Best Sourdough Golden Honey Bread Recipes

ARTISAN HONEY SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Feed Sourdough StarterRemove sourdough starter from fridge, bring to room temperature and feed. I feed a 1:1:1 ratio for my artisan sourdough bread recipe. For example, feed 100 grams sourdough starter, 100 grams water, 100 grams all purpose organic flour. Cover the starter, and allow to double in volume after feeding. A quick tip: every time the starter is fed, place a rubber band around the jar it is in to mark its height. This helps to see when the starter has doubled in volume and is therefore ready to be used. If you are still not sure if the starter is ready to be used, do a float test. Drop a small amount of starter, about 1 tsp, into a glass of water. If it floats to the top it's ready to use. If it sinks, your starter should be fed again, or left a bit longer to activate. Mix Water and FlourUsing a digital scale, measure 475g of flour and 300g of water into a large mixing bowl. Mix dough together with your hands, dough will be sticky. Cover with a damp linen towel and let rest for thirty minutes to one hour. Add Remaining IngredientsMeasure and add 100g sourdough starter, 25g honey and 10g salt. Using your hands, mix the dough together thoroughly and be sure to incorporate the salt into the dough. You should not be able to feel any granules of salt once it has been incorporated into the dough. Cover with a damp linen cloth and leave on the kitchen counter for one hour. Stretch and Fold the DoughAfter one hour, dip your fingers in water (to prevent dough from sticking), and begin the stretch and fold technique. Gently, lift and fold the dough. Grab a portion of the dough from one side of the bowl, lift it up and fold it over the dough to the other side of the bowl. Turn the bowl a one-quarter of the way and repeat the process and until you have come full circle. Do this about 20 times at the most until it is a smooth ball. Cover the bowl and leave on the kitchen counter. Perform the stretch and fold technique another three to four times, over the next three to four hours. Re-cover the bowl each time, leaving on the kitchen counter. Bulk FermentationAfter the last stretch and fold technique, cover the bowl with a damp linen towel and leave on the counter to ferment overnight, for eight to ten hours. At the end of fermentation period, the dough should have bubbles on the surface, and be slightly domed on the edges of the bowl. The dough should be springy, and almost doubled. If in doubt that the sourdough is ready, do the poke test. Carefully poke the dough with flour on your finger, about half an inch deep. Dough that is properly proofed will very slowly spring back, and leave a small indention, meaning that this is a good sign the dough has risen enough. If the dough springs back quickly, it is probably under-proofed and it needs to proof longer. Dough that does not spring back at all, is over proofed. Unfortunately, you can not go back and correct that stage, but it can still be baked. The bread will not rise as much in the oven, but will probably still taste good. Shape the DoughGet a banneton and liberally flour all sides, all the way up to the top. This provides a no stick surface for the dough. With wet hands, loosen the dough from the edges of a bowl. Gently, perform a single stretch and fold with the dough around the bowl. Do this no more than eight to ten times, just until the dough is in a loose ball again. Handling the dough carefully, remove from the bowl and place the dough, smooth side down into the banneton. Final ProofCover the dough and place it in the fridge for a minimum of three hours but no more than 24 hours. Placing the dough into the refrigerator allows for a slow and cold fermentation stage. This stage helps to develop flavor and the final crust texture. Pre-Heat Oven, Score and BakePre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper over the top of the banneton, then carefully turn it over so that the dough releases onto the parchment paper. Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour and gently rub the surface with your hands to evenly spread the flour on top of the dough. Score the top of the dough with a lame or a clean razor blade. King Arthur shares some amazing Bread Scoring Techniques on their site. Carefully pick up the sides of the parchment paper and place the dough into a dutch oven. Put the lid on and bake it for 50 minutes. If a dark crust is preferred, remove the lid from dutch oven and bake another five to ten minutes. Remove Bread and CoolAfter 50 minutes, remove the bread from the oven. Carefully take the loaf from the pan and leave the loaf to cool on a rack. Wait at least one hour before slicing into the artisan honey sourdough bread. Then, enjoy slathered with homemade butter and a good dripping of honey!

GOLDEN SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• 1. What is expanded sourdough starter? The night before baking bread, take your active starter out and add flour and water to it, at 3 parts flour and 2 parts water or whey. Place a light covering over the starter so the top doesn't dry out. It sits overnight and expands. In the morning, it's beautiful and bubbly. Part of this goes into your bread dough and some always goes back into your jar to save as your starter.
• 2. Mix expanded sourdough, buttermilk (or water), dry milk, sugar, salt, and butter. Add 5 cups flour and beat until smooth. Let stand 15 minutes.
• 3. Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead, adding flour, until dough is no longer sticky. Place dough in large bowl sprayed with cooking oil. Cover with a dish towel or place lid on top (not sealed but just on top). Let rise until double in volume. This could take 3 to 8 hours depending on the warmth of the room. Some believe that the longer the rise takes for the sourdough, the better the flavor. I like to place mine in my cold oven with the light on right before I go to bed. In the morning, it is ready to punch and knead down. The picture here is of the dough before it has risen. By the time it has risen, it has doubled in size and filled my large "Tupperware thatsa bowl" completely.
• 4. Knead down and divide into four. Shape the 4 into loaves and place into greased and lightly floured loaf pans. Let rise until about ¾ inch over top of pan. This can be done again, inside your cold oven with the light on. This will not take as long as the unshaped rising did. Do not preheat oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. After removing from oven, remove from pans and place on cooling racks. Rub butter on tops of hot loaves. Cover with kitchen towels as loaves cool. Bread slices best when the loaves have cooled. However, if patience is not available and the bread smells and looks too irresistible to wait till cool, cut carefully so you don't smash down the loaf. Enjoy!