Hi there to anyone reading :), it’s been a while hasn’t it? Today is another rainy day in dear ol’ Michigan. Regardless, I’m sitting here super exited about this recipe, haha, I know I’m a true bread addict. So now that I have a sourdough starter, I’ve bern trying to create as many things as I can with it LOL. The starter grows and gets stronger as you feed it (flour + water). It’s totally my little monster hehe.
my little big monster sourdough starter hehe, look at those bubbles.
So let me tell you how this bread became my quest. One day while on my Instagram page thisafricancooks, I was looking through a search on “sourdough” because you can find all kinds of pages t0 follow if it’s interesting to you. Well nowadays I like looking at people creating sourdough bread (I know, don’t ask haha), since it’s an addiction to get a perfect loaf. I happen to stumble upon Natasa of mydailysourdoughbread on IG and found a pic of this bread that made me literally salivate. I went on her blog to find her recipe so I could make the bread the same day, but at the time after searching and searching I could not find the recipe for the life of me (grrrr). So being the instant gratification person I am, I went back on to Natasa’s IG to directly request the recipe only to find out she had yet to post it. I believe she was still testing it, much like I tend do with some of my favorite recipes that I create from scratch. I do remember her talking about using milk, starter, sugar, and flour. So there I was on a quest to make something similar.
That said, I made this recipe a few times over the last three weeks and it was an epic fail. When I started I didn’t make a leaven, I would add my sourdough starter to the flour and just mix, fold in 30 minutes times three, and place it in the fridge overnight to rise. In the morning when it came time to bake, I would pull it out of the fridge and be disappointed because it would be flat and heavy. It would never double in size like it was suppose to do. I would still bake it and the end result would taste good but would be a little too dense for my liking. After a good four attempts and making tweaks each time, it occurred to me that maybe my starter was not active enough. Back to the drawing board I referred to this sourdough recipe from www.thekitchn.com that I love. What I realized that transformed everything for me, was figuring out a way to “spark” my starter by way of a leaven (explained next), in order to get the dough to rise under room temp overnight. The whole purpose of the leaven is used to produce carbon dioxide to lift/rise dough or batter. The best way to describe the leaven I created to get the wild yeast to rise to the level I needed was simply adding flour and milk to my starter the night before.
My first recipe included adding melted butter to the dough, but I think it was better to cut out the butter as it possibly contributing to making it more dense. I read on www.reluctantgourmet.com that, “fat incorporated in bread dough will inhibit gluten formation and the resulting loaf will not rise as high as one made without fat.” Reluctant Gourmet also stated that replacing water with milk will produce a softer and sweeter end product, in case you are interested in the science behind milk over water. Another change I did was slightly sweeten the dough with honey instead of the brown sugar that I originally used. Being the I need to go to “Bread Anonymous” person I am (I admit I have a problem), I made two loafs in the last two days and both times it turned out delicious. As a trio we have been devouring it and I think I’m breaded out LOL. Needless to say, I’m so super excited to share this recipe and I hope you all enjoy it! Though there’s a some down time to let the yeast work it’s magic the end result is totally worth it. To cut out down on the downtime I have yet to make this bread without a starter. I will work it out where you can use an active dry yeast, but know that natural recipe here with natural yeast is much healthier for you than the dry yeast that’s store bought. As a quick anecdote, Michael is typically really sensitive to bread, which will cause his knees to ache really bad. However, after a eating a whole loaf to himself (he needs “Bread Anonymous” too haha) in the past 24 hours of this natural yeast versus the common fast-rising he’s had no discomfort surprisingly. So get a starter going and give it a try! 
-This African
P.S. My sourdough starter I created two months ago in March ’17, can be found at Breadtopia.com. Best of all and most rewarding, since creating the starter, I’ve shared it with five of my friends/co-workers who have been maintaining their own.
| Prep Time | 1 hour or less |
| Cook Time | 30 min |
| Passive Time | 24-28 hours |
| Servings |
loaf
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- 1/4 cup previously fed sourdough starter If you don't have a starter go to Breadtopia.com that how I made my starter, it does take about five days though sorry
- 1/4 cup 2% milk Cold; I used Fairlife milk because its lactose free
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour Bread flour should be ok, as I am partial to using King Arthur Flour it my go to it yield good breadbe
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup +2tbsp cup 2% milk Again I use Fairlife, their chocolate milk is super delish lol
- 1/4 cup honey Add more honey if you want a more sweet bread
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp melted unsalted butter To brush top of loaf pre-bake
- 1 tbsp honey To brush top of loaf post-bake
Ingredients
To make leaven or levain
To make bread
|
|
- In a small mixing bowl, mix milk, starter and flour together.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for 12-14 hrs. This will make your natural yeast very active.
- When the leaven is ready to use it will be puffy and have bubbles.
- 12 -14 hrs later, you are ready to make delicious bread. Hand mix remaining milk with the leaven. Next add honey and salt and mix. Transfer into a larger mixing bowl.
- Add the rest of the flour, and use a silicon spatula to incorporate into milk mixture. Make sure it is mixed well where there is barely any dry flour left.
- Next fold you will be hand kneading (folding) flour inward.
- Begin folding all sides inward, you will create a seem. Fold for about 3 min. Cover with plastic and let rest for 30 min.
- After 30 min. Repeat the folding in until dough ball is smoother, about 2-3 min.
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface, seem side up. Slightly fold inward. Grease your medium sized loaf pan. Cut dough evenly into 3 pieces.
- Fold each piece of dough like an envelope, long side inward first, short side inward next, and repeat with opposite sides to create mini loaf shapes or rectangles.
- Place them in loaf pan. Cover with plastic and leave in a warm place for 12-16 hrs or overnight.
- In the morning it should have doubled in size. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top with melted butter and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and immediately brush top with honey. Thank you, don't forget to comment This African
- Let cool and enjoy. Best to eat within 3 days, if you don't devour it the same day like we do (haha). Give it a try toasted as well.
- Tip: If you know me personally you can have some of my sourdough starter...just ask because I don't mind sharing!
Thankyou for this lovely recipe, my sourdough is 12 days in the making. I will soon be ready to make some sourdough bread and yours will be one of the first.
Hi,
So sorry for the late response, I appreciate you checking my site out. I love sourdough so much, Ive had mine a year now, I almost lost it, I recently realized that in the winter its better to refridgerate the starter. I love this recipe for milk and honey bread and I hope you will too. Let me know how it turns out.
Erica
I’ve had my sourdough starter for almost 7 year now and I use it weekly. Sourdough is the only bread I eat anymore due to the health benefits. I’ve made many, many recipes with it – artisan, English muffin bread, chocolate, bagels (yum!). Most sourdough breads have a chewy texture, which I love for paninis and such, but sometimes a girl want soft bread for a sandwich or just to eat with a smear of butter. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I already had a soft sourdough bread recipe, but it is much more labor-intensive and finicky as well. Your recipe is much simpler and your directions are great! I made this bread today and the final rise time for me was only about 6 hours (probably due to the intense heat here in Louisiana.) But the bread came out perfectly – so lovely with a wonderful flavor and a nice soft crumb. You are a sourdough hero! 🙂
Awwww thanks so much, I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread. Bread is one of those thing I enjoy making, this recipe came together after a couple of epic fails, but I was determined haha. Your starter is 7 years old? wow I’m impressed. I was just on vacation in california and visited the Boudin bakery, I was super excited to try their bread made from the mother dough. I enjoyed the pizza and croissants. My starter is only a little over a year old and it almost died on me once. Haha.
The Boudin bakery sounds fascinating! I once transferred my starter to a measuring cup to feed it while I cleaned my sourdough jar. I forgot that the starter in the measuring cup was my “mother starter” and used it in a recipe! When I realized what I had done, I was in a panic! (After keeping that baby alive for years, I did not want to start over, lol! ) I was able to scrape the remains out of the measuring cup – a mere teaspoon of starter! – and was able to feed and build it back up to my usual amount, thankfully. But I’ve read that it is actually common for sourdough bakeries, like those in California, to just use the jar scrapings to build their starter back up.
Wow thats amazing, I would have been in great panic myself. Thats alot of years to have it. I have given out some of my starter before, usually about 1/4 cup does the trick. I find starters facinating, and especially after I watched the gold rush documantary. Makes you feel healthier when you it it right haha, since its natural.
This was soooooo good!!!! I don’t know how to rate it, but thank you so much for sharing!
Oh thanks so much, and you are totally welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it, it’s my favorite bread. Nothing like warm bread with some honey, I’m working on my bread addiction LOL.
This bread came out so amazing!! It was my first attempt at anything sourdough related and as a person who formerly avoided anything sweet that has the word “sour” in it (with the exception of sweet and sour chicken!! Lol) – this was so refreshingly awesome!! Seriously one of the best tasting breads I’ve ever made – and this was with using starter that was probably not close to as active as yours here 🙂 I’m so impressed with this recipe and your site in general. Praise God for this beautiful and edifying gift he has given you’ I’m inspired by your creativity and dedication to your craft and each recipe. Also your food photography skills are excellent!!! Do you have any favorite cookbooks that you recommend? Also, have you ever considered milling your own flour at home? This is something I’ve been looking into now that I’m going more into the “intermediate” stage of my home baking career lol. Again, thanks so much for this truly remarkable recipe. May God continue to use and bless you!
Wow, thank you so much. Your comment is so encouraging to me, I tend to doubt myself sometimes. I’m so happy that it is turned out well, as it is one of my most favorite breads. My husband swears that his knees hurt when he eats regular yeasted bread. I’ve started my starter about 2.5 years ago and really enjoy working with it. It’s so much better for our bodies. Sadly a lot of people have no clue about naturally leaving bread. And don’t feel bad, I think we may be in the same level baking wise hahaha. Yes I considered milling my own flour at one point and quickly forgot about it lol. I eat a lot less bread than I did a year ago due to my whole30/paleo diet. I occasionally endulge. One of my fav books is Cravings by Chrissy Tiegen. She is hilarious and her book was full of yummy recipes. I believe she is coming out with a second book. I recently won a book by iheartumami that’s a blog name, she wrote a a book called Asian Paleo and I’m really enjoying that. Your comment really meant a lot to me, people like you keep me going and motivated. God bless you and yours.
Can I use whole wheat flour?
Hi, I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure it could work. Pls let me know how it turned out 😀
So sorry it took me a while but I haven’t tried it with whole wheat, let me know how it turns out l.
Hi Erica!
In this time of social isolation, I had an urge to bake bread…but no yeast was to be found, despite my searching at least 5 different stores! So…I did a bit of research and found a way to capture a wild yeast, which I have been feeding and pampering for about a week. Last night I decided it was time to make bread and I stumbled upon your recipe. So, I made the leaven and this morning I mixed up the bread. It’s on its first rise. I’m excited to taste my first loaf of naturally-leavened bread from a mother I cultivated. I just wanted to thank you for the clear instructions. I’m optimistic!
I’d love links to any other recipes you can point me to.
Yeast baking is definitely a good activity at this time, it can really calm the nerves. I have had my starter a little over 3 years, I used a recipe which involves pineapple juice and it worked really well. I’m so glad you found something on my site and I hope it all turned out well for you 🙂 stay safe and blessed.
Hi Erica,
I am very new to starter, in fact I just made my first successful sourdough last week. I love sourdough but my husband wanted a bigger loaf bread for sandwiches. Anyway, I found your article last week and I got excited that I can use my starter for a loaf bread! Before I start this, I would like to ask for the loaf pan size you use for this bread please?
Thank you.
Anne
I believe it’s an 8’5 or slightly larger, sorry for the late response.
Thank you so much for the beautiful looking recipe and photos! Is there any chance you could post your recipe in weights (oz or grams)? Thank you so much!
I’m not sure, never looked into it. I’ll try and see.
Just an FYI when you use the site tool to double the recipe it is way off with the amount of milk
Thank you, will check it out.
Hello Erica
Your bread looks really good and I’d like to try it out. My only concern is that you used cups measurements and I battle with those I prefer using the scale or percentage. However I am going to try it out converting everything to grams…wish me luck. I will come back with the feedback
One love from South Africa
Ok, let me know. Thank you good luck
Agreed would be very helpful to use weight measurements! I tried converting them and the flour amount was off for the levain so I went by feel. I think that may also be because the milk hydration is different from water? Most people making sourdough starter use weight for discarding, etc., so would appreciate it! Thank you!
Hope to be able to do that in the near future 😊
Hello from Sunny Sequim, Washington! I’ve recently taken up the sourdough challenge and have a nice starter I got from a neighbor, who claims it’s 114 years old! Haha, I know the yeast eventually conforms to one’s native flora, so I take that 114 years-old idea with a grain of salt.
I am making your bread today (started last night.) I was hoping you could comment on the “stickiness” of the dough. After mixing everything together, it was super sticky. I didn’t know if I should add more flour, so I set it to rest. After resting, it was still really hard to handle. I had more on my hands than in the bowl, I think. At that point, I added more flour and kneaded it in until the dough was more self-contained and manageable. I’ve set it for a second rest before I form the loaf since I added so much more flour. Of course, what’s done is done and I’ll know tomorrow if I screwed it up, but would like to know your thoughts on stickiness. Thank you so much!
I would add the flour while kneading till easier to handle. Also not sure how wet the sourdough starter is. I pretty used the same recipe each time. Hope it works out 😄
It turned out great! It was light and fluffy and totally delicious! Thank you for your feedback. I have a bit better luck with weighing the ingredients rather than measuring, especially since I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m new at this. My starter is normal. I made the levain the night before and it looked exactly like your photo, My finished product was not as beautiful as yours, but it was so good that we ate at least half of it right away, then ate the rest for breakfast. So good!
I made this bread today and it turned out amazing! I did have a few hiccups along the way. My dough rose way too much probably because I was letting it proof in my oven. So I had to fold it one more time to get the air out and I put it in the refrigerator overnight. Despite this it turned out absolutely divine. It smells so sweet and is absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe Erica!
Yayyy, glad it worked out in the end .
I have been coming back to this recipe for 2ish years. Love it
This looks and sounds delicious. Can’t wait to try your recipe. I’ve only been doing homemade bread one year and have yet to find the perfect sandwich loaf. This could be the one!
Yes, it one of my favorite bread recipes. I also sometimes make it with regular yeast. Hope it works out well for you.