Super flakey, slightly spicy, with a touch of sweetness!
To make the hot honey:
Ingredients
Directions
Add the honey and red pepper flakes to a small saucepan, and heat over medium until gently bubbling without letting it boil. Remove from heat, stir in the apple cider vinegar, and pour into an airtight container.
You’ll have extra to drizzle on your bread, or use any other way you’d like!
To make the hot honey butter:
Ingredients
- ¼ cup / ½ stick / 56g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅛ cup / 42g hot honey
Directions
Use a stand mixer, hand mixer, or a kitchen spatula to combine the ingredients. Once combined, scoop the butter out into a log shape on a piece of parchment paper. Wrap to enclose, and place in the freezer for 2-4 hours until firm. If you leave it for longer, place the wrapped butter in a plastic bag or an airtight container.
Sourdough Hot Honey Bread Recipe
Recipe adapted from Amy Bakes Bread.
Ingredients
- 100g active sourdough starter
- 340g water
- 85g hot honey
- 10g kosher salt
- 500g bread flour
- ½ cup / 1 stick / 113g unsalted butter
Directions
Combine the water, sourdough starter, hot honey, and salt in a large bowl or container. Stir until mostly combined. Add the flour and mix thoroughly. The dough will seem dry, but it will hydrate while it rests.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid, and let it rest for 30 minutes before you start your stretches and folds.
While the dough is resting, use a box grater to grate the butter. Keep it in the refrigerator until the next step.
Start your stretch & folds:
You’ll perform a series of stretches and folds (detailed below) over the next 1 ½ hours to build dough strength and incorporate the butter.
After the dough has rested for 30 minutes, put half of your grated butter on the dough. Lightly wet your hand so it doesn’t stick to the dough, and reach down to the bottom of the bowl. Stretch the dough up and over, and place it on top of the dough. Turn your bowl 90 degrees and do the same thing until you’ve gone all the way around your dough. Cover and set aside.
Wait 30 more minutes. Add the rest of your butter and perform another round of stretches and folds.
Complete this process (without adding more butter) two more times, 30 minutes apart.
Note: It’s important to keep this dough at room temperature, between 68-72 degrees, so the butter doesn’t melt. If it gets too warm, you’ll lose the flaky croissant texture we’re looking for!
Let your dough rest:
After your last stretch and fold, cover the dough and let it rise for 6-10 hours. The time will vary depending on how active your starter was and the room temperature. It will be ready for the next step when it has risen about 70% and has visible bubbles on the surface and sides of your container.
Shape your loaf:
Pour your dough out of the container onto a floured surface. Begin shaping the dough by using your hand to pull the dough under itself while moving it in a circle, creating tension on the surface. Try to avoid degassing the dough if possible.
After it’s in a round (or loaf) shape with a somewhat smooth surface, let it rest for an additional 30 minutes.
While it’s resting, prepare your banneton (or a bowl or loaf pan) by lining it with a kitchen towel and dusting with flour. Rice flour works best here if you have it, but tapioca flour, potato starch, and corn starch are also good options. You can use regular flour but you may experience some sticking.
After 30 minutes, dust your dough with flour and gently flip it over to keep the flour on one surface of the loaf. Going around in a circle, pull the dough sideways towards you and then fold it up to the top of the round. Move 90 degrees and repeat the same process, pulling the dough sideways and then folding up to the top. As you continue this process around the dough, increase the tension as you pull. Gather the bread into a circle and place it into your lined bowl or banneton, seam side up.
Start your cold fermentation:
Cover the dough with another kitchen towel or plastic wrap. If you’re using a towel, you can also put the entire loaf inside a grocery bag to prevent drying. Place in the refrigerator for 12-18 hours.
If you want to bake the same day, you can let the dough rise for about 2-3 hours until puffed up and risen. Chill the loaf in the refrigerator for an hour or two – or stick it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to chill the butter in the dough before baking.
Bake your bread:
When you’re ready to bake, place your Dutch oven (with the lid) in the oven, and preheat to 450F. Let the Dutch oven preheat in the oven for at least 20 minutes after it reaches temperature.
When your Dutch oven is preheated, pull your loaf out of the refrigerator, place a piece of parchment paper over the top, and flip it over. Score your loaf with a sharp knife or bread lame, going about 1 inch deep across the length of the loaf.
Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven, and use the parchment paper to transfer the loaf into the pot. Place the lid back on, and put in the oven. Lower the temperature to 425F and bake for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, remove the lid and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the loaf is nicely browned and cooked through.
Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy!!
Once the loaf has mostly cooled, slice and enjoy. It’s best topped with extra hot honey butter!
Carrie Hause is the Web Design & E-commerce Specialist with Taste the Local Difference. Reach her at [email protected].