Poppy seed crusted Country Sourdough Pan Loaf

You might notice that I used an extremely high percentage of prefermented flour for this bake.  At 40% it is much much higher than I would usually use for a lean dough.  I typically use about 9% pff.  I wanted to see how much faster it would ferment (obviously much faster) and see if it would affect the flavour and texture.  I’ve seen some bakers comment that they use very high pff because it results in a more open crumb for them.  I wanted to see if that would be the case here.

I haven’t sliced this loaf but I am more than happy with how this loaf looks on the outside.  The oven spring was spectacular.  I probably could have reduced the total weight of the dough for my pullman pan down to 800 g or so next time.

Recipe is for 1 loaf in a 9x4x4” Pullman pan.

Overnight levain build

In the morning add salt to water and dissolve.  Add levain and mix.

Add flours and knead until good gluten development, I will use my Ankarsrum Assistent and mix until a good windowpane is achieved.

Remove dough from the bowl and do some slap and folds.  Next set up aliquot jar.

Bulk fermentation at 82ºF.

Coil Folds every 30 mins during bulk until good dough structure developed.

End bulk when aliquot jar reaches 40% rise.

Shape the dough into a batard and place in Pullman pan.

Shape and allow an initial final proof warm until 100% rise in aliquot jar then cold retard overnight or…..

allow the dough to rise until within 1 cm of the rim of the pan or 130-140% rise in the aliquot jar  and then bake immediately.

Pre-heat oven at 425°F and prepare for steam bake.

Once oven reaches 425ºF score top of dough and then brush with water.  Optional sprinkle with seeds and then score.  Transfer to oven and bake with steam for 25 mins.  Vent the oven (remove steaming gear) rotate the pan and drop temperature to 350ºF.  Bake for another 25-30 mins rotating as needed until browned.  Remove from the pan and place directly on the rack baking for another 5-10 mins to firm up the crust if desired.