The Perfect Loaf

I WROTE THIS BOOK AS A GUIDE TO TEACHING you how to think like a baker, not follow a recipe.

You may think that carrying over more ripe starter will mean a more sour, more flavorful result, but that’s not necessarily the case! By carrying over only a small percentage, the pH of the mixture will start higher (less acidic) when fresh flour and water are added. A high pH allows bacteria to function more efficiently and for longer, which over

A liquid or stiff starter will work for all the recipes in this book (in my experience, the levain has a larger impact on the final dough characteristics than the starter). Each recipe begins with making a levain, and they assume a 100% hydration starter to make this levain. If you maintain a stiff starter, you may need to add more water when makin

The inoculation percentage is the amount of ripe (or mature) sourdough starter either carried over between refreshments or used to create a levain. This percentage is calculated the same way as all other ingredients using a baker’s percentage (see Baker’s Percentages, this page), and it’s relative to the total flour. It’s called “inoculation” becau

A sheen across the entire crust; crackles when gently squeezed

SKILLET CORN BREAD

Type-85 Flour Type-85 flour is flour that is somewhere between white (which has very little bran and germ) and whole wheat (which has all of its bran and germ). I love using Type-85 flour in my baking because it hits the sweet spot: There’s ample flavor and nutrition from the increased bran and germ, but it still retains many of the characteristics

However, my preference is a mix of white flour and whole rye. This mixture provides my starter the best of all worlds: a boost to fermentation activity thanks to the nutrient-rich whole rye flour, and a mild acidity, tall rise, and sufficient gas-trapping ability from the white flour. Also, white flour’s ability to trap a lot of gas helps make spot

With most white flour that’s available today, you likely won’t need to add diastatic malt because it already contains it (look for “malted barley flour” or “barley flour” in the ingredient list).