Years ago I made my Daily Bread several times a week. We loved it and it was great for sandwiches. Now I’m usually making sourdough bread and Soft Sourdough Rolls and bread is a family favorite. Recently I combined these recipes to make a Sourdough Daily Bread and it’s the best of both breads!
It’s soft, buttery, a little sweet from the honey, tangy from the sourdough starter, and has the great texture and keeping qualities of sourdough bread. I’ve found that even a little bit of sourdough starter in any type of bread helps it last 3 or 4 days longer. Since I’m not feeding a horde of hungry kids every day now it’s great if the bread stays fresh longer. When they were all little and growing, they would eat an entire loaf of bread with butter for a snack!
Sourdough Daily Bread Recipe
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 4 cups bread flour, substitute 1 cup whole wheat flour for 1 cup bread flour if desired
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Make the dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, sourdough starter, and honey. I use room temperature water and starter straight from the fridge. If you prefer you can use granulated sugar in place of the honey. Stir to mix. The whisk I use for bread dough is called a Danish Dough Whisk and I love it. You can use it for mixing up quick bread too. Here’s a link if you’d like to buy one. While you’ve got things out, go ahead and feed your starter. Here’s the simple no-waste method I use.
Now add the bread flour, salt, and butter. Usually I thinly slice the butter so it’s easier to mix in. Don’t worry about getting the butter to room temperature, there’s plenty of time for it to soften as you work the dough.
Give the dough a mix with a dough whisk, a sturdy wooden spoon, or by hand. This dough should come together easily but if it’s too dry, add a tablespoon of water at a time until you have a soft but not sticky dough. The dough should clean the sides of the bowl. Don’t worry about it being rough or shaggy, it will all smooth out with the stretch and folds.
First rest or autolyse
Once the dough is mixed, cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes. This is called an autolyse although traditionally the yeast, starter, and salt are added after the autolyse. I add it all at once or I forget to add the salt. Unsalted bread dough is not delightful! This rest period allows the flour to absorb the liquid and fully hydrate. You will notice a change in the dough after the rest. It will be softer and more relaxed.
Time for stretch and folds!
After the 30 minute rest it’s time to work the dough. I use the stretch and fold method which works for nearly all bread dough but especially sourdough. Time and a few minutes of working the dough is all you need and time is the secret to good sourdough bread.
Uncover the dough and with a wet hand, take the far side of the dough and stretch it up as far as it will easily stretch. Next fold the dough over onto itself.
Rotate the bowl and stretch the dough up again and fold it over. These stretch and fold sessions build the gluten structure in the dough and help make a smooth elastic dough without kneading. For this recipe they also help incorporate the butter.
Do this one more time. Wet your hand again if the dough is sticking too much. Usually I keep the bowl by my sink so I can easily wet my hand while I’m doing the stretch and folds.
A few thoughts on gluten and timing
On this first stretch and fold session the dough will probably be very loose and stretchy. That’s because the gluten isn’t developed yet. As you continue with the sessions the dough will become smooth and elastic and not as stretchy. You can see the change in the dough after only 3 stretch and folds. It is tight and elastic. When I try to stretch it, the dough picks right up out of the bowl.
Now turn the dough over so the smooth side is up and cover the bowl again for another rest. The rest time is very flexible. Sometimes I aim for 30 minutes between sessions but it can be anywhere between 1 to 2 hours. This is what helps you fit bread making into your daily life. For most home sourdough baking there is no set timeline. You do the next part when you have a spare minute and when the dough is ready. With experience you will be able to tell when the dough is ready for the next step.
Second stretch and fold session
After this rest, it’s time for the second set of stretch and folds. Uncover the dough and see how the dough looks after the rest. It should be more relaxed and you may see a few bubbles on the surface. That’s the yeast working! Now, wet your hand and stretch the dough up on the far side and fold it over.
Repeat for the second stretch and fold for this second session. The dough will be noticeably smooth and tighter as you do this second session. The gluten is being activated and doing it’s job!
Another thing you should notice is that the dough isn’t sticking to the bowl or your hand very much. As it becomes more cohesive and elastic it will not be as sticky.
Do your last stretch and fold for the second session. You can see how tight the dough is now. It will hardly stretch at all. Turn the dough smooth side up and cover it for the last short rest.
Third stretch and fold session
It’s finally time for the last stretch and fold session! This is the final time to work with the dough aside from shaping the loaf. Repeat the process of stretching the dough with a wet hand, folding it over, and rotating the bowl.
Now is a good time to make sure the butter is incorporated well too. You can see below that there are still chunks of butter. I just mash them into the dough and try to spread them as evenly as I can during this stretch and fold session. It’s also fine if there are visible flecks of butter in the dough. That gives an amazing texture to the baked Sourdough Daily Bread!
Do the second and third set of stretch and folds for the third session. The dough is fully worked and should be very smooth, tight, and elastic. Turn the dough smooth side up and cover for the bulk ferment.
Time for the bulk ferment
Bulk ferment is when the dough rests for several hours to fully develop the yeast, gluten, and structure. With sourdough bread this is also when the enzymes in the starter feed on the starch in the dough. Like any traditional fermented food, the enzymes partially digest the starch and sugars and make the bread easier to digest.
The sourdough flavor is from this process. You can customize your bread to be more or less sour by how “young” the starter is and how much starter you use in the dough. A “young” starter is one that had been fed recently. Some recipes have you feed the starter the night before you make the dough so it’s fresher and more active. I just use cold starter from the fridge, we prefer the level of sour from this method.
With this recipe I let the dough sit covered on the countertop for 5 to 8 hours. Usually I let it sit until the evening and shape the bread right before I go to bed and chill it overnight. Alternatively you can refrigerate the dough in the bowl and shape it the next morning. Just do whatever works for you and your schedule.
What you’re looking for is that the dough has doubled in size and is very airy and puffy. The dough in these photos sat on my countertop for 8 hours because my kitchen was on the cool side.
Shape and final rise for Sourdough Daily Bread!
After the bulk ferment, it’s time to shape the bread! The process is the same whether you are shaping it before refrigerating or after. Tip the dough out of the bowl and form it into a rough loaf by gently pulling the edges under and tucking them into the rough side of the dough. Position the dough smooth side up on the countertop and pull it toward you with cupped hands. Tuck the ends under if needed and pull again from the back of the dough toward yourself. Gently repeat this process until the dough tightens up and the surface is stretched smooth.
Once you are satisfied with the shape of the loaf, set it into a well-buttered 8 by 4 inch loaf pan. I usually press down on the dough to level it out and help it fill the corners of the pan. It’s also fine to just set it in the pan and let it fill the corners as it rises.
Cover the dough and either set it in the refrigerator overnight or if you already chilled the dough set it aside to rise. I have a large heavy plastic bag that I seal the dough in for chilling and rising. You don’t want the dough to dry out on top. That will keep it from rising fully.
How I like to do the final rise
My favorite method is the shape it and refrigerate overnight. The next morning I set it out on the countertop to warm up and finish rising. It will take a couple hours to come to room temperature and rise before baking. What you are looking for is the dough rising to just over the top edge of the pan. Again it should be very airy and puffy. Below you can see the shaped bread covered and ready to go in the fridge overnight. Then you can see the fully risen Sourdough Daily Bread dough still in the plastic bag.
Bake your Sourdough Daily Bread!
Once the bread is fully risen, carefully uncover it or take it out of the plastic bag. Be gentle with the bread at this point, the dough can easily deflate and fall. If this does happen, just reshape the dough and put it back into the loaf pan. The bread will be fine but it will need to rise again.
Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 30 to 35 minutes. The bread should be beautifully golden brown and smell absolutely amazing! When it’s done baking, place the bread in the pan on a wire rack and let it cool completely. The cooling process is important for bread, the starches are setting and the bread will last a lot longer if it cools. I know it’s hard to do but I believe in you!
Sourdough Daily Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/2 cup active sourdough starter
- 4 tbsp honey
- 4 cups bread flour can substitute whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Stir together the water, sourdough starter, and honey in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the bread flour, salt, and butter. Stir to combine. Mix until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl. Add a tablespoon of water if needed to incorporate all the flour. Don't worry about the butter mixing in at this point. It will mix in during the stretch and folds.
- Cover the dough and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Uncover the dough and do the first stretch and fold session. With a wet hand, pull one side of the dough up as far as it will easily stretch and fold it over on itself. Repeat 2 times before turning the dough smooth side up and covering. Rest dough for 30 minutes.
- Uncover the dough and repeat the stretch and fold process followed by a 30 minute rest 2 times for a total of 3 stretch and fold sessions. Cover the dough for the main rise, or bulk ferment.
- The bulk ferment may take 2 to 6 hours. It depends on how active the starter was and the temperature of the room. A warm environment will help the dough rise faster and a cool room will take longer. When the dough is fully risen it will have doubled in size and be very airy and puffy.
- The dough can be refrigerated overnight in a covered bowl or you can shape the loaf after the bulk ferment, refrigerate, and bake the next day.
- I shape the dough before going to bed, place it in a buttered 8 by 4 inch loaf pan, wrap in a plastic bag, and chill overnight. The next day, remove the loaf pan from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. If needed, let the dough rise to just above the top of the loaf pan.
- Alternatively, remove the chilled dough from the bowl, shape into a loaf, place in a buttered loaf pan, cover with a kitchen towel and rise at room temperature until loaf if puffy and just above the top of the loaf pan.
- Once the dough is risen, bake in a 350° oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Store bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
