Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
Aromatic dark crusted sourdough bread!
Servings Prep Time
1boule 40minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
1hour 20hours
Servings Prep Time
1boule 40minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
1hour 20hours
Ingredients
Sourdough Bread (50/50)
Liquid Levain
Instructions
12:30 pm – Liquid Levain
  1. In a small mixing bowl incorporate all the ingredients, cover with plastic wrap and keep at 26ºC (80ºF).
2:30 pm – Autolyse
  1. In a medium size mixing bowl stir together flour, water and diastatic malt powder. Cover with plastic wrap and keep at 26ºC (80ºF).
4:30 pm – Mixing
  1. Pinch and knead Liquid Levain into the dough mixture making sure it is completely unified. Using a “slap and fold” method work the dough out until it starts to look shiny, about 4 minutes.
  2. Add the salt and knead it into the dough.
4:40 pm – Fermentation
  1. Transfer the worked out dough to a thick walled bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let it ferment at 26ºC (80ºF) for approximately 3 1/2 hours. Keep an eye on the dough as you may have to shorten or extend the fermentation time depending on rise (see recipe note). Perform 5 “stretch and folds”, one every 30 minutes from the start of fermentation. After 5th stretch and fold let the dough rise for the reminder of the fermenting time.
8:10 pm – Pre-Shape
  1. On a lightly dusted counter pre-shape the dough. Consider this step as a dough shaping rehearsal before its final shaping. The most importantly do it confidently and quickly. Turn the smooth side of the shaped boule to the top, cover with plastic wrap and let rest on the counter for 20 minutes.
8:30 pm – Shape
  1. Prepare a round proofing bread basket lined with a smooth cotton or a canvas liner. I used kitchen towels lightly dusted with rice flour to prevent dough from sticking.
  2. Turn the boule smooth side down and perform a final shaping using exactly the same technique as in pre-shaping.
  3. Turn the boule smooth side up again, enclose with your hands and gently drag across the counter. The friction created between the dough and the counter surface will tighten the boule skin. Use your pinkie fingers to pinch the dough at the bottom and keep the skin tight.
8:45 pm – Proof
  1. Transfer the boule, smooth side down to the proofing basket, cover the basket with another kitchen towel. Put all together in a plastic bag and seal completely, refrigerate overnight.
6:45 am – Preheat the Oven
  1. Preheat the oven with cast iron baking dish (Dutch Oven) at 260ºC (500ºF).
7: 45 am – Baking
  1. Take basked out of the fridge, sprinkle some semolina onto the proofed dough. Invert the basket onto a dusted peel. Using a razor blade or a sharp knife confidently score the top of the dough. Make cut at straight 90º angle but don’t go too deep.
  2. Transfer the dough to the hot Dutch Oven, put a lid on and bake for 45 minutes at 260ºC (500ºF).
  3. Reduce the heat to 232ºC (450ºF), remove the lid from Dutch Oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
  4. Remove from the oven and cool off on a wire rack for a minimum 2 hours.
Recipe Notes
  • the dough finished fermentation cycle as it about doubled its volume, its top is domed, curved around the edges where it meets the bowl.