Milk & Honey Sourdough

Breaddie Boop is still at work. She's a great starter. We've still been working on shaping the dough better and getting the bulk fermentation down. This loaf was honestly an experiment, but it is the best yet! The taste is amazing! It scored more beautifully than any loaf yet. And it rose the best! I can't say which one thing I did differently made the most improvement here, but I definitely want to try this again.

Key points 

👉 The hydration is lower. 65%. I lowered it because of the addition of olive oil and honey. I was afraid it would be unmanageable otherwise. 

👉 Added powder milk, honey, and extra virgin olive oil. 

👉 Autolysed everything except starter for 90 minutes. 

👉 Reduced bulk fermentation and cold retard due to the addition of honey. The honey speeds up fermentation so I cut those back about 30% to avoid overproofing. Bulk went from about 8 hours to 5½. Cold retard went from 24 hours to 16. 

Here is the recipe and timeline I used.

》100g starter

》500g bread flour 

》325g Brita filtered water, 70⁰F

》12g sea salt, natural uniodized

》60g powdered milk

》20g Honey 

》20g EV olive oil

● 10:00 am — Feed starter.

Sat (Bulk Ferment: 5½ hours)

● 2:00 pm — Autolyse – Everything but starter. Rest 90 minutes.

● 3:30 pm — Dough mix. Thoroughly mix and knead. I took 10 minutes. Rest 90 minutes. - No temp.

● 5:00 pm — S&F 1 (1.5 hr) - 76.4⁰

● 6:00 pm — S&F 2 (2.5 hr) - 

● 7:00 pm — S&F 3 (3.5 hr) - 

● 7:30 pm — S&F 4 (4.0 hr) - 

Continue bulk on counter. Monitor closely since honey will speed up fermentation. 

● 8:00 pm — (4.5 hrs) Check dough. 

● 8:30 pm — (5.0 hrs) Laminate and Preshape. Dough is still slightly underproofed on purpose. If allowed to fully proof, it will overproof during cold ferment. 

● 9:00 pm — Final shape. Into banneton. Cold retard begins. Final BF time is 5.5 hours.

Sun (Cold Retard: 16 hours)

● 12:30 pm — Preheat oven with Dutch oven 30 minutes. 

● 1:00 pm — Score immediately. Place lid and put in oven. Bake at 450⁰ for 35 minutes with lid on, and bake 10 minutes without lid. Check temperature for doneness. 205-210⁰F

This is just before baking. I've had loaves almost fill this banneton and they ended up flat from being overproofed. This one I was afraid was too underproofed, but it turned out fantastic!

Sourdough Crumpets

Prep:  3 mins

Bake:  8 mins

Total:  11 mins

Yield:  4-5 crumpets

 

Ingredients

● 1 c. (227g) sourdough starter, unfed/discard

● 1 tsp granulated sugar

● ¼ to ½ tsp table salt

● 3/8 tsp baking soda*

*If your discard starter is particularly sour, increase the baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon.

Instructions:

Place the starter in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the sugar and salt, then the baking soda. The batter should rise up and bubble a bit, becoming almost billowy.

Heat your griddle over medium-low heat; 300°F is perfect. Lightly grease the surface with cooking oil (if your pan isn't non-stick), then melt a pat of butter atop the oil.

Lightly grease four English muffin rings (1" high and 4" across) and place on the griddle. Divide the batter evenly among the rings. Each ring will take a generous 1/4 cup of batter; a generously heaped muffin scoop is the perfect tool for this task. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the tops are set and full of small holes. Carefully flip the crumpets over, remove the rings (they should pop right off), and continue to cook for about 3 minutes, until they're golden on the bottom. 

Enjoy the crumpets warm, split and spread with butter and jam. Or toast to brown and crisp them before serving.

Store any leftovers at room temperature for several days. Freeze, well wrapped, for longer storage.

Recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour.