Sourdough Croissant Bread with Grated SCS Butter

Ingredients

Levain

• 6 g active sourdough starter

• 57 g water

• 57 g bread flour

Dough

• 120 g ripe levain

• 340 g water

• 500 g bread flour

• 10 g salt

• 113 g unsalted SCS butter, very cold

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Method

1. Prepare the Levain

Mix:

• 6 g active sourdough starter

• 57 g water

• 57 g bread flour

Cover loosely and leave at 25–27°C for 10–12 hours, or until bubbly, expanded and active.

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2. Mix the Dough

Combine:

• 120 g ripe levain

• 340 g water

• 500 g bread flour

• 10 g salt

Mix until all the flour is incorporated.

Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

Aim to keep the dough around 21–22°C.

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3. Stretch and Fold #1

Perform one set of stretch and folds:

1. Stretch one side of the dough upward.

2. Fold it over the centre.

3. Rotate the bowl.

4. Repeat approximately 4 times.

Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

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4. Prepare the Butter

Take 113 g very cold SCS butter.

For a warm kitchen, place the butter in the freezer for 20–30 minutes before grating.

Grate the butter using the large holes of a box grater.

Divide into two portions of approximately 56–57 g each.

Keep the second portion refrigerated until needed.

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5. Stretch and Fold #2 + Butter

Scatter approximately 56–57 g grated cold butter over the dough.

Perform one complete set of stretch and folds, gently incorporating the butter into the dough.

Do not knead the butter in.

Small pieces of butter should remain visible.

Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

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6. Stretch and Fold #3 + Butter

Add the remaining 56–57 g grated cold butter.

Perform another complete set of stretch and folds.

Gently incorporate the butter throughout the dough.

Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

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7. Stretch and Fold #4

Perform one final set of stretch and folds.

The dough should now feel smoother, stronger and more elastic.

Cover.

Start with cold dough rather than warm dough. After the final fold, if your dough is already around 23–24°C, give it 15–20 minutes in the chiller before beginning the main bulk. That gives you more breathing room.

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8. Bulk Fermentation

Leave the dough at room temperature if the dough temperature is around 21–23°C. In a warm Singapore kitchen, monitor the dough temperature rather than the room temperature. If the dough reaches 24°C or above, refrigerate for 15–30 minutes to cool it, then continue bulk fermentation. Continue until the dough has risen approximately 70%.

Look for:

• Increased volume

• Bubbles

• A soft, airy appearance

• A slightly jiggly dough

Do not allow the dough temperature to rise above approximately 24°C.

If the dough becomes too warm, refrigerate it briefly to bring the temperature down.

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9. Pre-Shape

Gently turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.

Shape loosely into a round.

Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

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10. Final Shape

Shape the dough into a tight boule or bâtard.

Place seam-side up into a well-floured banneton or lined bowl.

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11. Cold Fermentation

Cover and refrigerate for 8–12 hours.

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12. Preheat the Oven

Place a Dutch oven inside the oven.

Preheat to 245°C for 30–45 minutes.

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13. Score

Remove the dough from the refrigerator.

Turn it onto baking paper.

Score the surface with a sharp lame or razor.

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14. Bake

Place the dough into the preheated Dutch oven.

Cover and bake at:

245°C for 20 minutes

Remove the lid.

Reduce the temperature to:

230°C

Bake uncovered for another 20–25 minutes, until deeply golden brown.

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15. Cool

Remove the loaf from the Dutch oven and place on a wire rack.

Cool completely for approximately 2 hours before slicing.

Temperature & Timing Summary

Stage	Temperature	Time
Levain	25–27°C	10–12 hours
Dough rest	21–22°C	30 minutes
Stretch & Fold #1	21–22°C	Rest 30 minutes
Stretch & Fold #2 + butter	21–22°C	Rest 30 minutes
Stretch & Fold #3 + butter	21–22°C	Rest 30 minutes
Stretch & Fold #4	21–22°C	—
Bulk fermentation	21–22°C	Until ~70% rise
Pre-shape rest	Room temperature	30 minutes
Cold fermentation	Refrigerator	8–12 hours
Preheat	245°C	30–45 minutes
Bake, covered	245°C	20 minutes
Bake, uncovered	230°C	20–25 minutes
Cooling	Room temperature	~2 hours

Easy Same-Day Sourdough Discard Focaccia

This recipe is the perfect way to use up your sourdough discard without waiting days for a long fermentation. Because this recipe uses a discard fed at a 1:5:4 ratio (80% hydration), the main dough amounts have been perfectly adjusted to keep your focaccia beautifully soft and hydrated. Commercial instant yeast ensures your bread rises perfectly for a quick, same-day bake!

Ingredients

• 445g Bread flour
• 355g Warm water
• 100g Sourdough discard (fed at 1:5:4 / 80% hydration)
• 4–5g Instant yeast
• 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for the pan and drizzling)
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Honey

Toppings:

• Plum or cherry tomatoes, sliced
• Mild cheese (e.g., mozzarella or young cheddar), cubed or shredded
• Paprika powder
• Garlic powder
• Dried herbs
• Flaky sea salt

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Directions

1. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the 445g bread flour and 4–5g instant yeast.
2. Dissolve the Discard: In a separate measuring jug or bowl, combine the 355g warm water, 100g sourdough discard, and 1 tsp honey. Whisk until the discard is broken up and the liquid is mostly smooth.
3. Form the Sticky Dough: Pour the water mixture into your flour and yeast. Add the 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 2 tsp salt. Mix well until a wet, sticky, and uniform dough forms.
4. First Rest: Cover the bowl tightly and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
5. Spatula Fold: Use a spatula to fold the dough over itself a few times from the edges to the center. Cover and let it rest for another 1 hour.
6. Hand Folds: Wet your hands with water. Perform a North-South-East-West (NSEW) stretch and fold, followed immediately by a gentle coil fold to build dough structure.
7. Prepare the Baking Tray: Pour a generous amount of olive oil onto your baking tray, spreading it out to completely cover the bottom and sides.
8. Final Proof: Transfer your dough to the oiled tray. Flip the dough over once so it is entirely coated in oil. Cover and let it rest for 30 to 45 minutes. Keep an eye on it—if it looks very puffy and fills the tray early, it is ready!
9. Oven Prep: While the dough finishes its proof, preheat your oven to 240°C on the lowest rack position with no fan.
10. Dimple and Shape: Pour a little extra olive oil over your fingertips. Press your fingers straight down into the dough to dimple it and gently push it out to fill the corners of the tray.
11. Apply Toppings & Spices: Dust your paprika and garlic powder directly onto the oiled dough. Press your sliced tomatoes deeply into the dimples so they don't dry out.
12. Bake & Add Cheese:
    • Place the tray on the lowest rack and bake for 10 minutes.
    • Quickly and carefully remove the tray from the oven. Scatter your mild cheese over the top.
    • Return it to the oven for another 5 minutes until the cheese is perfectly melted and bubbly, and the edges are golden crisp.
13. Cool: Transfer the focaccia to a cooling rack immediately after baking to ensure the bottom crust stays wonderfully crispy.

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Pro-Tips for the Perfect Focaccia

• Protect the Spices: Dust your paprika and garlic powder under your toppings or mix them into the oil. Leaving loose spices exposed on the very top layer at 240°C can cause them to scorch and turn bitter.
• The Cheese Timing Strategy: Mild cheeses melt and burn quickly. Adding the cheese during the last 5 minutes of baking (rather than at the beginning) guarantees a gooey, perfectly melted texture without any burnt spots.
• Anchor Your Tomatoes: Press your tomato slices firmly all the way into the dough. Sinking them deeply protects them from the intense heat and creates delicious pools of sweet tomato juice inside the bread.

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Lemon Loaf Cake

Ingredients

295g top flour/cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

226g unsalted butter

200g granulated sugar

lemon zest from 2 fresh lemons

4 large room temperature eggs

125ml full cream milk

1 tsp vanilla

lemon syrup (optional): 60ml fresh lemon juice mix with 50g granulated sugar

Directions

• pre-heat oven to 175°C
• grease and line 9x5inch cake pan with baking paper
• in a bowl, whisk flour and baking powder
• in a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy (3-5min) and add lemon zest
• add eggs one at a time until emulsifies and add in vanilla
• on low speed, alternate add in flour and milk starting with flour followed by milk, starting and ending with dry ingredients. Do not overwork.
• pour batter into the baking pan and smooth the top
• bake for 1hr or till top is brown and skewer comes out clean
• (optional) while cake is still warm, poke holes and drizzle the lemon syrup evenly
• let it cool completely in the pan
• to add glaze, mix icing sugar with lemon juice and zest till thick consistency and pour over the cool cake

Foodnote: I kept some lemon zest in the fridge and there's some frozen lemon juice cubes. Still have top flour to clear so I ask AI for recipe. Tried it and it turns out lovely. I actually made a mistake huhu. I beat sugar with eggs then realise it should be sugar and butter lol. I added the butter and just beat everything together and followed the rest of the steps accordingly. 45min at 160°C apparently is not enough as the top is still pale and the cake seems undercook. I increase the temperature and cook it longer. Then leave it in the oven for a while before taking the cake out. I still get good cake that taste delicious hehe. I didn't do the lemon syrup but added the glaze. Cake is not very sweet and I'm happy with the result. Use the upside down container tips to keep the balance cake at room temperature. I understand that it can last for up to 4 days (doubt it will last that long. Gave 2 fat slices to dear neighbour). Help... it is delicious I can't stop eating huhuhu. Very happy with the result. This definitely nicer than lemon butter cake. Still have a bit more of top flour left. Wanted to try lemon cake with yoghurt next :D

Simit (Turkish Street Food)

Ingredients

500g bread flour

1/2 tsp full instant yeast

1/2 tbsp salt

300ml lukewarm water

Dip

1/2 cup grape or mulberry molasses

1/4 cup water

1/2 tbsp flour

generous amount of roasted sesame seeds

Directions

• (made half volume)
• add all dry ingredients together into a bowl and mix well
• stir by adding water gradually till all combined
• transfer to work table and knead to smooth consistency (about 10min)
• cover bowl with damp towel and till double in size (mine took ~ 1hr 45min)
• transfer on working surface, punch down and knead the dough
• divide into 6 equal parts (about 130g) and divide again into 2pcs of each dough
• round each dough and rest under wet towel
• pre-heat oven to 230°C and prepare the dip
• mix molasses, water and flour to thicken
• prepare the roasted sesame in a deep plate or tray
• roll each of the 2 dough into length of approx 45cm at least
• then twirl around each other and pinch to form a round wheel
• soak the dough into the dip followed by the sesame seeds
• bake at 230°C top+bottom heat without fan for 15-20min until light brown and crunchy
• it will be soft while hot... let it cool down and it will be crunchy

Foodnote: Recipe is from here. Good to eat with cheese or butter.

Classic Lemon Butter Cake

Ingredients

250g softened butter 

250g caster sugar

4–5 large eggs

250g self-raising flour

Zest of 1–2 lemons

tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp milk

Directions

• preheat your oven to 160°C (with fan) and grease and line a loaf tin or a round cake pan
• cream the softened butter and caster sugar in a large bowl until the mixture is pale, light, and fluffy
• add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until incorporated
• stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice
• sift the self-raising flour into the wet ingredients and fold until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. If the batter is too thick, mix in a little milk
• pour the batter into your prepared tin and bake for 30–50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Baking time will vary based on the size of your tin
• let the cake cool in the tin for 10–15 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely

Foodnote: a friend gave me lemons and I need to clear some self-raising flour in the fridge. So... lemon butter cake it is. Just nice that I have exactly 4 eggs in the fridge. The cake is so nice especially eaten fresh baked. Love the crusty edges yum yum. It is actually too much for me so I will bless it to friends that I met the next day. Really super good and easy recipe.

I learnt that to have even surface, cook at lower heat for longer time. To get that classic cracked open (pound cake) bake it at a higher temperature then lower it. There is actually a lemon drizzle to this cake... but I find it is already too sweet for me. I am sweet enough hehe.

Sourdough Biscuits

Ingredients

200g sourdough discard

a pinch of salt

2 tbsp melted butter

seasonings

optional toppings: chilli flakes, garlic powder, sesame seeds etc.

Directions

• melt butter and cool to room temperature
• pre-heat oven to 170°C
• mix discard, melted butter and salt till well combined (I added garlic powder and chilli flakes)
• prepare tray with baking paper
• spread the discard mixture as thin as possible to a form a rectangular shape
• sprinkle sesame
• bake for 10min
• remove the tray from oven and using a pizza rolling cutter or sharp knife, cut the biscuits to desired size
• bake for another 15-20min till crispy
• let it cool in the tray 

Foodnote: Saw this recipe online and I tried using sourdough discards and just eyeball the measurements. Turns out very good. Will definitely keep making this biscuits so there is no wastage when making sourdough bread.

Sourdough Bread with Butter

Ingredients

100g active sourdough starter

330g warm filtered water

25g butter or olive oil

500g bread flour

10g salt

Directions

• 
  combine sourdough starter with water followed by flour and salt
• mix until incorporated and rest for 30min
• add butter and knead again
• rest for 1hr
• stretch and fold 2x every 60min and let it bulk ferment for 2-3hrs
• shape and proof the dough in fridge for 12-14hours
• bake in dutch oven for 20min covered at 240°C and 15min uncovered at 220°C

Foodnote: Finally wanted to try add butter to my sourdough. Got the recipe here. 

I bake it open for 20min but the crumb still look pale ggrrrrr....The crumb texture is very soft. Doesn't taste very buttery but really nice. I got too excited and cut it when it is still warm hehe. Ate 3 slices!! So yummy! Next will substitute with olive oil and/or add jalapeno and cheese woohoo.

Moist Persian Date Cake

Ingredients

1 cup soft dates (pitted and chopped)

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter or oil

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

• add chopped dates and baking soda to a bowl
• pour boiling water and let soak for 10min
• whisk eggs and sugar until fluffy
• add oil and date mixture
• sift and fold in dry mixture to date mixture
• pour batter into greased pan
• bake at 180°C for 30-35min
• cool slightly and drizzle with honey for extra shine
• I use bundt cake pan: cool for half hour then slowly remove the cake

Foodnote: Have some leftover dates from Ramadan. Decided to try this cake as it looks quite easy and I have most of the ingredients. It is very nice and soft. Really like this cake. 

Roghini Naan

Ingredients

520g bread flour (4 cups)

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp yeast

1/2 tsp baking soda

45g ghee or butter (3 tbsp)

180g warm milk

180g warm water

2 tbsp yoghurt

sesame seeds

1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp milk for egg wash

ghee or butter to brush cooked naan

Directions

• 
  mix all ingredients in a stand mixer and knead with dough hook for 7-8min till smooth and stretchy dough formed
• transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover
• rest for 2hrs till double in size
• punch down the dough and divide into 8pcs (approx 120g each)
• cover in wet towel and rest for another 20min
• pre-heat oven to 220°C
• on a parchment paper, flatten each dough to flat round shape
• using finger tips, punch down to create holes
• brush with egg wash and sesame seed
• bake for 10-12min till golden brown
• (bake for 8min to keep in freezer for another day consumption)
• brush with ghee or butter once cooked (skip this step if freezing naan)

Foodnote: Bought instant roghini naan from Mustafa and it is so delicious. There is no sesame seeds topping and I just popped it into the air fryer at 200°C for 3min straight from the freezer. Once cooked, I brush it with Lurpak butter and sprinkle with chilli flakes. So yummy!! Found this recipe so I decided to try it. Since I don't have the bread stamp, I punch using my finger tips following reference from this video.

This recipe is easy to make and quite flexible. From the freezer, I can just pop it in the air fryer at 200°C for 3-5min. I can also add topping to make into pizza.

Easiest Baguette

Ingredients

950g bread flour

16g salt

2g yeast

730ml water

Half amount with sourdough (KIV for future experimentation)

455g bread flour

8g salt

40g sourdough starter

345g water

diastatic malt

Directions

• mix all ingredients together till well combined
• cover the bowl and leave it for 8-10 hours (can keep in the oven)
• generously flour working surface (to avoid sticking) and transfer dough
• divide into 4 equal parts
• take each piece and stretch it gently into baguette shape
• place in baking tray with parchment paper or baguette tray
• bake in a pre-heated oven 250°C for approx 25min till golden brown

Foodnote: Saw this recipe so obviously must try. Most of the baguette recipe I tried is a bit tedious or have long list of ingredients. I am constantly searching for the most basic recipe out there. 

I tried with half of the recipe. Mixed the ingredients at 9pm at night and bake it at 7am the next day. I thought it wouldn't yield so much dough and use my 2.35 litre pyrex bowl with cover. Around 3am woke up and discovered that the cover pops and there's a bit of overflow. Quickly replace with a wok cover instead hehe.

475g prima bread flour

8g salt

1g instant SAF yeast

365g bottled filter water

Used the non-stick baguette tray and after shaping (which is basically just lightly stretching it into longish shape) sprayed the surface generously with water before popping it into the oven. Baked the bread at 240°C for 25min. Smell good while baking in the oven. Amazing that the crinkle dough puffed up into smooth crispy baguette yippee!!!

Going to try using sourdough and also add diastatic malt to make the crumbs softer. Find this a bit chewy but nice & crispy when toasted. 

Easy Foccacia (Same Day Bake)

Ingredients

500g bread flour

4-5g instant yeast

400g warm water

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp salt

1 tsp honey

Directions

• in a large bowl mix flour with instant yeast
• add in water and mix
• add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well
• cover the bowl and rest the sticky dough for 30min
• fold dough using spatula and rest for another 1hour
• wet hand and fold nsew followed by coil fold
• add generous amount of olive oil on baking tray to cover all surface
• transfer dough, cover the dough in oil and rest for another 30-45min
• meantime, prepare toppings if any (I'm using paprika powder, tomatoes and mild cheese)
• pre-heat oven to 240°C lowest rack with no fan
• use finger to poke the dough and spread it out
• add toppings (eg. paprika, garlic powder, herbs etc), sprinkle salt and more olive oil
• bake 15min
• cool on cooling rack

Foodnote: So after making my sourdough foccacia, decided to try this easy recipe for same day bake.

Recipe is taken from here. It actually turns out good and yummy. At first I thought the bottom is a bit burnt but it was ok. Very nice when eaten hot as it will have very crispy crust. Next time I would not put it at lowest rack... lower but not that low hehe. Overall I am satisfied with this recipe and will definitely make it again. Will just lined with baking paper if I'm worried about over baking the base hehe.

Baked this again on 5 July to share with a friend when we catch up for dinner... and it is really so yummy eating it hot. Very crispy and delicious. I fold in the cheese before final 1hr resting so that the cheese can distribute in the dough. Can't stop eating so definitely will be a go to recipe for foccacia.