👨‍🍳 Cooking with Chris

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 – 4 cups bread flour/448-512 grams
• 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoon – 1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115F degrees) / 308-355 grams
• 2 Tablespoons / 25 grams of sugar
• 1 packet instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon of RedStar Platinum Yeast) / 7 grams
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt / 6 grams
• 4 Tablespoons / 56 grams cold unsalted butter

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add in 2 cups of flour, water, sugar, and Instant Yeast. Start off on low. Mix for 4 minutes.
2. Add in the salt and 1 cup at a time of the remaining flour and mix for 5-6 minutes until the dough is slack. At this point, your stand mixer should be at medium speed. If your dough is not slack after 5-6 minutes, add up to 1/4 more cup of water (up to a full 1 1/2 cups), but do so one Tablespoon at a time. The additional water will entirely depend on how humid your room is.
3. Add in the butter 1 Tablespoon at a time and mix until almost fully melded in before adding the next Tablespoon. In total, mix for 1-3 minutes, or until the dough comes back together and pulls completely away from the sides, leaving a smooth, shiny surface. Remove from bowl and transfer to a greased, covered bowl until doubled in size. ~1 hour.
4. Punch the dough down and place it on a very lightly floured board. Divide into 4-8 pieces and shape. I would advise using as little flour as possible when shaping these. The more flour you add, the tougher the hoagies will be. Transfer to a parchment-lined tray and cover with lightly sprayed plastic wrap. Allow to rise again until almost doubled. ~30-45 minutes. Do NOT overproof them; they will fall flat.
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. If you want to slash your bread, use a lame to make your slashes. If desired, brush with a coating of choice and bake for 16-23 minutes or until golden brown. To ensure doneness, test the internal temperature of the bread. It should be at 200°F/93°C.