I can recommend the CHEFMADE nonstick carbon-steel loaf pan with lid, which measures 8.4 by 4.8 by 4.5 inches.

2-Quart / 2-Liter Size If you want to make your own sourdough culture and follow the natural-levain recipes in this book, a 2-quart rounded container with volume markings on the side and a lid is the perfect size and shape. When you start a new levain culture in this vessel, it seems a little big at first; but by the time you finish, it is just

At the store, you may find rye flour labeled either “light rye,” “dark rye,” and, less frequently, “whole rye.” Dark and whole rye flours can be used interchangeably in my recipes.

have you make a sourdough culture (I usually use the word levain) which you store in the refrigerator and then pluck pieces from to build a recipe-specific starter in three quick-to-make stages: morning, evening, and the next morning (the day of the dough mix).

keeping with the French version, this loaf has a rustic look and a rougher blend of flours than a pure-white city bread. The flour blend of a country bread is up to the baker, and the leavening will be entirely or mostly from a levain.

In my recipes, it isn’t necessary to dissolve the dried yeast first. These doughs have a lot of water in them, so the yeast dissolves rapidly in the dough. Just sprinkle it on top and incorporate as you mix with a wet hand.

Whole-grain flour from a stone mill means exactly that—all the grain that runs through the mill goes into the bag of flour at the end of the process.

Cold Storage When you won’t be baking for a few weeks or more, you’ll need a storage routine to hold the levain in a kind of suspension until you are ready to bring it back. I’ve held cultures in my refrigerator for a couple of months and then successfully restored them. There are many methods. Here’s what works for me. Remove 200 grams / 1 cup of

All the recipes in this book except the Dutch-oven levain breads call for instant dried yeast. You’re likely to find two or three kinds of yeast at the store: active dry, rapid rise, and instant. All these yeasts are the same species: Saccharomyces cerevisiae. What differentiates them is their coating, the way the yeast is manufactured, and