Honey Oatmeal Sourdough Sandwich Loaf
1768kcal
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter Levain (Night Before)
- 7 g Sourdough starter
- 35 g Water
- 35 g Bread flour
Oatmeal Soaker (Night Before)
- 50 g Rolled oats
- 200 g Boiling water
Enriched Sandwich Dough (Day 2)
- 300 g Bread flour (100%)
- 55 g Water
- 30 g Honey (10%)
- 30 g Unsalted butter softened (10%)
- 60 g Active levain (20% – from the stage above)
- 6 g Salt (2%)
- 0.5 g Instant dry yeast optional, to reduce sourness
- 250 g All of the prepared Oatmeal Soaker total
Equipment
- Stand Mixer fitted with dough hook attachment
- 9x5 Inch Loaf Pan or 8.5×4.5 inch pan
Method
1. Night Before: Build Levain & Soaker
- 10:00 PM (Levain): Whisk 7 g starter into 35 g water, then add 35 g bread flour. Cover loosely and let ferment at room temperature 74–78°F (23–26°C) for 8–10 hours until peak volume (triples in size).
- 10:00 PM (Soaker): Pour 200 g boiling water over 50 g rolled oats in a heatproof bowl. Cover tightly and let soak overnight at room temperature.
2. Day 2: Autolyse & High-Fat Kneading
- 8:00 AM (Autolyse): In your stand mixer bowl, combine 55 g water, 300 g bread flour, 30 g honey, 60 g active levain, and all of the cooled oatmeal soaker. Mix into a shaggy mass, cover, and rest for 1 hour.
- 9:00 AM (Mix & Salt): Mix on low speed (or KitchenAid speed 3) for 3–4 minutes until integrated. Add 6 g salt (and optional 0.5 g instant yeast) and mix for 2 more minutes until dough comes together.
- Butter Integration: Add 30 g softened butter and mix for 10 minutes until dough becomes smooth, highly elastic, and passes the windowpane test.
- Cover bowl and proof for 3–4 hours at 76–80°F (24–28°C), performing 2 stretch-and-folds during the first 2 hours until slightly puffy.
- 1:00 PM (Cold Retard): Transfer covered dough to the refrigerator for cold fermentation until next morning (or at least 10–14 hours).
3. Day 3: Shaping & Baking
- Remove cold dough from fridge onto a floured surface. Roll into a long rectangle using a rolling pin, fold sides inward to match your loaf pan's width, and roll up tightly into a compact log.
- Line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and place dough seam-side down inside.
- Cover loosely and proof for 5–6 hours at 76–80°F (24–28°C) until dough doubles in size and crests over the pan rim.
- Sprinkle top lightly with flour or extra oats, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C), and bake for 35–40 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Nutrition
Calories1768kcalCarbohydrates315gProtein49gFat33gSaturated Fat17gPolyunsaturated Fat4gMonounsaturated Fat8gTrans Fat1gCholesterol65mgSodium2355mgPotassium544mgFiber14gSugar26gVitamin A756IUVitamin C0.1mgCalcium96mgIron5mg
Notes
- **The Softness Magic of Gelatinized Porridge:** Pre-cooking or scalding oats with boiling water creates a starch gel that locks water molecules deep inside the dough. This process slows down starch retrogradation (the primary cause of bread going stale), allowing the baked sandwich slices to maintain an exceptionally moist, flexible, and tender texture for 4-5 days naturally.
- **Why Cold Retard is Required for Porridge Doughs:** Mixing cooked oatmeal into bread flour introduces an immense amount of sticky, heavy moisture that can weaken dough stability. Forcing the dough into a cold fermentation step in the refrigerator firms up both the hydrated oat particles and the butter solids, making the dough highly cooperative and easy to roll into a taut sandwich shape without tearing the outer skin.
- **Troubleshooting Porridge Absorption:** Different brands of rolled oats can absorb boiling water at slightly varying rates. If your overnight oatmeal porridge still has free liquid pooling in the bottom of the bowl the next morning, drain the excess moisture off cleanly before adding the oats to your stand mixer to prevent accidentally raising the dough's baseline hydration and making it overly wet.