I love sourdough bread. I love it so much, I even made a business about it and I still love it (no small feat for anyone who has ever turned a beloved pass time into a business). However, sometimes, I just want a soft, squidgy roll that is going to soak up the juices from my pulled pork that i have slapped on a roll or some soft, cloud like bread that pairs perfectly with my peanut butter and jam sandwiches.

This enriched dough is still leavened with sourdough, but by adding eggs and milk and butter, it gives the bread a more cake like consistency.

This is a recipe that uses both sourdough yeast and commercial yeast - wild for digestibility and taste, bought for lightness. You can omit the instant yeast, but be warned that you need to keep a steady eye on the temp to get a decent rise. The commercial yeast also speeds up the fermentation, taking off a good 3 hours to from start to bake. Sourdough purists, we aren’t. We just like really good bread - however it comes.

This recipe also uses a sponge technique. Its sort of like a super-charged levain - getting everything going and ready to take off in the sourdough. You can just dump everything in and hope for the best, but I always find better results with this bread with that added step.

This makes one 2lb loaf - which is the size that most larger bread tins hold. I also make rolls with this recipe and they are always delicious. I have found the trick for making softer crusted loaves is to cook them for longer at lower temperatures.

Ingredients:

Sponge:

200g recently fed starter

220g strong bread flour

7g of instant yeast

220g warm whole milk

Dough:

230g strong bread flour

3Tablespoons sugar (or less to suit taste - honey works well here as well)

60g melted butter

12g salt

1 egg yolk

Method:

Mix the ingredients for the sponge, cover and set aside for about an hour until it’s frothy and has swelled.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well - either use a machine with a dough hook or knead until it is silky and smooth.

Stretch and Fold vs Kneading
In a bread like a sandwich loaf, where you want a more neutral taste, kneading, either by hand or with a dough hook attachment speeds up the gluten development without the yeast and acid taking over and souring the bread. You can tell the gluten develops enough by doing the windowpane test. This is pretty much what it sounds like - simply take some dough and pull it apart. If you can see light through it without the gluten breaking, you are good to go.

The dough should be sticky, but not too wet. If you are using a machine it will stick to the bottom of the bowl but not the sides, so adjust the mixture accordingly - a bit more water or a bit more flour as needed.

Once you are happy with the consistency, cover the dough and let it rise until doubled (about 1.5-2h).

Punch down and reshape to go into a loaf tin. Let rise for 1-1.5 hours in a warm place. Ideally, the dough will have risen a good inch above the loaf tin, but you will also get some oven spring when you bake it as well. Bake at 180C for 35-40 minutes.

This recipe is easily doubled and makes delicious light dinner rolls as well.

Making a Kaiser Roll

Take roughly 90g of dough and roll into a length of about 12in/30cm.

Wrap it around your hand and tuck the ends in creating a knot.