Time: Approximately three days, including the feed to the
starter. Give yourself adequate time on day 2.
Ingredients
25g mature sourdough starter 450g organic bread flour, white 50g
organic whole wheat bread flour 100g of pre-ferment (known as
‘levain’) 10g salt 375g water, room temperature
Preparation
Starter: take 25g of mature sourdough starter and mix with 100g
water and 100g organic white bread flour (you can play with ratio of
white and whole wheat here – the starter likes to feed off of the
bran in the whole grain. Just ensure you use a higher ratio of
white). The order in the bowl should be starter, water, flour. You
can mix the starter and water first, then add the flour – it makes
the mixing easier. Leave overnight.
Autolyse: mix the remaining 400g flour (combination of 350g
white bread flour and 50g whole wheat), 100g levain from last night
and 350g water in a large plastic container (you will eventually
perform step 4 in this container). Save 25g of water for step 3.
Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Note: during the
autolyse your flour will absorb water. Enzymes in the flour will
break down wheat protein and stimulate gluten development. No need
to overmix and do not knead.
Salt + remaining water: mix the 10g salt (sprinkle evenly over
the entire surface of the dough) and remaining 25g room temperature
water. You aren’t kneading anything here – just mix until it’s fully
absorbed. Using a pinching motion can help mix in the salt. Note:
why not add the salt with everything pre-autolyse? Salt slows down
the rate of fermentation. In our case, we’re looking to balance the
rate fermentation with the rate of gluten development. Adding salt
too early will essentially halt our fermentation to a crawl.
Bulk ferment: this process is going to take 3-4 hours (depending
on temperature). For our purposes, let’s presume your bread is at
room temperature. We are going to schedule for 4 hours. As the dough
ferments, it will continue to develop gluten. The folding process
aligns the protein strands resulting in a much stronger network of
gluten. Think about multiple strands of fiber woven together into a
solid length of rope vs a pile if loose strings. Every 30 minutes
perform a set of stretches and folds. Leaving the bread in the
container, grab the top of the dough and pull upwards towards the
opposite end. Repeat with all four corners (fold one side over,
rotate the bowl 90 degrees, repeat so you eventually fold all four
sides). After 6 sets of folds (3 hours) let the dough ferment
undisturbed for the last hour. After the last hour ferment, the
dough should be about 2x it’s original size, with a nice, smooth
exterior and signs of life (bubbles).
Pre-shape: lightly flour a work surface and “pre-shape” the
dough into a ball. You are looking for a nice amount of surface
tension. It’s important not to de-gas the dough at this point. And
if you can get away with using water on your surface instead of
flour, do so. Tartine uses a bench scraper in one hand (working with
the other hand as well – dip your hand and the bench scraper in
water to prevent sticking) to lightly coax the dough into a ball –
using circular motions, use the bench scraper to mold and the other
hand to tuck. Do as little turns as you can to shape it into a ball.
After the pre-shape, cover and let rest for 20 minutes to relax the
dough.
Shape: now, we are shaping the dough. There are many ways to
shape sourdough. @maurizio has an excellent guide to
shaping on his blog. Follow his instructions at this step. Or watch
Bon Appetit / Tartine video on YouTube for visual. How to Make 3
Artisanal Breads from 13 Ingredients:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4dyWZZVeWI Let rest covered on the
counter so the seam seals.
Post-shape: carefully place your shaped dough into your proofing
basket (a good alternative is a round bowl with a cloth, lined with
generously floured parchment – parchment should have an overhang).
Ensure seam side down (only if you are using the parchment method –
seam side up if you are planning to flip it over into your Dutch
oven at step 9, so the seam will be down as it bakes).
Over-night ferment: cover and allow your dough to ferment
overnight in the fridge (8-12 hours). Note: we’re slowing down the
gluten development here to a near halt. The cold ferment is all
about flavor production / making the bread easier to digest.
Baking with lid: place your Dutch oven into the stove and
pre-heat the container to 500 degrees F for 1 hour (KS note: I
preheated ours to 550 degrees F). After 1 hour, carefully remove
your Dutch oven from the stove. CAREFULLY is key. Lift the bread
with the parchment overhang as handles and drop into the Dutch oven.
Score your bread with a razor blade on a 45-degree angle to the
surface of the dough. Place your lid onto your Dutch oven and lower
the temperature to 475 degrees F (KS note: may have been better at
500 degrees F – perhaps depends if you are using cast iron or not /
how hot your oven is). Bake for 25 minutes in the center of the
oven. Note: we’re using the heavy, insulated walls of the cast iron
to replicate the dense masonry mass you’d typically find in a
traditional bread oven. The cast iron will trap steam released from
the bread, allowing it to rise without forming a hard crust. Stretch
and Fold recommends using Lodge vs Staub or Le Creuset (it will
perform just as well, and you risk ruining your good quality Dutch
oven with the high heat).
Baking no lid: after 25 minutes, remove the lid and continue to
bake for 20 (+/-) minutes until dark brown. Constantly check your
bread and rotate if needed.
Cool: let your bread cool for two hours before eating. For the
cooling process, carefully tip the dough onto a rack so the bottom
of the crust doesn’t sog. You’ll ruin your bread if you don’t give
it adequate time to cool.