INGREDIENTS

Dough

• 320g Finest Bakers White Bread Flour - No.1
• 110g Milk (cold)
• 115g or 2 Eggs (lightly whisked, cold)
• 60g Unsalted Butter (1 cm cubes, room temp)
• 8g Salt
• 140g Mature sourdough starter

Filling

• 150g Grated Mature Cheddar
• 120g Sweet chilli dipping sauce (from a bottle)

METHOD

Place all the dough ingredients except the butter into the bowl of a mixer, and mix with a dough hook on the slowest speed until just combined. Rest for 10 minutes.

Turn the mixer back on and mix for 5 minutes at medium speed. After 5 minutes, start adding the cubes of butter one at a time and let them absorb into the dough before adding another one. When all the butter has been added, move to a covered container for bulk fermentation and place somewhere warm.
Carry out three sets of stretch and folds at approximately 30-45 minute intervals during bulk fermentation. When the dough has approximately doubled in size, transfer it to the fridge for at least an hour.

Get the filings ready on standby, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, flour a clean work surface, and turn the dough out onto the surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and using a rolling pin roll it out into a rectangle approximately 30 cm wide and 45 cm long. Quickly distribute the sweet chilli sauce and then the grated cheese onto the dough, leaving a 2 cm strip clear of filling on one of the short edges. With clean hands, starting at the opposite short edge to the one where you left a clear strip, roll the dough as tightly as possible into a long sausage, and use the clear strip to pinch the dough together. Transfer the sausage onto your lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, transfer it back to your lightly floured surface, and using a large sharp knife, cut the sausage in half lengthways. With the two strips of dough side by side, pinch two ends together and then weave them over each other 3 or 4 times, keeping the clean dough sides facing down and the cut sides facing up, until you reach the opposite end and pinch them back together. Use a bench scraper to help you transfer it back to your lined tray, and cover (I used an upside down plastic container) while it proves somewhere warm. The dough is ready when it has noticeably puffed up and increased in size (you can try the poke test on one of the exposed bits of dough).

Pre-heat your oven to 200 degC. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the dough with milk and then put it into the oven. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes. If the colour is getting too dark lower the temp to 180 deg C and cover loosely with foil after 20 minutes. When baked, transfer to a wire rack to cool before slicing.