Some days I feel like putting all recipes aside and create something by myself. That applies to both food dishes and bread. Last Saturday was such a day. A voice told me it was time to unleash my creativity. I had to create something unique. Something that has never been done before.
I made my own levain bread.
The result was perhaps not so unique. Many of you reading this will probably think that you have seen this before. But it gave me confirmation that I understand how a dough should feel and behave for the result to be good, without having to look at a recipe.
Because I have to say that the result was good. I baked some really tasty bread. And that’s what counts, isn’t it?
ABOUT FLOUR AND STARTER
For this recipe, I have used the following types of flour
- 760 grams wheat flour, 11.5% protein content.
- 50 grams whole rye flour, 8.5% protein content.
I have used a sourdough starter based mostly on wheat flour, with hydration of 100%. I took it out from the refrigerator and fed it 8 hours before it was time to mix the levain.
The hydration of the dough is 74%
MIXING THE LEVAIN
I started by mixing a levain with a rather firm consistency. It was left to ferment overnight. I used wheat flour and a sourdough starter made with wheat flour and whole rye flour. Any mature starter will do, so use what you have.
The next morning it had doubled in size. A good sign, because then you know there is plenty of “power” in the levain.
MIXING THE DOUGH
Next, I added wheat flour, water, and some whole rye flour to the levain and mixed everything. You don’t have to overdo it. Just make sure all flour is hydrated.
I didn’t think too much about the amounts of flour or water. Instead, I concentrated on consistency.
I want the dough to be a bit sticky, but not too loose. Wet your hands if the dough is very sticky. Don’t add more flour. If you think the dough feels dry and stiff, I recommend you to add more water. Adding water is seldom a problem for the final result, while too much flour can make the bread too compact.
After I had mixed everything (except the salt), it was time for the dough to rest for an hour.
This resting time is important so don’t skip it. Next time you touch the dough, you can feel that something has happened. It’s not so sticky anymore. Instead, it feels elastic and much easier to handle. It’s because the flour has had time to absorb water.
Now it’s time to add the salt and start folding and stretching. I repeated three times white one-hour resting time after each cycle.
If you have a dough mixer, you can benefit from using it. Then you can skip the resting time, and run everything until the dough is elastic. Then just let the dough ferment for 4-5 hours.
SHAPING
After all the folding and stretching the dough felt very good. It was holding together well with a slightly “springy” consistency.
I divided the dough in two and formed each part to a loaf
You can use a lined kitchen bowl if you don’t have bannetons for the final rise. Kitchen towels work just fine for the lining. Just make sure to use rice flour instead of wheat flour for the lining. Rice flour absorbs more water and reduces the risk of the loaves sticking to the lining.
I won’t describe the forming process here. I have written a more detailed description in an earlier post. You can read about it here.
It also describes the stretching and folding technique.
FINAL RISE OR PROOFING
I placed the loaves in my basement for the final rise. The temperature is about 57ºF / 14ºC, and it took about 6 hours for the loaves to pass the finger poke test.
But what is the finger poke test?
You make a little imprint on the top of the loaf by pressing your finger on it.
If the imprint springs back and fills up quickly, the loaf is probably under-proofed.
If the imprint springs back partly, the loaf is ready to be baked.
But If the imprint doesn’t recover at all, you probably have an over-proofed loaf.
BAKING
I baked the bread for 40 minutes on a baking stone. Maybe they could have stayed in the oven a little bit longer. I’m quite fond of dark-colored bread with a lot of crisp in the crust. Apart from that, the taste was great. A good crumb with a taste that was slightly sour. It was a bread that makes you happy.
I have also tried to bake this bread in a clay cooker with great results. Like a dutch oven, a clay cooker provides a closed environment that traps the steam which gives you a nice oven spring. You can see that I have also pushed the baking time bit for this loaf.
CONCLUSION
One final word before I end this post. Always make notes about everything when experimenting like this. Make notes about the amount of flour, water, fermentation times. how the dough behaved, EVERYTHING. Imagine that you’ve baked the perfect bread, but you will never be able to bake it again. Just because you don’t remember how you did it.
That sucks, believe me. I’ve been there.
Levain bread with wheat and a hint of rye
Ingredients
Levain
- 140 gram water
- 210 gram Wheat flour
- 70 gram sourdoug starter
Levain bread
- 410 gram levain
- 550 gram Wheat flour
- 50 gram whole rye flour
- 450 gram water
- 12 gram sea salt
Instructions
Levain
- Mix all the ingredients. Make sure that all the flour is hydrated. Let it ferment at room temperature for 6-8 hours, or until doubled in size.
Levain bread
- Mix the levain with all other ingredients, except the salt. Make sure that all the flour is hydrated. Let it rest for an hour.
- Add salt and stretch and fold the dough 30 times and let it rest for an hour in a new well-oiled kitchen bowl. Repeat two times. You can find detailed instructions about stretching and folding in the recipe notes.
- Divide the dough in two and form each piece into loaves. Let the dough rest for a few minutes before you place it seam-side-up in a floured towel lined kitchen bowl or banneton. You can read more about how to form loaves in the recipe notes. Place them in plastic bags.
- Allow the loaves to rise until doubled in size. The time depends on the surrounding temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 500ºF / 260ºC with two oven plates. One to bake the bread on and one just below. Place one loaf on the upper plate with the seam side down. Score it and pour some water on the plate below. Turn down the temperature immediately to 430ºF / 220ºC and bake for 40 minutes.
- Take out the loaf from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack. Use an oven mitt. Turn up the temperature and repeat the process with the other loaf.
