning.
- Once baked, remove from loaf pan and place on cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
There is a wealth of knowledge in the blog post - I encourage you to read it.
Sometimes the butter leaks out and smokes up the oven, so I've learned to place the loaf pan on a small, parchment lined baking sheet before placing it in the oven.
I also like to cover with foil after about 25 minutes to prevent the crust from becoming too browned.
The refrigerator is your friend with this and all sourdough recipes. You can leave this dough in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours before shaping if life gets crazy. Additionally, once the loaf is shaped and in the pan it can be stashed in the refrigerator until you have time to let it fully rise at room temperature. Just be aware that the longer it ferments, even in the refrigerator, the more sour it will become. I love the tanginess of a long-fermented bread, but if you don't love super sour sourdough bread, make sure not to let it hang out in the refrigerator too long before baking.
Option 2: After bulk rise, shape dough and place in buttered pan. Allow to rise until dough has just risen above the edge of the loaf pan and bake straight away without the overnight cold ferment. Your dough will not be as sour and it will be a bit stickier to shape but it will turn out great.
Option 3: After bulk rise, shape dough and place in pan. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight - it will rise a bit overnight. Bring back to room temperature in the morning and allow to rise until dough has just risen above the top edge of loaf pan. With this option you can let it rise half or 3/4 of the way and then place in the fridge to continue the rise the next day as well
- Prep Time: 20 minutes active
- bulk ferment: 8 hours
- Category: sourdough, bread
- Method: baking, sourdough
- Cuisine: American