Whey Honey Baton

Name: Whey Honey Baton
Ingredients: 1 1/8 cups quark 40%%, or Fromage fraise; 1 11/16 cups milk Fresh, 3.5%%; 1 teaspoon fresh yeast crumbled; 1 1/4 cups whey from above; 2 3/8 tablespoons honey; 4 cups flour German #550 bio, white bread flour; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened

8 ingredients

5 steps

Ingredients

1 1/8 cups quark 40%%, or Fromage fraise
1 11/16 cups milk Fresh, 3.5%%
1 teaspoon fresh yeast crumbled
1 1/4 cups whey from above
2 3/8 tablespoons honey
4 cups flour German #550 bio, white bread flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened

Directions

1

Whisk together the quark and milk in a medium bowl. Set aside in a counter at room temperature overnight. The following day, gently warm the sour milk so that curds form. Strain the sour milk for a few of hours through a sieve lined with cheese cloth set over a pot. The strained curds can either be seasoned with sugar (salt if preferred) and used as a spread, or to make a cheesecake.
2

To make a dough, whisk the yeast with whey and honey. Stir in half flour and salt to make a yeast batter. Leave the batter, covered, in a warm place for 30 minutes. Rub the butter into the remaining half flour, until it is evenly incorporated and the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3

Stir the yeast batter into the butter-flour mixture. Combine together until a soft dough forms. Cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes. Rub the work-surface with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and knead the dough for 10 seconds, ending with the dough in a smooth, round ball. Wipe the bowl clean and rub with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, return the dough to it, cover and leave for 10 minutes. Repeat the light kneading twice more, at 10-minute intervals, then leave the dough for 30 minutes until it has become soft and elastic.
4

Shape the dough into a baton (or a ball)place it smooth-side down into a flour-dusted cloth. Leave it for about 1 hour at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 210C/410F. Upturn the dough on to a flour-dusted baking tray. Make a few of slashes over the top and bake the bread in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes or until the loaf is a good brown colour. Cool on a wire rack.
5

Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. Whey is quite simple to make. Fill a bowl or wide-mouthed jar with fresh, unpasteurized milk. Cover tightly and let sit at room temperature until it curdles and separates. This may take 3-4 days. Strain through cheesecloth, catching the liquid in a bowl. This is whey-- it is a by-product of the manufacture of cheese. It will keep in the fridge for up to six months. For a quicker whey, whip Fromage frais or Quark into unpasteurized milk and leave them overnight to sour.