Servings: 2 Loaves
I've tried to give up bread. Many times. But somehow, it always finds its way back into my life. Nothing beats a warm, slice of home-baked buttered bread. Am I right? If you gotta have your bread, like me, the healthiest way to go about it is to make homemade sourdough, and of course. If you don't have a sourdough starter, get one from a friend, and if you don't have Swiss Muesli, get it on our website. The added Swiss Muesli gives an added texture, sweet and savory taste to your bread. It's my new go to toast in the morning.
What you'll need
2 cups sourdough starter, 10 to 12 hours since last refresh (or add 1 1/2 teaspoons active-dry yeast if using older starter)
1 1/4 cups milk, whole or 2%
3 tablespoons mild honey, like wildflower or clover
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups Swiss Muesuli
3 cups all-purpose flour
Step 1
Combine the starter, milk, honey, olive oil, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl), and stir until the starter and milk are combined. Stir in the Swiss Muesli, followed by the flour and cinnamon. Continue stirring until you form a rough, shaggy dough.
Step 2
Knead the dough using a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5 minutes, until the dough comes together into a smooth ball. Alternatively, knead against the counter for 8 to 10 minutes. If the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl or the counter while you knead, add more flour a tablespoon at a time until it stops; if the dough looks very dry and the flour isn't getting absorbed, add more milk a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. The finished dough should be quite sticky, but should easily form a ball and feel springy.
Step 3
Cover the bowl and let it rise for 2 hours. You can add dough to a clean oiled bowl if you’d like, but I usually don’t. It won’t double in size but it should look puffed up.
Step 4
Remove the dough onto a floured surface and divide into 2 equally parts. Form each part in a loaf by tucking the dough into its self underneath the dough. Place dough seam side down in 2 greased loaf pans.
Step 5
Cover the loaves and place them somewhere warm and out of the way. Let the loaves rise until the domes have cleared the top of the pan about 1- 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 450 F. Warm the oven for 20-30 mins. This is also a good time to put the loaves near the warm oven if they need to finish rising a bit.
Step 6
Place the loaves in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 375F and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. When finished, the loaves should be deeply browned on the surface. The finished loaves should register 190F internally.
Serving
Cool the loaves on a cooling rack and remove from pans when they’ve cooled enough to touch. But, who can resist melted butter on a slice of warm bread just out of the oven? I always find it hard to wait long enough for the bread to cool. The bread does slice best when cooled completely for those who can wait that long.
ENJOY!
