Flour Water Salt Yeast

Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn’t stick to you. Use the pincer method alternating with folding the dough to fully integrate the ingredients. The target dough temperature at the end of the mix is 77°F to 78°F (25°C to 26°C).

Straight dough A dough that is made up in a single stage, without pre-fermented dough or a levain culture. Levain The French word for “sourdough,” referring to a naturally leavened dough culture made from just flour and water, containing billions of active wild yeast cells and naturally occurring bacteria that ferment bread dough and allow it to ri

fermentation time of levain doughs by retarding them at cooler temperatures greatly improves flavor. So does using smaller amounts of levain and allowing doughs to ferment for a very long time at room temperature. Bacterial fermentation and acidity add desirable tastes and aromas, but only if enough time is allowed for these very complex biochemica

Be aware that when your dough pieces are sitting on the floured work surface, the underside of the dough will become the outside of the loaf; this will help you understand the shaping process. The bottom of each piece of dough is sitting on some flour, so it’s not going to be as sticky there.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE: Begin at 9:30 a.m., finish mixing at 10 a.m., shape into loaves at 3 p.m., and bake at 4:15 p.m. The bread will come out of the oven just after 5 p.m.

What all types of pre-ferments have in common, regardless of name and type, is that each allows for the development of alcohol and bacterial fermentation, which add flavor, acidity, and leavening to the dough.

In fact, this is a key principle that guides me in developing all of my bread recipes: Less yeast and more time yields a better bread.

As noted, whole wheat flour absorbs more water than white flour. Therefore, if you increase the ratio of white flour in a recipe, you’ll need less water to achieve the same dough consistency. Conversely, if you increase the ration of whole wheat flour, you’ll need to add more water to achieve the same consistency.

Be sure to bake this bread completely, letting it remain in the oven until it is as dark as possible shy of burning. If you want an even chewier crust, leave the loaves in the oven with the door partly open for a few minutes after turning off the oven. Once you’ve perfected this bread, I encourage you to mix it up and try different blends of flours