Sourdough bread with polenta

What are the right proportions when mixing a Levain?
Well, there are probably as many answers as there are bakers.
I have read so many recipes now that I don’t think there are any right or wrong proportions.
Some like it firm and some prefer it lose.
Some adjust the hydration depending on what kind of bread they are baking.

Most of the time, I prefer a rather firm levain, about 60-65% hydration.
I mix it with a part of my starter, flour, and water. If I have an “old” levain in my fridge I refresh it before I go to bed, and in the morning it’s ready for baking. But it’s not a problem to wait for a couple of hours if I have to. The fermentation process is slow in such a firm levain, which gives you more maneuverability.

But why mixing a levain at all? Why don’t I just use my starter?
Well, sometimes I do just that. But there’s one thing I don’t do.
I don’t mess with my starter.
Experience has learned me what’s working and I don’t change anything. I don’t add any other kind of flour or ingredients to my starter.
Instead, I mix a levain.
If something goes wrong, I still have my starter intact.

But this is my approach to levain, and some would probably dismiss it as hopelessly wrong. There is an ongoing debate about what a levain is.
Some bakers claim that a real levain can only be mixed in different steps with raisin yeast as a starter. I have tried that and written a blog post about it.
It gives excellent bread but is it the only way to make a levain?

I don’t know.
And I don’t care that much.

For me, a levain is just another word for a fermentation process, like Biga and Poolish.
For this sourdough bread with polenta, there’s not much experimentation involved. I will just add coarsely ground polenta, but I will do that to the dough, not the levain. So why not using the starter?
Well, there is another reason why I chose to bake with levain.
I have a feeling that the crumb becomes a bit softer if I use a levain instead of adding my starter directly. And for this sourdough bread with polenta, the soft crumb in combination with a cracker-like crust is a hit.

Sounds interesting? Then, let’s begin baking some sourdough bread with polenta.

MIXING THE LEVAIN

Mixing a levain is not complicated. You mix a part of your starter with flour and water to the desired amount and hydration. For this bread, I used the following recipe.

100-gram mature starter, 100% hydration.
130-gram wheat flour.
60-gram water.

That will give you a levain of 61% hydration. With that said, I think it’s time for a disclaimer.
If you’re using very strong bread flour, you may have to increase the water amount. The flour I used for this recipe has a protein content of 12.5%. If the dough feels very stiff and firm, you may have to add more water. I use to let the levain ferment at room temperature for 8-9 hours or overnight

PREPARING THE DOUGH

Before you start preparing the dough, you must check your levain. It should have risen a lot, being filled with gas bubbles. It may even fall back a bit, but that’s nothing to worry about.
Start by mixing flour, polenta, and water. Make sure that all flour is hydrated. Let the dough autolyze for at least an hour. If you’re using strong flour, and the dough feels very firm, you may add some more water. After the autolyze it’s time to add the levain and salt. Make sure the dough and levain are combined thoroughly.

BULK FERMENTATION

Try to find a warm place for the bulk fermentation, preferably 78ºF/25ºC. It was still winter here in Sweden when I baked this bread, but we were blessed with a sunny day. All I had to do was placing the bowl with the dough in the sunshine. When the temperature went up to 82ºF/28ºC, I decided to move it into the shadow.
But the sun is not always shining. If you have a hard time finding a warm place you can try to place the dough in the oven with the lamp lit only. Just make sure to check the temperature now and then.
It can become too hot in some ovens.
The dough needed 5 hours of bulk fermentation before I decided that it had risen enough and gas bubbles started to appear on the surface.

FINAL RISE

The time required for the final rise depends on many factors. The surrounding temperature and the strength of the starter are just two of many. You can let it ferment at room temperature or in the refrigerator depending on taste and how much time you have. Fermentation in cold temperature takes longer of course, but it also gives more taste to the bread. The end result can be quite sour though, so if you don’t like that, you should consider letting the dough ferment at room temperature.

It’s almost impossible to give advice about the time required for the final rise. Therefore I have stopped doing that. Instead, I encourage my readers to observe and touch the dough. The finger poke test gives you a hint when it’s time to bake. I have described the test in an earlier recipe, and you can read about it here. I have also included a link to a video showing how to form a bâtard.

TIME TO BAKE

Preheat the oven to 480ºF / 250ºC. I have used a baking stone for the bread in the pictures, but you can also use a dutch oven with good results. If you don’t have any of those items, It’s OK to use an oven sheet.
I strongly advise you to score the loaf before it goes into the oven, even if it feels scary. Otherwise, you may not get the oven spring you want. Or the loaf may crack up and expand in some undesired directions. It may look like something made by a glassblower with a hiccup.
This bread needs about 40 minutes in the oven. You may have to lower the heat during the last 10-15 minutes.

CONCLUSION

As mentioned before, baking with levain gives a soft, not so chewie crumb as if you would use your starter directly. At least that’s my experience.
Which method is best then?
I would say none. I use both depending on what kind of bread I want.
Both methods have one thing in common. Both produce bread with a lot of taste.
Despite the long fermentation time, it’s not very sour. Especially if the final rise occurs at room temperature. You just get a hint of tanginess together with a bunch of different wonderful flavors, typical for sourdough bread.

But why did I not boil the polenta before I added it to the dough?
Well, that was the experimental part of this bread. I wanted to see what happened to the texture of the crumb. And the conclusion is, not much. I guess the polenta absorbs enough water to become so soft you won’t experience much difference.
But adding polenta to the surface of the crust is a different story.
The crispness it provides is outstanding.
I mean a crispy crust is the best crust, right?

Crusty sourdough bread with polenta

This sourdough bread with polenta is baked with levain, which gives a soft, tasty crumb. Adding polenta to the surface of the crust before baking makes it extra crackling crispy.

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Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Levain

• 100 gram sourdough starter mature, 100% hydration
• 130 gram Wheat flour
• 60 gram water

Sourdough bread with polenta

• 250 gram Wheat flour
• 200 gram levain
• 170 gram water
• 40 gram polenta coarsly ground
• 6 gram sea salt

Instructions

 

Levain

• Mix all ingredients for the levain. Make sure that all flour is hydrated. Let it ferment at room temperature for 8-9 hours.

Sourdough bread with polenta

• Mix flour, water with 20 gram polenta. Make sure that all flour is hydrated. Let the dough autolyze for 1 hour.
• Add salt and levain to the dough. Make sure the dough and levain are combined thoroughly. Let the dough ferment for 4-5 hours depending on temperature. Perform 3 sets of stretch and folds* in total during bulk fermentation, spaced out by 30 minutes. When it's ready It should have risen considerably and started to forming gas bubbles on the surface.
• Lightly flour your work surface and dump out the dough. Flatten the dough gently with your hands and form it to a bâtard** There's a link to an excellent video showing how to form a bâtard in the recipe notes. Lightly flour a lined banneton and sprinkle the rest of the polenta before placing the loaf into it.
• Let the loaves rise until they pass the finger poke test. The time required depends a lot on the ambient temperature so don't look at the clock.
• Preheat your oven to 480ºF / 250ºC with two oven plates. One to bake the bread on and one just below. If you have a baking stone or dutch oven, use them.
• Score the loaves in your preferred pattern and place them in the oven. Pour some water on the plate below and bake each loaf in 35-45 minutes.
• Let the bread cool on wire racks.

Notes

*For those who prefer to use a stretch and fold technique instead of running the dough into a dough mixer, you may find this video helpful. You can also look at one of my previous recipes.

**Maurizio from The perfect loaf has made an excellent video showing how to form a bâtard.

Keyword sourdough bread, starter

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