Baking

Chicken Biscuits Recipe & Honey Mustard Sauce

There is nothing quite like crispy chicken thighs sandwiched between buttery and flaky southern biscuits. Follow this step-by-step photos for the most amazing Chicken Biscuits Recipe & Honey Mustard Sauce ever!

A good biscuit is to the South what pizza is to New York.

Like pizza, the ingredients for Southern biscuits are straightforward but can be one of the trickier foods to master. Women of my grandmother’s generation who baked these golden pillows daily could prepare biscuits with their eyes closed.

You don’t have to worry about lacking experience with biscuit-making.

I’ve got you covered with super easy to follow step-by-step photos so you can prepare this chicken biscuits recipe from scratch in under 45 minutes. Anndddddddd the recipe makes up to 8 chicken biscuits!

When you add skin-on chicken thighs and crisp them to perfection in a pan (no deep-frying required), you are taking the buttery biscuit to a whole other level!

How to make Crispy Chicken Thighs (no deep frying)

For this chicken biscuits recipe I like to start the chicken on the stove top in a saute pan, then finish in the oven. While the chicken thighs are in the oven, I start making the biscuit dough.

I’m using skin-on bone-in chicken thighs. I’ve never found boneless chicken thighs with the skins. Typically if they are boneless, the skins are removed as well. We NEED the skin for that crispy crunchy bite!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Heat two saute pans over medium heat for a few minutes so that we can fit 4 chicken thighs in each pan. We want the heat to be moderate as we don’t want to burn the skin. Pat the skin-on bone-in chicken dry with paper towels so they crisp up in the pan. Season both sides with salt and pepper. I like to keep the bones in while frying as it adds more flavor. You’ll be able to remove the bones easily once they’re cooked.
Start frying the chicken thighs in a dry pan skin-side-down first. As they cook, the fat will fill the pan, so you don’t need any oil for this process. Flip the chicken over every few minutes to evenly brown about 15 minutes. Transfer the saute pans to the oven if they are oven-safe. If your pans aren’t oven-safe, put the chicken thighs on a sheet pan and bake for about 10-15 minutes until they are cooked through. The chicken thighs should be skin-side-up in the oven.
Remove the chicken thighs from the pan on a plate with paper towels to absorb some of the excess oil.

What kind of fat do you use in Southern biscuits?

For this recipe, I’m using all butter…I know, I know. The kind of fat you use for biscuits is a controversial topic. You can use lard (which is more traditional), all shortening, or half butter and half shortening, etc etc.

For me, nothing replaces the flavor of butter.

Shortening tastes flat to me, but it does lend a flaky texture.

However, if you mix the butter into the biscuit dough properly, you’ll get that flaky texture that shortening provides, but get all that buttery flavor that only butter provides.

If you want to change up the type of fat you use in this recipe, just keep the same measurements for the fat for whatever you use.

How to make Southern Biscuits step-by-step

Cut your butter into chunks and place them in the freezer to firm back up while you start cooking the chicken.
Once the chicken is out of the oven, turn the oven up to 450 degrees.
Mix the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder, chopped fresh rosemary, and shredded Parmesan together.
With a pastry cutter or fork or your bare hands, cut in the cold butter until they are distributed into tiny chunks throughout the dough.
Mix the buttermilk and sour cream together. Pour into the dough and stir until just combined. Do not over mix!
Place the dough on a floured counter or work surface and pat to a circular shape about 1/2-inch thick. Fold the dough over onto itself 3 times to create flaky layers. Then pat back into a circular shape.
Flour a biscuit cutter or glass rim and cut the biscuits. The last 2-3 biscuits can be formed by patting the excess pieces together to cut into biscuits.
Brush the tops and sides of the biscuits with buttermilk to prevent them from drying out.
Bake in the oven at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

2-ingredient Honey Mustard Sauce

Honey and Dijon Mustard…that’s it. Mix and drizzle over the chicken and top with the biscuit.

Biscuit & Baking Recipes on Bessie Bakes

Sourdough Spelt Biscuits

Bourbon Apple Streusel Pie with Pie Crust from scratch

Bon Appetit Ya’ll,

Leslie O.

Chicken Biscuits Recipe with pickles on a cutting board

Chicken Biscuits Recipe & Honey Mustard Sauce

Make the ultimate chicken biscuits recipe from scratch with crispy chicken thighs & 2-ingredient honey mustard sauce!

Course Breakfast/Brunch

Cuisine Southern

Keyword chicken biscuit recipe, southern biscuit recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 8 people

Author Leslie Osborne

Ingredients

For the Biscuits

8 Tbsp Butter 112 grams
2 ½ cups All Purpose Flour 375 grams
1 tsp Salt 6 grams
1/4 tsp Baking Soda 1.5 grams
1 Tbsp Baking Powder 12 grams
1/3 cup Shredded Parmesan 25 grams
1 ½ tsp Chopped Fresh Rosemary 2 grams
1/4 cup Sour Cream 60 grams
1 cup Buttermilk 240 grams

For the Chicken Thighs

8 chicken thighs, bone-in skin-on
salt and pepper

For the Honey Mustard Sauce

2 TBSP Honey
2 tsp Dijon or Stone Ground Mustard whichever you prefer

Extra toppings

2-3 Pickle slices per biscuit optional

Instructions

For the Chicken Thighs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and place in 2 large skillets over medium heat. Do NOT add any oil to pan! The fat from the thighs will render in the pan. Saute skin-side down for about 15 minutes or until the skin is golden brown, flipping once.
Place skillets in the oven and cook the thighs for about 10-15 more minutes or until the thighs are cooked through. If you don't have oven-safe skillets, transfer to a sheetpan.
When the chicken thighs are cooked, remove from the oven.

For the Biscuits

Turn up the oven to 450 degrees.
While the chicken is cooking, cut the 8 Tbsp. butter into small pieces and place back in the freezer to keep cold.
Chop 1 ½ tsp fresh rosemary and grate ⅓ cup Parmesan.
Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl: 2 ½ cups flour, 1 TBSP baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1 ½ tsp. chopped fresh rosemary, and ⅓ cup Parmesan. (The rosemary and Parmesan are optional but are so so good!)
Cut the cold butter into the dough with your fingers or a fork or pastry cutter until butter is in tiny chunks. (I used a pastry cutter in the step-by-step photos)
Mix in the buttermilk and sour cream with a fork until just combined.
Flour your counter or work surface.
Dump the dough out onto your counter or work surface. Gently pat the dough into a small rectangle 1-inch thick.
Using a bench scraper or spatula, fold the dough onto itself three times. Flour underneath the dough in between each fold if needed. This will create flaky layers of dough.
Gently pat the dough into a circle a half-inch thick and cut with a well-floured biscuit cutter.
Place the biscuits onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with buttermilk on the tops and sides.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top. Keep checking after 10 minutes to prevent over baking.
While the biscuits are baking remove the chicken bones with a small serrated knife.
Mix the honey and dijon mustard together in a small bowl.
Cut the biscuits in half, top with a piece of chicken, add pickles if you like, and drizzle the honey mustard sauce over the chicken.

Baking

The Best Apple Streusel Pie & Bourbon Glaze

If you want to learn how to make a show-stopping pie, then you’ll need to make this recipe because it’s the best apple streusel pie with a bourbon glaze!! With 20 step-by-step photos and grids, you’ll be able to recreate this apple streusel pie from scratch like a PRO.

Why this Apple Streusel Pie is awesome

It has a buttery flaky pastry pie crust
A streusel topping with oats
A not-too-sweet filling to balance the sweetness of the streusel topping
Plus it comes with a luscious Bourbon glaze
And a secret ingredient (apple butter ) added to the glaze to give even more concentrated apple flavor

I can say with all honesty that this is one of the best apple desserts I have ever had!!!!

The deep caramel-y flavors of the bourbon glaze, brown sugar, and apple butter pair beautifully with the green apples and buttery crust.

If you want to impress a crowd, bookmark this recipe and serve it for Thanksgiving.

Or if you’re like me, make it on a Wednesday morning just because you are in the mood:)

How to make pie dough by hand

Our grandmothers never used anything but their bare hands (or maybe a fork) to make flaky, buttery pie crust. Below I have step-by-step photos of how to make pie crust without any equipment.

Can I use a pre-made pie crust for this recipe?

Sure thing! However, I only recommend a frozen unbaked pie crust.

The golden rules of making pie crust

Keep everything cold, the butter, the water, even the flour and the bowl you’re using
Mix the dough quickly to keep everything cold and don’t over mix the dough
Let it rest covered in the fridge to allow the gluten to relax and keep it cold before rolling it out
After rolling it out and placing in the pie pan, put it in the freezer while you’re making the glaze and slicing the apples

Making pie crust is simple yet it’s easy to screw up. A lot of the problems occur when you mix the dough or roll it out. Basically, whenever you touch it, ha!

However, I’ve created some easy hacks for rolling the dough out and flipping it over into the pie crust, see below!

Mixing the dough

Cut your butter into chunks then place them in the freezer to get nice and cold.
Add your dry ingredients into a bowl (flour, salt, sugar) and place that bowl in the fridge or freezer
Pour your water and vodka into a glass with ice and place in fridge to keep cold
You don’t have to use vodka. You can sub water with vodka if you don’t have it or want to use it.
Once your butter is cold, add it to the bowl of dry ingredients and use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients. The dough should be crumbly

Finish mixing the dough (see below)

Grab the water and ice out of the fridge
Add most of the water and mix with your hands. You can squeeze clumps of the dough to make the water absorb together
Chances are you’ll need all of the water, but there should some left because you added ice to the water which is mostly melted at this point
Dump the dough out onto your kitchen counter and press it together to form into a ball. You can wet your hands if the dough isn’t coming together
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool

Make the Bourbon Glaze

Make the glaze for the apple streusel pie while your pie crust is resting in the fridge.

Simply mix all of the ingredients for the glaze together in a small or medium saucepan. Simmer until it thickens for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Roll out your pie crust

Now this can be the tricky part. It’s the step I’ve struggled most with over the years.

If you place parchment or wax paper under your crust and cover it with either plastic wrap or parchment or wax paper, you can roll it out in between these two layers and it will stay together much easier.

It’s easy to roll out this way and even easier to place in the pie pan. Gently remove the top layer when it’s rolled out and flip the pie crust over into a buttered pie pan. Get the crust situated in the right spot and gently form the dough into the pie pan.

Once it’s in the right spot gently and slowly remove the wax paper or parchment from the dough.

You may need to trim the ends of parts of the crust to make it even all the way around. There will be overhand (which is a good thing).

Tuck the edges of the crust underneath itself to keep the edges secure. I like to leave it simple without a design because the edges inevitably tear in parts.

Poke the crust with a fork throughout to allow the crust to vent while baking. Cover the pie crust in the pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer while cutting the apples.

How to make the oat crumble

Simply melt the butter first in the microwave or on the stove in a small saucepan.

Mix the butter, flour, oats, and brown sugar together in a small bowl.

Slicing the apples for the pie

This should be the last thing you do so the apples stay fresh. Before you start peeling and slicing the apples, get a large bowl and squeeze one whole lemon in the bowl.

As soon as you slice each section of apples, toss them in the lemon to keep from browning.

Filling the pie crust

Place the sliced apples in the pie crust. Evenly drizzle half of the bourbon glaze over all of the apples. Reserve the rest of the glaze for drizzling over the pie before serving.

Use a pastry brush to evenly coat the apples on top.

Place the remaining glaze in a bowl, cover, and place in the fridge to thicken while the pie is baking.

Sprinkle the oat crumble over the apples.

The last important step

With a pastry brush, brush the edges of the pie crust with an egg wash to keep the crust from drying out in the oven and to give the crust a nice color.

Now bake at 375 degrees for 43-47 minutes or until the pie is golden brown but not too dark.

Just look at that beauty!!!!!!!

More delicious pie recipes on Bessie Bakes

Peach Crostata with spiced crumble

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust

French Beer Quiche with All Butter Crust

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Bon Appetit Ya’ll,

Leslie O.

Apple Streusel Pie sliced with vanilla ice cream

The Best Apple Streusel Pie & Bourbon Glaze

This Apple streusel pie is filled with a bourbon glaze and topped with an oat streusel crumble for added texture and sweetness. There are 20 step-by-step photos to ensure your baking success!

Course Baking

Cuisine Southern American

Keyword Apple crumble Pie recipe, Apple crumble pie topping with oats, Apple streusel pie

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 45 minutes

Resting Time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes

Servings 6 people

Author Leslie Osborne

Ingredients

For the pie crust:

2 cups All purpose flour 290 grams
8 Tbsp Butter 1 stick or 113 grams
1 Tbsp Sugar 15 grams
3 Tbsp Cold Water 42 grams
3 Tbsp Cold Vodka (optional) 30 grams, if not using replace with water
3/4 tsp Salt 4 grams
1 egg, whisked for egg washing the crust

For the Bourbon Glaze

½ lemon juiced for sauce see additional lemon below for apples
3/4 cup Brown sugar 114 grams
3 Tbsp Butter 44 grams
1/4 cup Bourbon 55 grams
2 Tbsp Apple butter 40 grams
1/4 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

For the crumble:

6 Tbsp Melted butter about 82 grams
6 Tbsp All purpose flour about 60 grams
6 Tbsp Oats about 45 grams
6 Tbsp Brown Sugar about 77 grams

For the Pie filling

5 Green apples skinned, cored, and sliced
1 lemon juiced (to keep apples from browning after slicing)

Instructions

For the Pie Crust

Cut cold butter into small chunks and place in the freezer for ten minutes. Mix the water, vodka, and some ice cubes together and place in the freezer too. If you can fit it, place your mixing bowl in the freezer too. If not, place the mixing bowl in the fridge to keep it cool.
Mix the 2 cups of flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 3/4 tsp salt until combined.
Add the cold butter with your fingers or a fork until they are broken into tiny chunks. Press the butter and dry ingredients together with your fingertips to create a sandy texture of the dough.
Add in most of the water and vodka mixture and mix your hands until the dough just starts to come together. Add in the rest of the water and mix. You should have a touch left over as your ice will have likely melted at this point.
Dump the dough onto your counter and press together with your hands into a disk. You can wet your hands if the dough is crumbling and isn't coming together.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the fridge for one hour. The dough can be made up to one month in advance and frozen, or up to three days in advance when stored in the fridge.

For the Bourbon Glaze

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add the 3 Tbsp butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp apple butter, ¼ cup bourbon, 1 tsp vanilla, and ¼ tsp baking powder. Whisk the ingredients together and allow to melt. Simmer until thickened slightly for about two minutes.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Rolling out the pie crust

Butter the pie pan all the way around.
Place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper on the counter. Take the pie dough out of the fridge or freezer and unwrap. Cover the top of the dough with the plastic wrap or use another sheet of wax paper or parchment paper.
Roll out the dough in between these two sheets to help keep the dough intact. Gently remove the top layer of plastic wrap or parchment. Flip the dough over into the pie pan and gently put it into place, making sure to flatten any pockets of air under the dough.
Gently remove the wax or parchment paper from the dough. You may need to trim the dough so that it's an even length all the way around. You want to keep some of the overhang. Tuck the edges of the dough under itself to secure it.
Puncture holes on the bottom of the shell with a fork to allow steam to escape.
Cover and place in the freezer while chopping the apples.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

For the Crumble

For the crumble, melt the remaining butter 6 Tbsp. butter. Combine the butter, flour, brown sugar, and oats together.

For the apple filling

Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl. While the dough is resting, peel, core, and slice the apples. Add the apples to the bowl and toss with the lemon juice as you go to prevent the apples from browning.
Add the apples in the inside of the pie shell.
Pour half of the glaze evenly over the apples and spread evenly with a pastry brush.
Distribute the crumble over the apples. It will not cover it completely. That is ok, we want the steam to escape.
Whisk the egg for the egg wash in a small bowl. Brush the sides of the pie dough with the egg wash.
Bake at 375 degrees for 43-47 minutes or until the crust and crumble are golden brown, but not too dark.
Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
Serve with unsweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of the remaining bourbon glaze.

Recipe Notes

Can I use a pre-made pie crust?

Absolutely! I only recommend using a frozen unbaked pie crust though.

Baking

HEALTHY DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

I…NEED…FUEL, preferably in the form of moist and luscious Healthier Double Chocolate Chip Muffins sweetened with a banana, apple sauce, and coconut sugar (or granulated sugar of your choice) and that are gluten-free too (oat flour and almond flour)!

Do you ever feel like someone lit a match and burned out all of your energy reserves for the foreseeable future? Yes, babies are wonderful like that;-).

So, for those days when you have chocolate on the brain (#alldayeveryday), I find these muffins come in reeeeeal handy because you can make them in advance and they stay moist for 2-3 days covered in a container on your counter.

What makes these chocolate chip muffins healthy?

I call them “healthy” because healthy means something different to everyone. But, they are sweetened with a banana and apple sauce to dramatically cut down on the granulated sugar. I’m a coconut sugar fan because I do actually feel a difference when I eat a baked good with this lower glycemic sugar.

Plus, they only have a 2 TBSP of oil, and are made creamy with either peanut butter, almond butter, or the nut or seed butter of your choice.

I also love the combo of oat flour four for fiber and almond flour for a lighter texture.

How to Make Healthy Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

With a hand whisk or electric hand mixer, whisk the mashed banana, coconut sugar, 2 TBSP oil, 2 TBSP peanut butter, and apple sauce together until smooth.
Whisk in the eggs, almond milk (or milk of choice), and vanilla until a little frothy.
Stir in the cocoa powder, oat flour, almond flour, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
Stir in the chocolate chips, reserving a small amount to sprinkle on top of the muffins before they are baked (it looks nice having the chocolate chips float on top of the muffins).
Oil and flour the muffin tins to keep the muffins from sticking.
Scoop all the way to the top of 6 muffin tins.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 23-25 minutes or until a butter knife or skewer is inserted and comes out clean.
~~Eat a whole batch while~~ ~~ugly crying in the shower.~~ Delicately eat one of these while having a moment of peace and quiet.

You don’t need muffin papers!

If you want to skip the muffins papers because you ran out or want to save money, simply oil the muffin tins liberally and add enough oat flour in each muffin tin by tapping and turning the pan to coat it all the away around each tin.

Your muffins will slide right out with a simple butter knife after they are baked and cooled for a few minutes.

OH MY GAWD will you look at those muffins!

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Bon Appetit Ya’ll,

Leslie O.

Healthy Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

Luscious & moist Healthy double chocolate chip muffins are sweetened with banana, apple sauce and a touch of coconut sugar, and filled with nut butter, oat flour, and almond flour for a delicious treat.

Course Breakfast or Snack, Breakfast/Brunch

Keyword Healthy banana chocolate chip muffins, healthy chocolate chip muffins, Healthy chocolate muffins

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

resting time 5 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 6 muffins

Author Bessie Bakes

Ingredients

Wet ingredients

1 banana smashed with a fork
2 TBSP oil
1/4 cup coconut sugar or granulated sugar of choice
2 TBSP peanut butter or nut or seed butter of your choice
1/4 cup apple sauce
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup oat flour you can grind it yourself in a blender, but it's a much finer texture pre-ground
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup almond milk or milk of choice
1/2 cup chocolate chips I like dark or semi-sweet

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
With a hand whisk or electric hand mixer, whisk the mashed banana, coconut sugar, 2 TBSP oil, 2 TBSP peanut butter, and apple sauce together until smooth.
Whisk in the eggs, almond milk (or milk of choice), and vanilla until a little frothy.
Stir in the cocoa powder, oat flour, almond flour, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
Stir in the chocolate chips, reserving a small amount to sprinkle on top of the muffins before they are baked (it looks nice having the chocolate chips float on top of the muffins).
Oil the muffin tins liberally and add enough oat flour in each muffin tin by tapping and turning the pan to coat it all the away around each tin.
Your muffins will slide right out with a simple butter knife after they are baked and cooled for a few minutes.
Scoop all the way to the top of 6 muffin tins.
Bake in a 350-degree oven for 23-25 minutes or until a butter knife or skewer is inserted and comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes, then use a butter knife to gently lift the muffins out of the muffin tins.

Recipe Notes

Customizing the recipe:

You can substitute the coconut sugar for regular granulated sugar, or brown sugar if you wish.

However, substituting the coconut sugar for honey or maple syrup will change the texture of the muffins, plus both honey and maple syrup have different levels of sweetness, so you can't sub cup for cup with these sweeteners.

You can swap out any nut or seed butter of your choice in place of peanut butter if you wish with no issues.

Artisan Bread

EASY SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE & SHAPING VIDEO, SHAPED 2 WAYS

Become the hero of your family and learn an Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe with step-by-step instruction, a Shaping Video that shows you two ways to shape your dough, plus how to proof and bake it too! With over 20 step-by-step photos and photo grids plus the video, you can absolutely learn to how to make sourdough bread no matter your level of baking experience.

What is a sourdough culture?

A culture (aka a mother or starter) is created from a natural fermentation process from wild yeast and wild bacteria. Wild yeast and wild bacteria are present in our air, water, and flour.

When flour and water are combined and fed more flour and water regularly, the fermentation process can begin, resulting in an active live culture that can be used to ferment bread and make it rise. Another name for sourdough bread is naturally leavened bread.

How to use a sourdough starter for sourdough bread

Instead of using dry yeast from a packet, a sourdough culture/starter will create the most incredibly delicious and nutritious bread known to man.

If you already have a sourdough starter that you feed daily (or weekly if kept in the fridge), then you are likely familiar with the process of using a sourdough starter for bread baking.

However, if you don’t have a sourdough starter already, then it’s essential that you read my post for The Lazy Baker’s Guide to Caring For a Sourdough Starter.

This sourdough bread recipe uses about 1/2 cup or 94 grams of sourdough starter.

The grid below shows the simple steps.

Feed your starter flour and water 8-12 hours before you are ready to mix this sourdough bread recipe.
Let the starter ripen. In the 2nd photo, the starter isn’t bubbly because it had just been fed.
In the 3rd and 4th photo, about 8-12 hours later, the starter is nice and bubbly which means it’s ripe and will make your bread rise properly. Scoop out 94 grams of the starter and add to your dough for mixing the sourdough bread.

Feeding your sourdough starter to keep it alive

After you have scooped out what you need for the sourdough bread recipe, take out 20 grams of starter from the sourdough pot and feed it 50 grams of water and 50 grams of flour. Throw away any remaining starter (if any), rinse the sourdough crock/pot, and place the mixture you just fed back in the sourdough pot for the next day. See the Lazy Baker’s Guide for the easy way to take care of your starter.

Purchase an active sourdough starter

The easiest way to get your hands on a small portion of a sourdough starter is to purchase an established one from a reputable company. These are my favorites:

Sourdough Bread Recipe ingredients

For the flours, I use a mixture of bread flour and all-purpose flour because these two flours are most readily available at grocery stores. Bread flour has a high percentage of protein which helps create a nice structure, but a bit of all-purpose flour (which has a slightly lower percentage of gluten proteins) helps to create a more tender crumb.

I recommend King Arthur Flour organic flours whenever possible.

Bread flour
All-purpose flour
Water
Salt
Honey
Sourdough Starter

Tools for Making Sourdough Bread

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a ton of fancy tools to make bread. Chances are, you probably have some of these items in your kitchen now. However, a digital kitchen scale is one that is a must! These are Amazon affiliate links.

Digital Kitchen Scale –> Ditch the measuring spoons and cups and weigh your ingredients instead. This is FAR more accurate and much easier than scooping and leveling several cups of flour and water. Simply place your mixing bowl on a scale and pour each ingredient in the bowl until you get the right weight. Zero or “tare” the scale each time you add a new ingredient to ensure you get the correct weight.
Metal Bench Scraper –> This tool comes in handy for scraping sticky dough off of your counter without having to heavily flour your work surface. It also assists in shaping your dough (see video for using a scraper when shaping)
Cast iron skillet –> Proof and bake your sourdough bread in a cast iron skillet to help hold the shape and create a nice crust. A cast iron skillet can be used for cooking so many things and will outlast your grandchildren if you take care of it. You can also use a dutch oven instead of a cast iron skillet, but they are more expensive. Don’t go out and buy one unless you see yourself making lots of soups and stews over the years. I linked the Lodge dutch oven because they are awesome and more affordable than ones made in France.
Bread Lame or thin serrated knife for “scoring” your dough before baking (see photos & video for instruction)
Plastic bags for covering your loaf tins or cast iron skillet while proofing the dough (see photos below).

Mixing the sourdough bread recipe

As you can see below, I have added the bread flour, all-purpose flour, sea salt (I used pink Himalayan sea salt because that’s what I had on hand).

Next add the sourdough starter, water, and honey and mix with a wooden spoon until combined.

Pour the dough onto your counter and knead with your hands for a couple of minutes. Using a metal bench scraper to scrape the sticky dough off of the counter while kneading helps this process.

Folding the Dough

A “Fold” is an easy technique for helping to create a better structure for bread without having to knead the dough and develop the gluten too much.

It’s simple: After you have kneaded the dough for a couple of minutes, stretch the left side of the dough towards the center, then the right side towards the center. Then stretch the top and bottom of the dough toward the center. Flip the dough over, cover with plastic wrap and ferment.

Fermenting the Dough

Ferment the dough for about 8-12 hours. Fermenting dough with a sourdough starter is a slower process than using dry yeast, therefore there is more flexibility when fermenting the dough.

You can start the dough at night, then shape, proof, and bake the dough the next morning. Or you can start the dough in the morning and finish it at night.

Pre-shaping sourdough bread dough

Pre-shaping is a simple method of loosely shaping the dough so that it’s easier to shape your dough. By pre-shaping, you won’t overwork the gluten and the dough will hold the final shape much easier.

You’ll pre-shape the dough and let it rest for 15-20 minutes to allow the gluten to relax before the final shaping.

For this sourdough bread recipe, I took the dough and cut it in half. One half of the dough will be shaped into a round or “boule” shape for the cast iron skillet or dutch oven. The other half will be shaped into a log or “batard” shape for a loaf tin which is great for sandwich slices.

If you are experienced and want to shape this bread free-form (without a vessel)

You can shape both pieces into 2 logs or 2 rounds if you want, it’s up to you.

It’s just that once you shape them, you’ll need to proof them in the vessel. Alternatively, you can shape them and proof them in a salad bowl lined with a clean kitchen towel or linen couche. Once they are proofed, flip the dough over onto a piece of parchment paper and bake them free-form in your oven on a clay stone.

Example:

Watch the video for visual instruction.

Shaping the dough

Now we shape our two loaves so that they can be proofed. Watch the video below for visual instruction on shaping!

Proofing the loaves

You’ll proof the round loaf in a cast iron skillet and the log shape in a loaf tin. Cover the pans with plastic bags and tie up so that no air can get in. This keeps you from having to use tons of plastic wrap.

Again, if you are experienced with shaping, you can proof the dough in a bowl lined with a linen towel or couche, so that it can be baked without a vessel.

Scoring and Baking the sourdough bread

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Remove the plastic bags from the pans and sift flour over the tops of both loaves.

With a bread lame or thin serrated knife, score the tops of the loaves to allow for the bread to expand and bloom in the oven and give a nice decorative look.

Watch the video below.

Watch the video & learn how to shape, proof, & bake this sourdough bread! ⇓

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Believe me, I know making bread seems like a process, but I PROMISE you, it’s worth it. I know you can do it.

You will feel so proud when you pull these loaves out of the oven. Please comment below if you have any questions or want to share your experience with me. I’d love to hear about it!

Bon Appetit Ya’ll,

Leslie O.

Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe with step-by-step photos

EASY SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE & SHAPING VIDEO, SHAPED 2 WAYS

Learn how to make sourdough bread with step-by-step photos and video instruction to ensure your baking success!

Course bread

Keyword easy sourdough bread recipe, sourdough bread recipe, sourdough starter

Prep Time 10 hours

Cook Time 40 minutes

Resting time 30 minutes

Total Time 10 hours 40 minutes

Author Bessie Bakes

Ingredients

880 grams Bread flour (Use a digital scale for this recipe and ditch the measuring spoons and cups)
120 grams All-purpose flour
20 grams Salt
700 grams Water room temp
94 grams Sourdough Starter about 1/2 cup
4 grams Honey

Instructions

Mixing the Dough

Mix the flours and salt together in an extra large bowl.
Add the water, honey, and sourdough starter and stir with a wooden spoon until it comes together. Start to knead it by hand until all of the ingredients form a sticky ball. It will be a mess so dump the dough onto your kitchen counter to finish kneading. A metal bench scraper comes in very handy for helping to lift the dough from the surface while kneading.
Knead for about 1-2 minutes until the dough is formed. You don't need to worry about developing the gluten, as the long fermentation will do that on its own.
Give the dough a fold by stretching the left and right side of the dough towards the center, then stretch the top and bottom of the dough towards the center. This will help strengthen the dough. Flip the dough over in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Fermenting the Dough

Let the dough ferment for about 8-12 hours. This time is flexible as sourdough bread takes longer to ferment, therefore there is a larger window that you can let the dough ferment in.

Shaping the Dough

Take the dough out of the bowl and dump onto the counter. Don't add flour to the counter to make it easier to shape.
Scrape the dough from the bowl and for two large loaves, cut the dough in half. Shape into rounds or loaf style. Watch the two-minute shaping video in this post for instructions. You can make whatever sizes you want, but two loaves work great.
Place the round or "boule" shape in a 9-inch to 12-inch wide cast iron skillet (sizes vary), or you can line a dutch oven lined with parchment paper and place the round in there. For the loaf shape, place in a loaf tin lined with parchment paper and a little oil. Put the skillet or loaf tin inside a plastic bag and tie it so that there are no air holes as long as it fits inside the bag. Watch the shaping video for visual instruction.
(If you are more experienced with shaping dough, you can bake it without a vessel.)
Ferment the dough for about 90 minutes to 2 hours, or until it's doubled in size.

Baking the Dough

Preheat oven to 450 degrees before the dough is done proofing. Sift bread flour or all-purpose flour over the top of the dough to make it easier to score the dough.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until it's golden brown and hollow when you tap the bottom the bread.
If it sounds hollow, it's done, if it sounds dense, it needs a few more minutes. You can put it back in the oven directly on the rack (without a baking vessel). Again, watch the video for instruction.
Let rest for at least 30 minutes before cutting for ease of slicing.
Once cut open, cool completely and cover in plastic wrap. It will keep for about a week on the counter or you can freeze it for much longer.
With a thin, small serrated knife or bread lame, "score" the top of the dough with a pattern or a line in the center from one side of the top of the dough to the other. See video for visual instruction.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

This recipe is actually really simple and hands-off. You simply mix the dough together for until it forms a ball, give it a fold, and let ferment on your counter for 8-12 hours.

The fermentation time is forgiving because you won't be kneading the dough much and a sourdough starter is a slower process.

You can start the dough in the morning and bake it in the evening, or start the dough in the evening and bake it the next morning.

Artisan Bread

SOURDOUGH FOCACCIA | OLIVES & ROSEMARY RECIPE & VIDEO

Gluten is delicious…especially when it creates the perfect chewy sourdough focaccia bread slathered in olive oil, olives, and fresh rosemary.

If I have derailed you from your Whole 30, Paleo, or Keto eating plan, then I’m sorry. Let this be your cheat day bread if that’s the case.

I totally respect your eating routine, as we all need to clean up our diets, but there is absolutely positively no substitute for good ‘ole bread flour (preferably organic), a sourdough starter, and long fermentation to transport you to Italy in just one bite.

This focaccia bread is deceptively easy to make, particularly because the shaping of the dough requires only a gentle stretching of the dough on a sheet pan.

Another reason for the ease of bringing this luscious focaccia bread together is that it doesn’t require a lot of kneading, by hand or by machine. Your only aim is to bring the dough together until it’s a nice sticky dough, then you let the long fermentation do the work for you.

If you want to serve this for dinner, start the dough in the morning, ferment it all day, then shape, proof, and bake it right before dinner.

Think of it like bringing together a crockpot dinner. Mix the dough in the morning, and it’s pretty much hands-off until you are ready to bake it.

And if you are still intimidated by the process, let the copious amount of photos and quick 1-minute step-by-step video show you just how easy it really is!

WHY DO YOU ADD DRY YEAST TO SOURDOUGH FOCACCIA BREAD?

A lot of the artisan bread recipes here on Bessie Bakes use a sourdough starter exclusively to ferment the bread. However, there are some occasions when using a bit of dry yeast and a sourdough culture together is a great idea.

Because a sourdough culture/starter doesn’t deliver quite the rise to breads as well as dry yeast does, the only way to make sure you get a nice oven spring is to either add a larger amount of sourdough culture to your dough, or add some dry yeast to ensure you get the just the right texture on the interior of the bread.

I wanted the sourdough flavor to be a gentle accent in the background of the focaccia bread, and adding enough starter to make it rise sufficiently would have resulted in a too-sour sourdough focaccia, which I didn’t want.

WHAT KIND OF DRY YEAST DO YOU USE FOR ARTISAN BREAD

Professional bakers use Instant Dry Yeast, which means it can be used “instantly”, in that it doesn’t need to be “proofed” in warm liquid first.

In the grocery store, this same kind of yeast is labeled Rapid Rise Yeast. You can add this type of yeast directly to the dough with the rest of the ingredients as you’ll see in the video below.

Active Dry Yeast needs to be “activated” with warm liquid, so it’s an extra step. If this is the only yeast you have at home or can find at the grocery store, then, by all means, use it. Just “proof” the yeast in some warm water first until it’s nice and bubbly before you add it to the dough.

SOURDOUGH OLIVE FOCACCIA BREAD VIDEO (1 MINUTE)

LET’S BAKE!

The dough only needs to be kneaded in a stand mixer (with a bread hook) or by hand until the dough is nice and sticky.

Once the dough is ready, place it on a work surface and do a “fold” in order to help strengthen the dough.

Stretch the left side of the dough toward the center, then the right side toward the center, then the top of the dough toward the center, then the bottom toward the center, then flip over and place back in the mixing bowl that has been oiled first.

Watch the video for a visual tutorial of how to do a fold.

Below is what the dough will look like after it has fermented for 6-8 hours. It will have doubled in size and be nice and puffy.

SHAPING & PROOFING FOCACCIA BREAD

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on an oiled parchment-lined sheet pan. Gently stretch the dough to the shape of the pan. Cover, and let proof in a warm area for about 90 minutes.

You can proof the dough on top of your oven with the oven turned on to about 350 degrees, obviously with the burners turned off. This will create a nice warm space for your dough.

Once the dough is proofed, it will be nice and puffy, but will not double in size as you can see below.

Spread olive oil over the surface of the dough with your hands and put gentle indentions with your fingers into the top of the dough.

Sprinkle green or black olives and fresh chopped rosemary on top then bake that baby up!

More Sourdough Bread Recipes from Bessie Bakes

Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe with shaping, proofing, and baking video

The Lazy Baker’s Guide to Caring For a Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Honey Spelt Bread

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Bon Appetit Ya’ll,

Leslie O.

Sourdough Focaccia Bread with loive oil, olives, and rosemary

Sourdough Focaccia Bread | Olives & Rosemary

Perfectly chewy and slathered in olive oil, this easy sourdough olive focaccia bread transports you to Italy in one bite!!

Course Artisan Flatbread, bread

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 8 hours 50 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 9 hours 15 minutes

Servings 8 people

Author Bessie Bakes

Ingredients

5 cups Bread flour 800 grams
1 1/3 cups plus 1 Tbsp All purpose flour 220 grams
3 tsp. Salt 19 grams
1/2 cup Ripe Sourdough Starter 130 grams
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil, plus more for greasing the top of the dough and the mixing bowl 68 grams in the dough when mixing
1/2 tsp Dry Instant Yeast or Rapid Rise Yeast (doesn't need to be activated in warm water, see notes below) 2 grams
2 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. room temperature Water, may need up to 1/4 cup more if it's dry
1 cup Green or Black Olives, sliced about 110 grams
2 Tbsp (approx) Fresh Rosemary Chopped

Instructions

Mixing and Fermenting the Dough

Add the bread flour, all purpose flour, salt, dry yeast, ripe sourdough starter, olive oil, and water to a stand mixer bowl with the bread dough attachment hook or a large mixing bowl. With the mixer on the first speed, mix the ingredients until it forms a sticky dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. You may need to add up to 1/4 cup water (with the mixer turned on) if the dough is dry and isn't too sticky. This is common in the winter as flour tends to absorb more liquid when it's cold outside, making the dough drier. If mixing by hand, mix all the ingredients with a wooden spoon until they start to come together, then place on a work surface (no need to flour), and knead until the dough comes together in a sticky ball. Add a touch of extra water and knead until combined if the dough is dry. Use a bench scraper to scrape up the excess dough and knead it back into the ball of dough.
Give the dough a fold (watch the video for how to do that) and flip over. Wipe the mixing bowl and grease with olive oil and place the dough back in it. Cover with parchment paper and place in a warm spot in your kitchen to ferment for 6-8 hours. The timing doesn't have to be exact. The longer you ferment it, the more flavor develops. You just want it to have doubled in size and be nice and puffy.

Shaping the Dough

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and grease with olive oil. Place the dough on the sheet pan and gently stretch with your fingers to the size of the sheet pan, being careful not to tear the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and proof for about 90 minutes, or until the top is nice and puffy. It WON'T double in size, but will be soft on the surface and will spring back a bit when it's ready. You can proof the dough on top of the oven (burners off!) with the oven turned on to 350 degrees to create a warm space for it to proof.

Baking the Dough

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When it's proofed, remove the plastic wrap and drizzle olive oil on the surface and coat the top evenly with olive oil spreading gently with your hands. Gently make indentions with your fingers on the top of the dough. Sprinkle with chopped fresh rosemary and additional sea salt (salt is optional).
Bake for 22-27 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let cool a bit and slice the focaccia with a serrated knife and serve warm with more olive oil. YUM!

Recipe Notes

Because we are using a ripe sourdough starter in this recipe, we only need a small amount of dry yeast to help give it a nice rise in the oven without making the focaccia too sour tasting.

Rapid Rise Yeast or Dry Instant Yeast can be added with the dry ingredients and don't need to be "proofed" first with warm water.

If you can't find these types of yeast at the store, then use Active Dry Yeast. "Proof" the yeast in some warm water according to package directions. Add the water and proofed yeast to the rest of the ingredients and mix the dough.

Baking

Thanksgiving Cooking Timeline | Recipes & Prep

The stress of hosting a Thanksgiving dinner is enough to give you holiday PTSD. But today I’m we’re talking about how to host an epic Thanksgiving dinner with tons of recipes (many which can be made in advance), a prep list, and Thanksgiving cooking timeline. And YES…you can even make your mashed potatoes up to four hours in advance!

MY #1 TIP TO A STRESS-FREE THANKSGIVING MEAL

If you aren’t able to bake desserts in advance, then let someone else bring desserts. There is no need to stress yourself out over making a pie from scratch on the day of your gathering. Instead, bake everything you can in advance so that the oven is free to bake the most important dish of all, THE TURKEY!

Ok….Ready, set, shop/prep/bake/cook.

When you click the box above, a black screen with the document should appear. In the upper right-hand corner, there will be an arrow pointing downward. Click the arrow to download it to your computer, then drag to your desktop, and print!

THE MENU

APPETIZERS

Warm Apple Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Make the vinaigrette up to two days in advance, toast the almonds up to one day in advance

ROLLS

Sourdough Garlic Rosemary Rolls

You can make these up to one month in advance, let cool, wrap really well and freeze. Thaw on the morning of, brush with more butter and garlic, then reheat while the turkey is resting.

P.S. You can substitute whole wheat flour for spelt flour in this recipe. There are three recipes attached to this post.

MAIN DISHES

Epic Duck Fat Roasted Turkey

Read the full post for the 5 Secrets to an Epic Turkey! Buy your turkey ASAP (and freeze), whenever they are available. Allow for at least two-three full days of thawing, plus one day for brining.

How to Keep Mashed Potatoes Warm (for up to 4 hours)!

There is a recipe attached to the mashed potato post, but you can also make the Creme Fraiche Mashed Potatoes and keep them warm for 4 hours (they’re my absolute favorite)!

Southern Cornbread Stuffing (it just happens to be Gluten Free)

Make the cornbread in advance, wrap well and freeze, thaw and let dry out. Then make stuffing. You can par-bake the stuffing, let cool, then wrap really well and freeze. Thaw, then add some turkey drippings on top to moisten, and pop back in the oven while the turkey is resting to finish baking!

Easy 15-Minute Cranberry Clementine Sauce

Once you make your own cranberry sauce, you will never go back to the canned crap! Make it up to three days in advance, cover and refrigerate.

Pies and Tarts

Perfect Pie Crust

Make all of your pie crusts in advance (this recipe makes two). Form into disks, refrigerate, then roll out between two sheets of plastic wrap. Place on a plate to keep flat, then freeze for up to one month (making sure it’s wrapped really well in plastic wrap).

Bourbon Apple Streusel Pie

If an apple pie and an apple crisp had a baby it would be this apple streusal pie with a bourbon sauce! The bourbon sauce flavors the apples while the the streusel topping adds texture. I have 20 step-by-step photos for how to make the pie crust and pie from scratch so you can easily replicate this utterly delicious pie.

Peach Crostata with Spiced Crumble

Use the perfect pie crust recipe above, and make a crostata instead of a pie. WHY? Because it’s SO easy to shape. It folds over the filling and looks so pretty in a cast iron skillet.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust

There are step-by-step photos and a video for this one! Make this pie up to two days in advance. Keep covered in the fridge until serving. Tastes great cold!

When you click the box above, a black screen with the document should appear. In the upper right-hand corner, there will be an arrow pointing downward. Click the arrow to download it to your computer, then drag to your desktop, and print!

Here’s to the most EPIC Thanksgiving dinner ever!