Tartine Whole-Wheat w/added Dark Rye

It's crappy outside, I'm getting over a cold, so I decided to bake..

This is my first real bake of the fall. Charlie spent most of the summer neglected but held up well. I mistakenly bought white bread flour in a moment of weakness as there was no unbleached. I don’t like the look or feel of this flour. But I won’t throw it away. Charlie was fed twice with a blend of 50/50 white bread and whole-wheat flours, and then used for this recipe with 1:2:2 feedings. I made a single loaf: levain 100g after point of doubling from being fed Saturday morning; 400g water; 250g whole wheat flour; 100g dark rye flour; 150g all-purpose unbleached flour; 10g fine sea salt (ground with a mortar and pestle). The water and flour mix sat for an hour before the levain, and then salt were added. It’s a sticky dough but very manageable. Good rise through bulk fermentation of about 4 hours with half hour turns. I decided to take the dough’s temp throughout and it was about 76 all the way through. Shaped, rested and shaped again. Seam side up in the linen lined basket with bran sprinkled on the cloth first. It retarded in the fridge for just over 12 hours. It didn’t seem to rise much in the basket over night. But the finger test told me it was ready to bake. Preheated the over at 500, dropped down to 450 after I loaded the dutch oven, 20 minutes lid on, 30 minutes lid off. Parchment no the bottom.

The crumb is nicely uniform, moist and tender. Decadent when toasted. Have come to really like the whole-wheat and rye combo. I think the use of all-purpose flower gives the crumb a more delicate mouth feel than if it was regular bread flour. Would make this again without hesitation.