My version of a Pain au Levain

Everytime I need to bake a bread that needs to be just perfect looks and taste wise, I bake this Pain au Levain. It just works! All the time!

I've baked it to take at BBQs with friends, to the office to be enjoyed with butter in the morning and even wrote a big article for Bread Magazine - on the use of different flours in bread baking, using this exact recipe, so I thought it will be a great idea to share this one with you first.

Pain au Levain (recipe for 1 loaf)

This bread has as a starting point the Pain au Levain from Hamelman's: Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes.

First things first: I used for this bread a 100% hydration, 100% whole wheat starter. I will tell you all about building your own starter one of these days, just need to move my lazy bum and actually do it and document it.

Day of the levain - I usually start in the morning the day before the bake.
Start by building your levain using the ingredients in the next table.

Ingredients for levain

Levain ingredients	Quantity (grams)	Baker’s percentage
White flour	107 grams	93.04%
Wholemeal spelt flour	8 grams	6.95%
Water 25.5°C (78F)	70 grams	60.86%
Whole wheat starter (100% hydration)	25 grams	21.73%

To create the levain dissolve the starter in the water, then add the flours. You will notice that this levain is quite stiff, but that's how it's supposed to be (at least that's how it is in my case every time I bake this bread). Leave the levain to mature in a covered bowl for 8-10 hours. Tip: I always cover my bowl with a shower cap, I find it works just fine.

Same evening - build the bread dough

Ingredients for the bread

Bread ingredients	Quantity (grams)	Baker’s percentage
White flour	323 grams	95%
Wholemeal spelt flour	17 grams	5%
Water 25.5°C (78F)	235 grams	69.11%
Levain	210 grams	61.76%
Salt	8 grams	2.35%

Overall bread formula - the water and flour in the starter are not accounted for the baker's percentage

Bread ingredients	Quantity (grams)	Baker’s percentage
White flour	430 grams	94.50%
Wholemeal flour	25 grams	5.50%
Water 25.5°C (78F)	305 grams	67.03%
Starter	25 grams	5.50%
Salt	8 grams	1.75%

The autolysis - 30 minutes

Once the 8-10hrs are up and your levain floats in water (just transfer a bit of it in a bowl of water - if it floats it's ready, if not give it a bit more time), you are ready to mix the bread. Dissolve the levain in the water, add the flours and mix until all the flour is hydrated. It will be a shaggy mess but that's ok. DO NOT add the salt at this stage. Cover your bowl and leave the mix to rest for 30 minutes. This stage will help build the gluten, which will end up helping us achieve a nice crumb structure.

The mix - around 10 minutes

Once the autolysis is done, you can add the salt. Because I only bake one bread at a time, I just sprinkle the salt as is on the top, before mixing, but if you prefer you could reserve some water from the dough mixing stage, to just dissolve the salt in. In any case, add the salt and start pinching the dough so that you get all that salt incorporated. I use table salt, as sea salt tends to have bigger crystals that are not so easily absorbed.

After the salt is incorporated, just give your dough about 10-12 stretch and folds until it becomes more pliable about 2-3 minutes. If you are not familiar with the stretch and fold method, have a look at this clip, I find it's very good.

Transfer your dough to a clean bowl, cover it and leave it to rest.

The bulk fermentation stage - around 150 minutes (2 hours and a half)

Leave your dough to rest for 30 minutes after the mix. When the 30 minutes are up give it a series of stretch and fold and leave it covered for another 30 minutes. Just so you know, I usually perform the stretch and fold directly in the bowl, without removing the dough. Perform 3 series of stretch and folds and then leave the dough to proof for the last hour.

The pre-shaping and rest stage - around 25 minutes

After the bulk fermentation is over, you are now ready to pre-shape. I always tend to pre-shape my dough as a boule (round), in this case not a tight one and then leave it to rest, smooth side up, covered with a clean towl. Leave it to rest for 20 minutes.

The shaping stage - around 5 minutes

Flour your banneton, or basket. I have started, recently, to use rice flour instead of wheat, just because my bread used to get stuck to the banneton during the long retarding in the fridge. It works quite well now :). Uncover and shape your bread. I usually shape the Pain au Levain as a batard (oblong shape). Place the loaf seam side up in your proofing basket, cover it, or slide the basket in a plastic bag and close it tighlty.

If you need help with shaping, I have found this clip to be amazing!

The overnight proof (retarding in the fridge) stage - 10 hours

Slide yous basket in the fridge and leave it there for the next 10 hours. This should allow your bread to rise very slowly building up the flavour. In my case also helps time wise, as it allows me to start the whole process the morning of day 1, before going to work on a Friday and baking the bread on a Saturday morning.

The room temperature proof (optional) - 90 minutes

Remove the basket from the fridge and leave it, covered, to sit for around 90 minutes. You really need to watch your bread, which is why I mention this stage is optional. It might be that you don't need this proof at all - if the temperature of your fridge was high. I usually find that I can proof this loaf for another 90 minutes after taking it out of the fridge. While the loaf is proofing, start to heat up your oven.

Heat your oven - 90 minutes

It takes around 90 minutes for my oven to heat up, together with my baking stone and a tray that I use to create the steam at the baking stage. I heat it up to 250C, which is the maximum for my domestic oven :).

The baking - 50 minutes

When the 90 minutes are up dush your peel (in my case an old plastic chopping board) with semolina, transfer the loaf to the peel and score it. I am by no means an expect on scoring, but here is the loaf we are talking about and the lousy job I did on scoring, it still came out with a nice ear ;).

Transfer the scored loaf to the heated stone and immediately add hot water to the pre-heated tray in the oven. Shut the door and bake the bread at 250C for the first 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 230C.

20 minutes into the baking remove the tray from the oven to complete the baking without the steam.

Leave to bake for another 25 minutes, so a total of 45 minutes.

When the 45 minutes are up, turn the oven off and leave the loaf inside for another 5 minutes with the oven door ajar.

This is it! You have baked a Pain au Levain.

All you need to do now is just slice it and enjoy it warm with butter! Who am I to tell you to leave it cool off first!

 

xoxo bread addicts!