Feed Your Starter: You’ll want to feed your starter about 8-12 hours before you plan to mix all of the ingredients together. Since this recipe calls for 120g of active, bubbly starter, it makes sense to feed at least 90 grams of water and 90g of flour the night before if you’re planning to mix the following morning. You’ll remove 120g the next day for this recipe, and you should have just enough on hand to refeed to maintain your starter. 

Soften Butter: Either soften butter the night before or 2-3 before mixing by leaving it on your counter. You can also warm your butter in the oven for a couple of minutes until soft but not melty. 

Mix and Initial Stretch & Fold Set: Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix with your hands for a few minutes until all ingredients are incorporated. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, and then perfect stretch and folds for 1 minute or until the dough feels smooth and it becomes difficult to stretch out. If using a dough mixer, you can mix the dough on low for 2 minutes.

Bulk Fermentation: Bulk fermentation is simply the process of letting your dough ferment at room temperature until it doubles in size. It usually takes about 7-8 hours depending on the temperature of your home and the strength of your starter. For this step, you’re going to perform 3-5 sets of stretch and folds every 1hr throughout the duration of the bulk fermentation. You do not need to be perfect with timing when it comes to stretch and folds! It's most important to get a couple of sets in during the beginning of the bulk. I don’t bother timing stretch and folds anymore just aim for at least 4 sets of stretch and folds.

Overnight Rise: Now it’s time to lay your dough baby to rest and pop her in the fridge. First, you’ll need to cover it to prevent the exterior of the dough from drying out. I use these elastic dough covers. After you’ve covered the dough, place it in the fridge to ferment for 12 - 24 hours. 

Shape: Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into balls and arrange them in a 9x5 bread pan. 

Final Rise: Let the dough ferment covered on the counter until it doubles in size again (5-6 hours).

Preheat Oven + Egg Wash: Now, preheat the oven to 350F and brush the top of the bread with egg wash.

Bake: Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown on top or the internal temperature reaches 205f.

Cool and Enjoy: Allow the bread to fully cool (at least one hour) before slicing into it. Or, don’t wait and cut in to after 15 minutes.