Reprinted with permission from Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish, copyright © 2012. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.
Bran-Encrusted Levain Bread
This recipe makes 2 loaves, each about 1½ pounds.
- Bulk fermentation: About 5 hours
- Proof time: 12 to 14 hours
- Sample schedule: Feed the levain at 8 a.m., mix the final dough at 3 p.m., shape into loaves at 8 p.m., proof the loaves in the refrigerator overnight, and bake around 8 to 10 a.m. the next morning.
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Levain
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Ingredient
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Quantity
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Mature, active levain
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100 g
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1⁄3 cup + 1½ tbsp
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White flour
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400 g
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3 cups + 2 tbsp
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Whole wheat flour
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100 g
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¾ cup + ½ tbsp
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Water
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400 g , 85ºF to 90ºF (29ºC to 32ºC)
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1¾ cups
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Final Dough
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Baker’s Formula
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Ingredient
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Final Dough Mix Quantity
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Quantity in Levain
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Total Recipe Quantity
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Baker’s Percentage
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White flour
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800 g
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6¼ cups
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160 g
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960 g
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96%
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Whole wheat flour
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0
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0
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40 g
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40 g
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4%
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Water
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620 g, 90ºF to 95ºF (32ºC to 35ºC)
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2¾ cups
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160 g
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780 g
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78%
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Fine sea salt
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21 g
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1 tbsp + 1 scant tsp
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0
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21 g
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2.1%
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Instant dried yeast
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2 g
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½ tsp
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0
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2 g
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0.2%
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Wheat germ
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30 g
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1⁄3 cup + 1 tbsp
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0
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30 g
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3%
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Wheat bran
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0
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0
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0
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20 g (1⁄3 cup +
1 tbsp)
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2%
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Levain
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360 g
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11⁄3 cups
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20%*
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* The baker’s percentage for levain is the amount of flour in the levain expressed as a percentage of the total flour in the recipe.
1a. Feed the levain About 24 hours after your previous feeding of the levain, discard all but 100 grams of levain, leaving the remainder in your 6-quart tub. Add 400 grams of white flour, 100 grams of whole wheat flour, and 400 grams of water at 85°F to 90°F (29°C to 32°C) and mix by hand just until incorporated. Cover and let rest for 6 to 8 hours before mixing the final dough.
1b. Autolyse After 6 to 8 hours, mix the 800 grams of white flour and the 30 grams of wheat germ by hand in a 12-quart round tub. Add the 620 grams of 90°F to 95°F (32°C to 35°C) water and mix by hand just until incorporated. Cover and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Mix the final dough Sprinkle the 21 grams of salt and the 2 grams (½ teaspoon) of yeast evenly over the top of the dough.
- Put a container with about a finger’s depth of warm water on your scale so you can easily remove the levain after it’s weighed. With wet hands, transfer 360 grams of levain into the container.
- Transfer the weighed levain to the 12-quart dough tub, minimizing the amount of water transferred with it. Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn’t stick to you. Use the pincer method (see page 67) 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).
3. Fold This dough needs three or four folds (see pages 69–70). It’s easiest to apply the folds during the first 1½ to 2 hours after mixing the dough.
- When the dough is about 2½ times its original volume, about 5 hours after mixing, it’s ready to be divided.
4. Divide Lightly dust 2 proofing baskets with flour, then sprinkle 10 grams of wheat bran evenly in each basket.
- With floured hands, gently ease the dough out of the tub and onto a lightly floured work surface. With your hands still floured, pick up the dough and ease it back down onto the work surface in a somewhat even shape. Use a bit of flour to dust the area in the middle where you’ll cut the dough, then cut it into 2 equal-size pieces with a dough knife or plastic dough scraper.
5. Shape Shape each piece of dough into a medium-tight ball following the instructions on pages 71–73. Place each seam side down in its proofing basket.
6. Proof Place each basket in a nonperforated plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.
- The next morning, 12 to 14 hours after the loaves went into the refrigerator, they should be ready to bake, straight from the refrigerator. They don’t need to come to room temperature first.
7. Preheat At least 45 minutes prior to baking, put a rack in the middle of the oven and put 2 Dutch ovens on the rack with their lids on. Preheat the oven to 475°F (245°C).
- If you only have 1 Dutch oven, keep the other loaf in the refrigerator while the first loaf is baking, and bake the loaves sequentially, giving the Dutch oven a 5-minute reheat after removing the first loaf.
8. Bake For the next step, please be careful not to let your hands, fingers, or forearms touch the extremely hot Dutch oven.
- Invert the proofed loaf onto a lightly floured countertop, keeping in mind that the top of the loaf will be the side that was facing down while it was rising—the seam side.
- Remove the preheated Dutch oven from your kitchen oven, remove the lid, and carefully place the loaf in the Dutch oven seam side up. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for about 20 minutes, until medium dark brown all around the loaf. Check after 15 minutes of baking uncovered in case your oven runs hot.
- Remove the Dutch oven and carefully tilt it to turn the loaf out. Let cool on a rack or set the loaf on its side so air can circulate around it. Let the loaf rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing.