Milk and Oat Sourdough

My husband recently got into cheese making, he did a course at one of local cheese farms and got really inspired by all the different cheeses you can make at home - anything from fresh ricotta and halumi to strong aged cheddar and soft brie. As far as I am concerned, its a great hobby for him - I love cheese, and now I get to sample all of his different cheese experiments. 

But I've also discovered that whey - a cheese by-product - is great for baking! its a slightly sweet, slightly creamy liquid that makes a perfect base for breads, giving them slightly softer crumb and more golden crust. 

If you won't have whey, just use water in this recipe, or there are plenty of easy recipes for home made cheese if you want to try your hand at making it at home and remember to collect whey to use it in breads later.

Milk and Oat Sourdough

Pre-ferment:

150g stiff white starter (50% hydration)

100ml milk

230ml whey or water 

50g rye flour

250g white bread flour

1/4 tsp salt

Dough:

120g white bread flour

80g rolled oats

30g butter, softened

1 tsp salt

I am using a stiff starter in this recipe, at 50% hydration, meaning that for every 50g of water I add 100ml flour when I refresh it. If you are used to 100% hydration liquid starters, this one would look a bit different - it looks a bit like a ball of dough when you refresh it, but will turn into a lovely and bubbly soft dough in a couple of hours. 

Mix all preferment ingredients in a large bowl, make sure that you give it a good mix, as a stiffer starter is harder to mix in than a liquid one. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave at room temperature for 12 hours. 

My house is about 19C at the moment, adjust the time based on your room temperature.

After 12 hours you will see some bubbles, but the dough wouldn't have increased in volume that much. Leave the dough covered and put it in the fridge for another 12 hours. 

Take the dough out of the fridge, place all of pre-ferment in a standing mixer (I am using Kitchen Aid) bowl, add the rest of flour and oats. Mix on speed 1 for 6 minutes, leave to rest for 20 minutes, add salt and butter and mix on speed 2 for another 3 minutes. 

The dough will be rather sticky and look a bit lumpy - don't worry, thats what oats do to a dough, in a few hours they will absorb some of the liquid and the dough will look a lot smoother. 

If you don't have a mixer, you can mix the dough my hand, but try not to add too much extra flour, you want the dough to remain quite wet. 

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm. Do at least two, or better yet three stretch and folds over the next hour and a half. Leave to prove at room temperature for 6 - 8 hours. The dough is ready when it doubled in volume and starting to look glossy. 

Oil your worktop before pouring the dough onto it to prevent it from sticking. The dough will still be quite well, so you might want to oil your hands too to make it easier to work with. 

Shape the dough into a loaf and place it into a buttered loaf tin (2lbs), cover it loosely with clingfilm and leave to prove at room temperature for 3 - 4 hours, until it comes to the top of the tin. 

Slash the loaf and bake in a pre-heated oven at 200C (fan) for 30 minutes.

As soon as bread comes out of the oven, take it out of the tin and wrap it in a kitchen towel - leave to cool for 3 to 4 hours before cutting. 

Wrapping the bread in a towel will give it a softer crust, but if you prefer a crunchier crust, leave the loaf to cool on a rack. The bread has a lovely soft crumb and goes gentle golden colour when toasted, I had it for breakfast with lashings of butter and a drizzle of honey - delicious !