• Just to clarify: You DON'T NEED both sourdough starter and commercial yeast to make this recipe. You only use either one (NOT both)

If using sourdough starter:

Prepare sweet stiff levain:

• I recommend using a starter that is at least one month old and consistently doubles or triples in 4-6 hours when you feed it at 1:1:1 ratio. Young starter will not give the best result
• About 8-10 hours before you plan to make the bread, combine all ingredients for the stiff starter in a bowl. Stir a bit to roughly combine and then use your clean hand to knead it. This is a stiff starter, it's like a dough. Make sure no pockets of dry flour are visible. Transfer to a large see-through container (plastic or glass is fine, preferably wide-mouth so you can get it out easier later). Loosely cover with the lid and let it ferment until triple in size

Prepare the dough: (for both commercial and sourdough)

• If you use sourdough, tear the sweet stiff starter into smaller chunks. It's easier to mix that way. If you use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, dissolve the yeast in 1 tablespoon of milk (from your total amount of milk in the recipe). Let it sit for 10 minutes to soften and turns foamy
• Reserve about 10 grams of the milk first. Add all of the ingredients for the dough in a mixing bowl. Use a dough whisk or a very sturdy spatula to mix everything. Make sure no more dry flour bits. If the dough seems to dry, add the milk that you reserved earlier (or more as needed) and continue to mix into a shaggy-looking dough. It will still be slightly sticky at this point. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes
• After 30 minutes used your spatula to fold the edge of the dough to the center. Do this all around the dough, about 12-15 times. You will notice that the dough is stronger and a lot smoother now, but still slightly wet and sticky. Cover again and let it rest for another 15 minutes. Repeat this folding action one more time. Oil your hands lightly and then just give the dough a few kneads and it should be soft and smooth now

Bulk fermentation (first proofing):

• Cover the dough and let it proof until it doubles in size. For commercial yeast, it takes about 45 minutes to one hour at a warm place. If using sourdough starter, this takes around 2- 3 hours depending on the strength of your starter

Shaping:

• When the dough is done with the first proofing, punch down the dough to release air bubbles. Divide the dough into two of 50 grams of dough for drumsticks, and two 20 grams of dough for the wings, and the rest will be for the body. Round them up into balls, cover and let them rest for 15 minutes so the gluten relaxes and won't fight you back when you try to shape
• Take the largest dough out. Roughly flatten the dough with your palms to release any air bubbles if any. Fold the edge towards the center to form a tight round shape dough, slightly of a "V" shape. Place this on the center of the baking pan lined with parchment paper
• Next, take out one of the dough for drumsticks and shape it to look like a drumstick :) Place the drumstick near the main dough, repeat with the other drumstick
• For the wings, I didn't really do any particular shape. I just flatten the dough a bit and shape it like a very simple outline of chicken wings. You can be as detail as you wish, but most of the details won't last long once the dough puffs up after final proofing. Arrange the wings where they suppose to be
• You can also do the shaping like I did in the video (much simpler I think!)

Final proofing:

• Mist the turkey-shaped dough with some water so they ferment easily. Cover with a clean and slightly damp kitchen towel and place at a warm place for proofing. This takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour with commercial yeast. For sourdough starter, this may take about 2 1/2-3 hours with a strong starter. The dough will puff up doubled in size.
• When you gently push on the dough, it bounces back very gradually and leaves a bit of indentation. If it bounces back immediately, proof another 10 minutes and check again
• 10 minutes before the end of proofing, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven. For convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F or 15 C

Baking:

• Brush the bread with some egg wash (or non-dairy milk wash for vegan). This is optional: Use a very very sharp knife or use a bread lame to score the body. I score one in the middle, about 1/2 inch deep. Feel free to add another decorative scoring if you want
• Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the bread is nicely golden brown, rotate the pan halfway through baking. If you brush with milk wash, you won't get much color. If you brush with egg wash, the crust will be shiny and more golden brown
• When it's out from the oven, brush with some butter. This helps to soften the crumbs. Transfer to a cooling rack. Optional: I like to cover it with a clean tea towel for about 15-20 minutes. This keeps the bread crust really soft

Storing:

• Once it has cooled down completely, keep it in a bread bag or ziplock bag, push all the air out and seal tightly to prevent drying out. It can be kept at room temperature for 2-3 days. I use whole milk for the bread and it stays soft for about 3 days, which I find pretty reasonable for a loaf bread this simple and not using lots of oil. Keep in mind that if you use skim milk, the bread won't stay soft as long.
• For longer storage, keep it in the freezer. I like to double bag the baked bread to prevent freezer burn. Simply thaw at room temperature for few hours just before serving. You may reheat in the oven by misting the bread with some water and then wrap the bread in aluminum foil to keep the soft. Reheat at 350 F (180 C) for 10-15 minutes