Fifteen percent honey is about the limit before a sourdough stops fermenting properly. Honey is hygroscopic, mildly antibacterial, and mostly sugar, and at 20% the dough slows down enough that a same-day schedule stops working. At 15% you get a soft, amber-tinted sandwich loaf that tastes sweet without being cake.
Honey in, but not at the start
The honey goes in after the autolyse, dissolved in 20 g of warm water, along with the salt and the starter. Adding it at the very beginning slows the starter's first hours, and the dough takes an extra 40 minutes to get going. Dissolving it first matters: undissolved honey sits in pockets and produces uneven fermentation.
| Ingredient | Weight | Baker's % |
|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | 275 g | 55% |
| Whole wheat | 175 g | 35% |
| Rye | 50 g | 10% |
| Water | 370 g | 74% |
| Honey | 75 g | 15% |
| Starter 1:5:5, 7 h at 25 °C | 110 g | 22% |
| Salt | 9.5 g | 1.9% |
Rye for structure, whole wheat for flavour
The 10% rye is not a flavour choice — it is what keeps a sweet, soft dough from collapsing in the tin. Rye's pentosans hold water and give the crumb a resilience that neither bread flour nor whole wheat provides at this hydration. Without it the loaf is soft on day one and mushy on day three.
One cut, a honey wash and a moderate bake
One centre line, 3 mm deep — this is a pan loaf and it does not need a decorative score. The top is brushed with honey thinned with warm water before baking, which gives the crust a lacquered amber finish. 215 °C, 12 minutes of steam, 40 minutes total. Steam here is short because the honey already slows crust formation.
- Crumb rating 3/5: soft, amber tint, holds peanut butter without tearing.
- Keeps four days in a sealed bag; the honey keeps it from drying.
- Excellent toasted, where the rye and the honey both come forward.
Honey that has crystallised is fine — warm the jar in water until it pours. Do not microwave it, because honey that has been boiled loses the aromatics that make this loaf worth baking.
Sources / 参考来源
Published reference works consulted for this log: