Pain au Levain
Pain au Levain" is French bread made from a sourdough starter. It is usually round or oblong, with a very delicate taste. The acidity helps to hold moisture in the bread, which makes it stay fresh longer than breads made with yeast.
Servings: 2 Loafs
Ingredients
Refreshing Starter
- 52 g Starter
- 68 g White Flour
- 40 g Water
- 160 g Total
Levain
- 80 g Refreshed Starter
- 88 g White Flour
- 8 g Rye Flour
- 63 g Water
- 233 g Total
Main Dough
- 828 g White Flour
- 42 g Rye Flour
- 652 g Water
- 233 g Levain
- 18 g Salt
Instructions
Refreshing Starter
- Mix all ingredients and kneading by hand or with a mixer for 10 minutes.Cover and leave until the volume is increased 3 times. Room temperature is 25-26 ° C for 5-6 hours.
Levain
- Mix all ingredients and kneading by hand or with a mixer for 10 minutes.Cover and leave until the volume is increased 3 times. Room temperature is 25-26 ° C for 5-6 hours.
Main Dough
- Mix the water, white and rye flours and knead by hand or with a mixer for about 5 minutes. Let the dough rest (autolysis) for 30 minutes.Add the levain and knead by hand or with a mixer until a smooth and elastic dough is obtained.Now add the salt and knead another 2-3 minutes.
- Cover the dough and make the bulk fermentation for about 2-3 hours.Make 2 stretching and folding every 30 minutes.Dough should be increased in volume 2 times.
- Once the dough has doubled in volume, place it on a slightly floured worktop.Divide and form two balls.Bench rest 30 min.
- Now, make two oblong loaves and put them upside down in proofing baskets.The second rising can be done at room temperature for about 4 hours or in the refrigerator for 12-16 hours.The volume should be increased 3 times.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 237 ° C with steam or in a cast iron pot with a lid for 30 minutes, then without steam or without a lid at 200 ° C until golden brown.If you do not have a cast iron pot, you can use glass or ceramic. The pots are placed in a cold oven and heated together with the oven to avoid bursting. Place the bread in the heated pan on baking paper to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
Notes
For this recipe I used white flour type 650 and rye type 1150.