This recipe writeup is very hand-holdy with beginner bread bakers in mind.

NEXT LEVEL PLANNING: if you want to proof your dough in your oven, turn the oven on to WARM or ~180 F at this time. You do not have to do this if your ambient temps are proof-friendly.

*IF YOU USE ACTIVE DRY (aka NOT INSTANT) YEAST: Bloom the yeast before starting to make sure it’s alive.

• I do this by combining cold H+H with hot water and a splash of cold water to get it to the correct temperature, around 90-105 degrees I believe. I just test it with my finger - it should feel hot enough to feel a bit discomfort, but not so hot that you immediately want to yank your finger away. When in doubt, err on the cooler side - too hot can kill your yeast.
• Mix in the sugar and honey into the warm H+H/water. Make sure it’s dissolved and not pooled at the bottom.
• Mix/whisk in your yeast. Give it a few minutes to bloom; you should get a frothy layer on top. If it seems like it’s not working, give the mixture a little stir to make sure the bloom isn’t stuck in a weird limbo (this happened to me).
• I do this in a measuring cup to reduce dishwashing.

IF YOU USE INSTANT YEAST: in theory you should be able to skip the above and use room temp water. I have never done this so I can’t advise.

1. COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS IN A MIXING BOWL (skip sugar/yeast if you bloomed the yeast). Mix it well so they are blended before adding your liquids.
2. MIX THE WETS (not butter) WITH YOUR DRIES.
   • IF YOU BLOOMED YOUR YEAST: add the H+H/water/sugar/yeast mixture into your dry bowl. I pour with one hand and start swirling/mixing with the other. I usually start with a silicone spatula so I can scoop out all the liquid and yeast.
   • IF YOU ARE USING INSTANT: combine H+H, water, and honey together, mix well, then pour into your dry bowl.
3. ADD THE BUTTER. This should happen as the dough has begun to come together, but before you knead. Honestly I don’t have a good explanation for this, but I try to do it before the wets are fully incorporated. The dough will feel weirdly greasy for a bit, but it’ll absorb.
4. MIX MIX MIX. You are done mixing when the mixture is consistently textured and there are no dry patches or globs of butter. This can take a minute or two - I recommend using your hand and just squishing everything to make sure there are no hidden clumps. THIS WILL BE WET AND STICKY. (See Further Notes > Hydration if you’re curious.)

NEXT LEVEL PLANNING: if you turned your oven on for proofing, turn it off now.

1. KNEAD YOUR DOUGH. My mixing bowl is shallow enough that I can start kneading in the bowl, and I finish on a counter. YOUR DOUGH WILL BE STICKY - DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO ADD FLOUR AT THIS STAGE. Usually my mixture will seem ‘together’ at first, and then as the flour absorbs the liquids, the mixture will ‘loosen’ and begin to stick on the surface I am kneading on and my hand.
   • TIP: if you get tired or are finding that your dough is still way too sticky, take a break. Wash your hand of any dough residue and let your dough sit for like 2 minutes (5 MAX). Your dough should shape up after chilling out for a bit. More explained in Further Notes.
2. YOU ARE DONE KNEADING YOUR DOUGH WHEN IT FULFILLS ALL THESE CONDITIONS:
   • it is no longer leaving wet residue on surfaces/your hand - in fact it starts picking up dough residue from your surface/hand. At this stage I use it to clean up the bowl too hehe. This might be tricky to gauge if the dough residue on your hand/surface has dried or is a different consistency than your dough - in which case, if. your dough isn’t creating new sticky spots, you’re probably good on this front.
   • it is a relatively smooth ball, particularly the side that is on the surface when you knead.
   • the dough passes the windowpane test. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALIFIER.
     • IF you’re finding the dough achieves that translucent thinness but cannot maintain the stretch (like it breaks at the edge where your finger holds the dough), you will need to add a smidge of water. DO NOT POUR WATER ON YOUR DOUGH.
     • Wash your hand or run it under water. With your wet hand, pat the dough on all sides, give it a second to drink, and then gently knead the dough until that moisture has been incorporated. The dough should maintain its form through this process (as in - you should not see huge patches sticking to the surface like when you started).
     • When the water has fully been incorporated into the dough, try the windowpane test again. Repeat the above if you must - I did this at least twice while making the dough.
     • It took me about 10 minutes of hand-kneading to achieve this. Please mind that I am making this in Los Angeles so the air is much dryer here - this might affect my dough’s hydration needs and kneading time.
3. FINISH THE DOUGH FOR PROOFING. At this stage your dough should clearly have a ‘smooth’ side - basically you want to gather the dough in your hands and drop/slam the smooth side down on your surface. Refer to the Just One Cookbook recipe for pictures of this process.
   • Gather the dough from top and fold towards the bottom (think like a calzone or dumpling, not a business letter).
   • Pick the dough up, drop/slam the smooth side down again on your surface. Do the foldover thing you did before, but from the sides instead of top/bottom.
   • Repeat the slam/folding for a total of 5 (FIVE) times. You should come out with a largely smooth dough with maybe a small portion of tacky/unsmooth area. (My dough was not perfectly smooth all around)
4. LIGHTLY GREASE A BOWL/CONTAINER LARGE ENOUGH FOR YOUR DOUGH TO GROW ~3x IN SIZE. I used a splash of avocado oil and spread it with my hand. You can use paper towels or spray oil to spread.
5. PUT YOUR DOUGH IN THE GREASED BOWL SMOOTH(EST) SIDE UP. COVER THE BOWL WITH A TEA TOWEL OR PLASTIC WRAP/BAG. My sister got me these cute cloth bonnets that are like shower caps but tea towel material. Previously I used some big produce bags I hoarded from a Korean market (I have never seen bags this nice at Ralphs).