dad's sourdough bread

How To Make dad's sourdough bread

• 
  Step 1
  Whisk milk, starter, and honey until well combined. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
• 
  Step 2
  Stir in 1 cup of the flour at a time into the mixture. Let rest for 15 minutes between additions. With the 4th cup of flour, include the salt and butter. Add the last cup, a couple of tablespoons at a time. You want the dough to be slightly sticky and pull easily from the surface of the bowl. It shouldn’t puddle at the bottom of the bowl. Knead for 10-15 minutes with a heavy duty stand mixer.
• 
  Step 3
  Roll the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl. Cover with a loose lid or plastic wrap, and let rest for 4 to 8 hours or until almost doubled. This step depends heavily on the quality of your starter and the temperature in your house.
• Step 4
  Place the dough on a very clean countertop. Carefully divide the dough into 1/2 for 2 average-size loaves or 2/3 and 1/3 for 1 large loaf and 6 buns. Shape the loaf(s) and place them into a lightly oiled standard bread pan. If making buns, with the remaining 1/3 of the dough, form 6 buns and place them into a small, lightly oiled pan. Loosely cover the pans with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled. Alternatively, place the pans into the refrigerator overnight or for 12 hours (the longer it sits in the refrigerator, the more sour the taste and easier it is to digest for those with grain sensitivity. Next morning, remove from refrigerator and allow to rise until doubled.
• Step 5
  Move the oven rack to the low setting and preheat to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Keep a close eye on it; if it's getting too brown, lay a sheet of foil on top. The bread is done when it reaches 195 degrees internal temperature. (I use an instant-read probe thermometer.)
• Step 6
  Remove from oven and pans, place loaves on a cooling rack with a clean tea towel over them. Cool completely before slicing. Good luck with that last instruction. Mine are rarely completely cool before someone just has to have that first warm slice!
• Step 7
  Store on the counter in a sealed bag for a few days or freeze.
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