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🍞 A Sourdough Baker's Valentine's

Published 2 days agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read

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A Sourdough Baker's Valentine's

There's something to be said for giving someone a gift that didn't exist until you made it, and even better when it began with just flour, water, and a jar of bubbling starter on your counter.

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Whether it's for someone you love or just for yourself (both equally valid), a handmade bread, a twisted knot, a tender roll, or a chewy cookie carries a weight that store-bought never will. It's unhurried. It's deliberate. And honestly, it's the kind of thing you simply cannot buy.

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Below, I've gathered my favorite sweet sourdough creations, and one of them will be just right for this holiday.

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Read on!

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In this week's newsletter:

  • Recipes: chocolate-cherry bread, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate knots, cardamom rolls, sugar cookies
  • Baking Tip: What temperature should I use to autolyse my dough?
  • Links: Southern Italian treats

🍞 Dark Chocolate-Cherry Sourdough Bread

Consider yourself warned: once you've had a slice of this bread, there's no going back. Decadent and over the top, it's the bread recipe I reach for first this time of year.

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🍞 Sourdough Discard CCC's

Sourdough does something to a chocolate chip cookie that's hard to explain until you taste it. A faint tartness in the background, a chewier texture, and a depth of flavor that the classic recipe never quite hits.

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🍞 Sourdough Chocolate Knots

At a glance, you know this isn't a lazy weekend cinnamon roll; it's something more considered. The extra effort shows up in every slice: ribbons of chocolate wound through a soft, buttery, enriched dough.

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🍞 Sourdough Cardamom Rolls

The dough is impossibly softβ€”enriched and pillowyβ€”rolled in a fragrant mix of cardamom and sugar, then brushed with a lightly spiced syrup that just soaks in to make everything glisten.

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🍞 Sourdough Starter Discard Sugar Cookies

Dead simple to make, and somehow better for it.

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πŸ’¬ Member Discussion of the Week

I tend to autolyse on the countertop, which can be pretty cool here at this time of year in a stone cottage in the UK. After getting the dough to DDT at the first mix, it usually cools during autolyse. Would I be better off autolysing in the proofer box?

Yes, definitely use your proofer during autolyse. It'll help maintain a consistent dough temperature, especially in a cool kitchen. You'll have much better control over fermentation from the start.

πŸ”§ Get My Best Baking Tools

In the annual TPL membership, you'll get all our sourdough recipe archives, recorded and live sessions, baking spreadsheets, and a 100-page sourdough book with exclusive recipes.

πŸ›Ÿ 2 Ways I Can Help You Today

  • Have you seen my YouTube channel? I walk through baking many of my recipes, and there's a technique video for every step of the sourdough process.
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  • If you missed it last week, be sure to check out my starter and levain calculator if you ever need to adjust your feed ratios, flours, or hydration.

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See you all next week, have a great weekend!

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​Join me in the member's community, master sourdough, and get baker's perks.

Thank you for subscribing 🩢. Sent from Maurizio at The Perfect Loaf, 8100 Wyoming Blvd NE Ste M4, #343, Albuquerque, NM 87113.
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Maurizio Leo

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