Evolutions in Bread

This three-stage starter buildup keeps it from being too sour, and the long overnight cold proof of the dough is like a flavor lab creating layer upon layer of bread magic.

We’re looking for that just-ripe point where it has the leavening power to ferment the dough. It’s also going to impart a balanced complexity of fermented flavors without being too sour. The sour would come if there was an excess of fermentation in the levain itself, like if we were to wait longer to mix dough from it.

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.

I introduced a slight hiccup in this book by having most recipes use an optional 100 grams of refrigerated levain. The recipes work with or without it (but they taste better with it!). Using this 100 grams of sourdough to flavor the loaf will slightly change the baker’s percentages in the recipes compared with not using it. To ease the understandin

morning (between 8 a.m. and noon): Mix starter. Let sit out. Day 1, evening (8 to 12 hours later): Second mix of starter. Let sit out. Day 2, morning (10 to 12 hours after previous night’s mix): Mix starter again. Let sit out. Day 2, afternoon (7 to 8 hours after starter was mixed): Final dough mix. Give it three folds. Rise time is about 4 hours i

Anything labeled “bread flour” will have a high-enough protein content, probably in the 12.5 to 13 percent range, to give your dough a generous rise. The protein translates as gluten, and the gluten is the structure

I tried a million and one single- or two-feed starter builds for the mix using my refrigerated levain as the seed, and either the rise wasn’t up to a par and it needed added yeast or the flavor was too sour. It’s not enough to simply make the bread rise well. It should taste good too.

The right size for these recipes is 9 inches in diameter at the top and 3½ inches deep.

You will be using the Day 2 starter as your levain for this pizza dough, and that starter gets mixed in the morning. If you want pizza that night and are mixing the dough in the morning, you will want to refrigerate the dough balls in the mid-afternoon for a couple hours and then pull them from the refrigerator to warm back up an hour or so before