Recently a customer dropped by the Store at the Bakery with a request for a loaf of our REAL™ Sourdough Bread. While there, they asked for if we could bake a loaf with dill flavoring.
That just got our recipe guy excited, so he went to work on a recipe. And while we may not be baking this at the bakery any time soon, you can use this recipe below to make your own.
Cottage Cheese, Onion, and Dill Sourdough Bread
This is a delicious and slightly savory bread that is perfect for a sandwich or a snack. The cottage cheese adds a moist and slightly tangy flavor, while the dill provides a fresh and herbaceous note. The sourdough starter gives the bread a slightly tangy flavor that is balanced by the natural sweetness of the cottage cheese, making for the perfect savory loaf.
Here is our recipe for this subtly flavored sourdough bread:
🕐 Prep Time: 90-120 minutes
🕒 Ferment Time: 8-12 hours
🕙 Cook Time: 45–50 minutes
🍴Yield: Two 2 lb loaves
Ingredients:
- 3 cups active sourdough starter or a sourdough levain
- read: What is a Levain And How is it Different From a Starter? by Maurizio Leo at The Perfect Loaf
- 7 cups REAL™ Flour (read this to make the best flour choices)
- 1 cup [240 g] REAL™ Water
- I cup [237g] milk
- 1 cup [162g] cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup [85g] honey
- 2 Tbsp [34g] REAL™ Salt
- 1/4 cup [57g] butter
- 1/4 cup [13g] fresh, minced or toasted onion
- 1/2 cup [4.5g] fresh, dill weed (if using dried dill weed, use 8 tsp [8g])
Instructions:
- Sauté the onion in the butter until caramelized. Even better toast dried onion flakes at 350°F [77°C] for 5-10 minutes until caramel brown. This gives the most intense onion flavor.
- In an upright mixer bowl, combine half the water, sourdough starter, cottage cheese, honey, onion and butter (or toasted onion) and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour to the wet ingredients and mix the dough until it comes together in a shaggy mass. Let this rest 30 minutes.
- Then in your upright mixer add the salt and pour over the remaining water to help dissolve the salt. Poke your fingers into the dough so that the salt is well distributed.
- Then mix the dough until is is smooth and gathers around the dough hook (or or place dough out onto a lightly floured surface and slap and fold knead for 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic).
- During the next hour and a half, strengthen the dough with 3 sets of stretch and folds every 30 minutes.
- Then place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with a moist towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for 8-12 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F[230°C].
- Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a boule or bâtard and place it in a greased loaf pan or parchment lined Dutch oven.
- Cover the loaves with moist towel or plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place for 30-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Bake the loaves for 20-25 minutes with steam (or in a Dutch oven with the lid on).
- Then vent the steam (or remove the lid) and bake an additional 20–25 minutes until golden brown and until you get an internal temperature of 200–205°F [95°C]
- Let the loaves cool on a wire rack at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.
This bread is best enjoyed fresh, but it can also be stored split and then placed face down on a cutting board at room temperature for up to 3 days. It is a good sandwich loaf, but we like it in thin slices with Cream Havarti Cheese with Dill Fresh.
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Here are some tips for making Cottage Cheese, Onion, and Dill sourdough bread:
- Use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients for the most accurate results.
- Don't overwork the dough when you're kneading it, which may make the bread tough.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place. The ideal temperature for proofing dough is 75-80° F [25°C].
- Don't over bake the bread. The internal temperature of the bread should be 200–205°F [95°C] when it's done.
We hope you enjoy this recipe! And if you do, tell us about it in the comment section below.