Pain Rustique au Levain du Sud-ouest

I wanted to create a rustic rye, whole wheat, SD bread that was based on David Snyder's  technique for Pugliesi Capriccioso where it is baked upside down and no slashing is involved - since my slashing is primitive to say the least.  I also wanted to incorporate some rye, whole wheat and berries of each as as a boiled soaker to improve the taste, sour and texture of the SD bread while keeping the crumb open, soft and specked with brown bits.   The crust I wanted crunchy right out of the oven and turning to chewy as it cools and ages over 24 hours.  Well this it and it is named after the great Southwest of America - Rustic Southwest Sourdough Bread.   I am trying this with and without overnight retard to see which one I like better.  These pictures are from the none retarded bread that actually stuck to the benetton causing it's odd scar.  Wish I could do that every time.  This loaf also might have over proofed since I didn't get the oven heated in time to bake the bread when it was ready. It tastes terrific anyway.   The recipe follows the Pix's

Pain Rustique au Levain du Sud-ouest

 Yield: Two 850 g Loaves

Ingredients

Levain Build

50 g KA AP flour

50 g Whole wheat flour

50 g Whole rye flour

150 g water, cool (60 For so)

25 g active starter (100% hydration)

Boiled Soaker

25 g rye berries cracked

25 g WW berries cracked

25 g 6 grain cereal

Final Dough  (77% hydration, including levain excluding the soaker)

600 g KA AP flour

300 g KA bread flour

645 g warm water (80 For so)

14 g pink Himalayan sea salt (1.5%)

325 g  Levain

Boil and Soak – soaker ingredients in twice as much water by volume.  Bring to a boil and turn off heat and let soak overnight covered with plastic wrap.  Drain any excess liquid off in the morning.

Directions

1. Levain : Make the final build 10-12 hours before the final mix.

2. Mix: Add all the ingredients to the mixing bowl, including the levain, but not the salt or the soaker. Mix just until the ingredients are incorporated into a shaggy mass. Correct the hydration as necessary. Cover the bowl and let stand for an autolyse phase of 60 minutes. At the end of the autolyse, sprinkle the salt over the surface of the dough, and knead 8 minutes with dough hook on KA 3. The dough should have a medium consistency. Add the scalded and caramelized berries and mix on KA 3 for 1 minute

3. Ferment with S&F: 2 hours. Stretch and fold the dough in the bowl 5 strokes at the 30minute mark. Stretch and fold again, 5 strokes, at the one hour mark folding it into a ball in lightly oiled bowl. Do 1 S &F two more times at 90 and 120 minutes.  Divide dough in two.  Form into ball stretching the skin tight and place in floured benetton or shape into batard leave to ferment 1-2 more hours until the dough is at least 75% larger than when you started the ferment.  Remove from benneton and bake as below.

4. If retarding: do 1 S&F in the lightly oiled bowl forming the dough into a ball again. Refrigerate 8-20 hours, depending on how much time you have and sour your taste.

5. Divide and Shape: take dough out of refrigerator and let it come to room temperature about 1 ½ hours. Divide the dough into what 2 pieces and pre-shape, then shape into boules or batards 20 minutes later.

6. Proof: Approximately 1.5 to 2.5 hours a t82 F. Ready when poke test dictates.

7. Pre-heat: oven to 500 with steam apparatus in place - 45 minutes minimum. I use a loaf pan half full of water and a dry12”cast iron skillet that go in the bottom rack of the oven at the beginning of pre heat and the stone on the rack above. When the loaves go in, I throw 1 cup of boiling water into the cast iron skillet right after loading the bread on the stone.

8. Bake: Do not slash loaves. Bake seam side up on stone at 500 F for 5 minutes, turn down temperature to 450 and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove steaming apparatus after 15 minutes. Turn down oven to 425 F convetion  now and bake 15 minutes more, turning loaf every 5 minutes for browning evenness as necessary. When done (205 F internal temp), leave loaves on stone with oven door ajar, oven off for 10 minutes. Move to cooling rack until loaf is room temperature.