Sourdough Butter Bun (using the unfed levain)

Sourdough Butter Bun

   We have 'the levain (starter)' in the fridge. My mission is feeding it once a week regularly so that it can be refreshed without going too sour.
   After I feed it, always concerned about the excess which doesn't need to be fed. (Once I fed all the levain, and ended up having too much!) But it wasn't only my concern as I found this recipe from 'King Arthur Flour' where share with people great solutions about it.

Look at the soft flesh like foccacia

   This butter bun was one of them. It's like between sourdough bread (slightly tangy taste), foccacia (texture) and sweet scone (buttery), which I found out perfect as breakfast accompanied by jam with a cup of coffee! (Warm it up a bit in the oven or toaster, even better!) I'm so glad to discover a new world of 'the usage of the unfed starter', also to have a new breakfast item!!
   You can make it if you are the levain keeper, it's very easy and fun to see how sourdough turns out differently. Of course, there is nothing to mention about taste, outstanding!! :)

You will need :

(for 2 round tins x 21cm)

Unfed levain 120g
Plain flour 360g
Dry yeast 7g
Sugar 14g
Salt 5g
Egg 1ea
Lukewarm water 152g
Unsalted butter, softened 70g

(1)

(1) Ready for 1st proving

    (1) Knead all ingredients together for 5 mins with a hook of a stand mixer. (It's rather soft dough.) Transfer the dough in the greasy container, and cover to prove for an hour or till double in volume.  (Use the container like ours, it will be easy to track.)

(2) After 1st proving

(2) Roll out to 25 x 35 cm

   (2) When it becomes double, roll it out to approx. 25x35cm on the surface. (I used a oven tray covered with cling film, and oiled to prevent from being stuck.)

(3) Roll out

(3) Cut in 2.5cm

   (3) Brush generously melted butter. Start to roll into a log gently. (Start from left side slowly.) And cut in 2.5cm, you will get 12-16 of each.

(4) Place in the buttered tin

(4) After 2nd proving

   (4) Place in the butter pan. Make sure each of them should be separate in order to give room to prove. (I did 7 of them in 21cm tin) And prove for an hour again.

(4) Ready to be baked

   (5) Brush melted butter before baking. Bake at 180'C for 25 mins or until slightly golden brown colour on top. When it's hot, brush another melted butter, and sprinkle sea salt.

With a square tin

   ** Next time, I will use some filling such as chopped olives, sun dried tomatoes inside, it will go well with its foccaciaish texture.

59 Bread

59 Rye Sourdough Bread

 It was 4:30 am on Sunday, Chef Fran began to open the mother dough container to make a bread like a tourier chef! I'm pretty a morning bird, but it was too early for me, but.. yes for a nice bread.. why not! let's wake up!

Look at the holes!

 Making this rye sourdough bread is one of pleasure to experience. The lovely sour smell from each stage brought us to somewhere countryside scenery..:) This is Chef Fran's recipe which he should be proud of, just follow me carefully.

You will need :

(for 400g loaf x 2, plus you can make pizzas like us :))

mother dough (rye) 400g - (another post about mother dough is coming soon.)
strong bread flour 200g
canadian strong flour 200g
wheatgerm 100g
water 200g-250g
                                                                              salt 12g
                                                                              olive oil 12g

(1)

(2)

   (1,2) Place flours, wheatgerm, half water, mother dough in the bowl. (As for the mother dough, I will explain in next post. Basically, it takes a few days to make a sourdough bread.)
 Then start to mix with a hook at low speed for 3 mins.

(4)

(3)

   (3,4) Increase speed, and start to add water gradually, and then oil. You will see the dough starts to get together, but looks a bit sloppy.

(5)

(6)

   (5,6) Add salt and knead for 6-8 mins more until it becomes shinny and smooth.

(7)

(8)

   (7,8) Place the dough in the oiled container for 1st proving, and cover. (It's too sticky to handle, so you may need some oil in your hands.) Now let's wait the dough to be double in size. It takes approx. a few hours, depending on your room temperature. If you want, keep it in the oven with a hot water bowl.


 (*Tip) Chef Fran uses this container with lines to track the volume easily.

(9)

(10)

   (9,10) Knock back the doubled dough gently, and shape it on the flour. Now 2nd proving in the oven with a hot water bowl for 2 hours until double again.

(11)

(12)

   (11,12) Cut the middle to see the good crack after baking.
 Bake for 10 min at 250'C, then for 30 min at 180'C. Enjoy the smell from the oven, and just-baked bread! Isn't it fantastic? :)

(Pizza)

 With a same dough, he made a pizza  for lunch :)