I recommend reading the blog post before the recipe, there is some different steps here that may feel confusing, but are explained in the post. Happy Baking!

Mix the pre-ferment of sourdough starter, flour, and water up 8-24 hours before you want to bake. The longer beforehand, the more sour your end product will be. If I plan to mix the dough in the morning, I make it before bed. Cover with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and let sit on the counter.

Melt butter, honey, and salt on low in a saucepan. When it's melted and combined, turn off the heat, add your milk, and stir to combine. With a thermometer or your finger, test the temperature of the mixture. By thermometer, it should be no more than 105F. By your finger...you should be able to comfortably hold it in for 10 seconds. If it's not this warm, turn the heat back on to warm it. If I use a heavy bottom pot, there is enough residual heat to heat the milk, if I use something like a thin enamel pot, there isn't.

Add the warm liquid to your mixer (or bowl you plan to mix the dough in) and add your pre-ferment.

Stir to combine; it's not going to combine super well until you start adding flour.

Add your flour, starting on the low end, and mix the dough, adding more flour as needed just until it's combined, but not a cohesive, nice dough.

Let sit 15-30 minutes, then knead the dough.

This dough takes more kneading than most- my mixer kneads on low for 10 minutes, so if kneading by hand, you're going to knead about 10-15 minutes.

If the dough sticks to the bowl or your hands, add a little more flour, but try not to add too much. It's not a stiff dough, it's on the softer side. Try wetting your hands/counter for kneading if it's sticking and you've already added a lot more flour.

Cover your dough with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and let rise 2-3 hours until it looks like it's kind of doubled (don't overthink it, as long as it's 1.5'd its original size).

Cover your dough with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and let sit overnight. It will be gigantic and beautiful in the morning. Skip the second rise with the overnight method. see notes

Punch your dough down, give it a few kneads. Yes, you are letting it rise twice before shaping. For more on this, read the blog post above the recipe card.

Cover with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and let sit 2-3 hours until it's doubled. To test if your dough has doubled, dip your finger in flour and poke the dough. If the dough bounces back- it's got more to give and needs to keep rising. If the dough stays indented, it's given all it has to give and you can proceed.

If you're using this recipe for French Bread, Cinnamon Buns, or Normal Buns, this is where you switch over to that recipe. To use as sandwich bread, proceed as follows.

Dump your dough onto a lightly floured counter, press out with your hands to make a rectangle roughly the size of your two hands flat, side by side (roughly 6"x10"). Fold the dough like you were folding a piece of paper to go in an envelope, flip seam side down and let rest 10 minutes.

This is called a bench rest or par-shape. It helps your dough keep shape in its final shape and your loaf of bread will be taller.

After ten minutes, flip the dough seam side up, flatten out to the same size. This part is funny to describe but fold your rectangle so it's now a triangle, and then starting at the point of the triangle roll it inwards. When it's all rolled up, tuck any non-conforming parts in to make it a good size to fit in your loaf pan. Pinch the seam together, flip seam side down onto a piece of parchment paper. Pop it into your loaf pan.

Cover with a tea towel and let rise 2-3 hours, until it's doubled. If your house is like REALLY cold- 60F or lower...I suggest turning your oven on for a minute or two (put a cast iron pan in there to hold some heat!), turn oven off, then put covered loaf pan in the oven to rise.

When it's doubled and ready to bake, (don't forget to take it out of the oven!) preheat oven to 375F.

Slash the top of the dough with a sharp knife to allow for expansion.

Bake for 20 minutes, flip around and bake another 20 minutes.

After the second round of 20 minutes (40 min total) check the internal temp of your loaves- this is the most reliable way to know your bread is ready. Your bread should be 190-200F, if not put it in for another 5 minutes.

When your bread is done, take it out of the oven, leave it in the loaf pan to cool, and brush butter on the top. This can be melting and using a brush or just rubbing a stick of butter over the top. This step is technically optional but it REALLY makes a nice soft crust that stays soft.

Now the easy part...enjoy your bread! I prefer to slice it all right away. Anything you wont eat within 2-3 days pop in freezer in a bag once its cooled.