Final five whole wheat sourdough bread
Active time: 45 to 60 minutes
Total time: 5 to 8 days including starter from scratch. Two days if using pre-made starter.
Starter and levain
Tip No. 1: Clean up as you proceed. Wet dough sticks and hardens as it dries. Use a lot of water and a little soap on bowls and equipment, and just let things soak if you can’t get to them quickly.
Tip No. 2: Use only organic wheats and always use filtered/spring water.
Tip No. 3: In cool kitchens, set the bowl of dough and levain down on a seed propagator on top of a folded towel to warm to 75-80 degrees, the ideal temperature.
Tip No. 4: Always use warm — not hot — filtered water.
Levain
On day one: (with premade starter) combine ¼ cup refreshed starter (“refreshed” means that you add 3 tablespoons flour and water the previous day or a few hours earlier) with ½ cup (227 g) each organic whole and all-purpose or bread flour, 1 cup (454 g) filtered warm water. I recommend also adding ½ cup whole Bob’s Red Mill Whole Rye and an additional ½ cup water. Set aside 12-18 hours at 75 degrees. It will expand in size. Put in fridge temporarily if not using it within 20 hours.
On day two: Note the recipe is for 2loaves. If possible make 2 at once. Freeze the second loaf in plastic wrap covered by aluminum foil. Defrost night before using, then insert for 10minutes at preheated 350 degrees and let cool. It will taste as fresh and flavorful as the first loaf.
Mixing the dough
To create the final organic dough, for two loaves mix 600 g (grams) of whole wheat with 280 g of allpurpose flour, 120grams of dark whole rye, 800g water (80% baker’s math). For a lighter, airier dough, adjust to mix 500 g whole wheat with 380 g all-purpose flour and 120g rye, 850g water; the other ingredients remaining unadjusted.
For one loaf, half all above measurements. Keep in mind that whole wheat absorbs much more water than white flour. You may want to add another 50100 g water for final blend after you mix dough. (You can mix the dough when you make the levain, and allow the blended flours to sit overnight to soften the hull or bran shards that puncture air holes.) Do not add salt yet.
By hand or with a hook on Kitchen Aid on Speed 1 setting for 3minutes, mix flour and rest ½ hour. Then 3-4minutes on Speed 2. Autolyse (rest) enables the enzymes in flour to begin to break down the starch and gluten protein & increase stretchiness.
Let dough rest for 30-plus minutes, covered with cloth towel.
Add levain: Blend in 9 ounces (255 g) of levain to the dough. (You can add unused levain back into the starter.) To assist the rise, some bakers add ½ teaspoon of instant commercial yeast to the mix. For two loaves now add 2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon light olive oil, barley malt syrup or powder (optional), 1 tablespoon honey (optional) and add 1 tablespoon Red Mill gluten (optional). Add nuts, kalamata olives or seeds, if any. Blend in by hand 5 to 10 minutes until thoroughly mixed.
Dough should feel springy. Optional test: a dollop should float in a glass of water.
Bulk ferment at 75-80 degrees for 2-3 hours. Once the salt and oil, etc. are added, transfer the dough to a large bowl, and use a no-knead process to create smooth, buoyant dough. Every 40-45minutes or so, for 2-3 hours, wet hand, reach in, grip the bottom of the mix, pull up high then fold gently on top before turning the dough 45 degrees and repeating the exercise.
Fold dough each time for 2-3minutes, and cover with towel. You should feel the dough becoming more “muscular.”
Dividing and shaping
Lightly flour work surface and turn the dough out, then divide into two equal units using a bench knife (for two loaves).
Stretch each portion out into a rectangle, fold far corners 45 degrees about 1⁄3 of total length, cup dough and roll it down to you, tucking in sides. Or do a package fold, east, west, north and south and flip — repeat several times each to activate gluten.
Drag along unfloored surface to create smooth outer skin. Rotate ball of dough, cupping edge when rotating to form a taut globe.
Proofing
The second rise — or fermentation period — occurs when the globes rise again for 2 or 3 hours in bowls or wicker baskets called bannetons. Optionally line with linen cloth, dust with white flour. Also dust top of loaf with flour, then scoop up with bench knife, flip and drop loaf into the basket. Some bakers tent basket in food-safe plastic to retain moisture, which I recommend.
Tip No. 5: Refrigerate proofing dough overnight, let warm to room temperature the following morning. The acetic, souring acid in sourdough that provides flavor becomes more assertive at a colder temperature.
Baking
Line the bottom of a Dutch oven with parchment paper to prevent sticking, then insert with lid into the oven and preheat to 500 degrees for 30-40minutes to an hour. Carefully remove, set down the lid and flip the proofing bowl so that the globe drops upside down into the bottom of the Dutch oven. Dough is forgiving. If you don’t drop it straight in, it will reform while baking.
Score the top with a lame, razor or serrated knife to allow gas to escape, cover and bake at 460 degrees for 20-25minutes. Remove the Dutch oven, take off the tops, and bake at 430 degrees for another 25 minutes. Times will vary since all ovens perform differently.
If you own a meat thermometer, use it. You want to remove the bread when the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees, not before. A hollow drum sound when you tap the bottom also indicates that it is done. Set on a rack, and resist eating it until it cools in an hour or so. Wait until then to cut — it is still baking. Cover in linen cloth.