The Perfect Loaf

A LEVAIN FOR MAXIMUM SOURNESS It’s long-running: A longer running levain helps shift the balance between yeasts and bacteria toward increased bacterial activity, and with the other parameters in this recipe, helps emphasize the effects of their products (increased sourness). In general, bacteria grow faster but start later, whereas yeasts grow more

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

Use the inoculation percentage to regulate the ripening timeline for your starter—in fact, the inoculation percentage is the most important variable I modify to synchronize my starter with my daily schedule because it’s effective and easy to control. Simply put, the more starter carryover used in your refreshment, the faster it will ferment. Is you

A sheen across the entire crust; crackles when gently squeezed

There are a few key differences (see Levain vs. Starter, this page), but a sourdough starter and a levain are essentially the same thing: They are both pre-ferments, meaning a mixture of flour and water that’s seeded with a small bit of ongoing culture and left to ferment.

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

Each recipe was chosen not only for how delicious the result is, but also to teach you a different facet of sourdough baking, like a mini lesson. For example, a recipe may teach you how to adjust the sourness in your bread, how to effectively mix in enrichments (dairy, egg, and sugar), or how to time your starter, levain, and dough so your bread is

Many bakers prefer to keep a “stiff starter,” which is typically around 50% to 65% water to total flour. The consistency is exactly what it sounds like: It’s stiff and requires kneading with your hands or in a small mixer. One benefit is it seems to handle warmer ambient temperatures without becoming overly acidic, and it has a larger window of rip

TOTAL FORMULA TABLE A snapshot of the bread you’re making: the ingredients you’ll need to mix the dough and the percentages of each ingredient in baker’s math (which means all ingredients are a percentage of the total flour in the recipe). With this one table, you can get an intuitive feel for the bread before you even begin (see more about baker’s