Baking Sourdough Bread for a Large Family

Baking Sourdough Bread for a week for my family of 7 - today I'm making 3 sandwich loaves (pan de mie - a new recipe!), 24 burger buns, and an artisan loaf. This should be plenty for the week. If I have extra, I'll freeze it. And if I need more, I'll make more. This is just a good starting place!

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Sourdough Pain De Mie:

2/3 C milk
1/3 C water
1 C starter
2 eggs
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C butter
1 T salt
4-4.5 C flour

Mix all ingredients except flour in a large mixing bowl, add flour slowly until the dough is sticky but workable. Knead until smooth but still sticky, this should not be a firm dough. If you've already added the amount of flour called for and it's too sticky to work, just cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes then try again rather than adding more flour. Once the dough is kneaded for 5+ minutes and smooth, place in a large bowl or baking bucket, cover, and bulk ferment (rise) for 8 hours or until doubled. Shape the dough by rolling it out in a rectangle like you would for cinnamon rolls, then log roll the dough and seal it. Place in Pullman pan, cover with the lid and begin the final rise. When the dough is about 1/2 inch from the lid, preheat oven to 375F. Bake for 35 minutes with the lid ON. Remove from the oven and pull the lid back so the bread can begin cooling. The internal temp should be around 170-180F. Turn it out on a cooling rack after 30 minutes and allow to cool completely before slicing. This bread freezes really well. Otherwise, it lasts about a week on the counter.

With Cinnamon Raisin Swirl

1/2 C sugar
1-2 T cinnamon
1/2 C raisins
1 egg for egg wash

Use the Pain De Mie recipe above and follow all the steps until you get to the shaping. Once the dough is rolled out, brush with the egg wash. Then sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Top with raisins and begin log rolling. Keep the dough very tight as you roll to prevent air pockets and brush the top with egg wash every time you roll, this really does help prevent those big air pockets you tend to get with swirl breads. Seal the loaf and place seal side down in Pullman pan. Cover with the lid and proceed with the steps listed above for the standard loaf for rising and baking. This makes great French toast and French toast casserole!

Sourdough Japanese Milk Buns

Tangzhong (starter)
1/3 C milk
1/3 C water
1/3 C flour

gently heat and whisk on the stove until the Tangzhong begins to thicken, don't overheat or it will be gummy. Set aside to cool, you don't want to add hot Tangzhong to sourdough, it will kill the yeast so make sure it cools to at least 110F

Make the dough

1/4 C water
1/4 C milk
1 C starter
2 eggs
1/2 C softened butter
1/4 C sugar
1 T salt
4-4.5 C flour

Mix all ingredients aside from flour, then add in Tangzhong and 3.5 cups flour, continue mixing and slowly adding flour until the dough is sticky but workable. This dough should be very sticky. If it's too sticky to work after adding all the flour, just cover it and rest for 30 minutes then try again - time is your friend because the flour absorbs and dough becomes more workable. Knead for 5+ minutes until you have a smooth but very sticky ball of dough. Bulk ferment for 6-8 hours or until doubled. Then shape into 24 buns that should be about 100g each. Allow buns to rise on a greased or lined baking sheet until doubled. Brush with an egg wash and bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Cool and serve or freeze for later use.

Sourdough Artisan Loaf:    • Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe