I haven't posted in the past 7 years, since I started my own retail bakery, but here is a loaf using 100% Organic, fresh, bakery milled flour. It has become a staple, and my traditional Pain au Levain for the shop. I got my start on TFL almost 11 years ago and am thankful for the years of experience and education I have received from it.
The flour is a blend of Glenn & Warthog, the starter is 60% hydration, whole-grain, and the flavor is wonderful. The flour should be finely ground, around 11-12% protein with an extraction of 90-100%.
Yield | |
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Source | Tecumseh Bread & Pastry |
Prep time | 14 hours |
Cooking time | 40 minutes |
Total time | 14 hours, 40 minutes |
My bakeries flour is finely milled whole grain wheat. It is the same flour used in the levain, and your absorption rate will depend upon your available flour. I know some people push hydration very high, but I tend to stick to what my flour says to me.
I do add my levain to the autolyse, because the 30 minutes in my experience over the 11 years of baking hasn't changed the quality of my dough. If I am doing a longer autolyse, I will leave out my stiff levain though.
If your bulk is moving quicker, or you have more active whole-grain flour/warmer ambient/et cetera, perform folds at 0:50, 1:40, 2:30, shape at 3:00.
Let the dough speak to you. When using regional flours, all our results will vary from season to season. Just relax, and enjoy some fresh baked bread.