Einkorn & Wheat Tartine

They stayed in their designated corner of the garage for a long time. The white winter wheat berries, along with the buckets of rye, hard red winter and spring wheat berries waited patiently for me to open their sealed containers once again and measure some of the berries into the grain mill to process into flour.

Like a child with a new toy who forsakes all of her other play things, I had relegated all of my modern grains to their resting spot while I experimented with the grains of the ancients.

Once I started baking with ancients grains, I wasn’t sure if I would come back, but my old friends in the garage kept beckoning to me to give them another chance.

The romance of working with ancient grains and the fact that they are more easily tolerated than modern wheat appeals to me immensely so I will continue to incorporate them into my breads. However, I still like regular wheat. I’ve missed working with it.

So when one of the bakers in the Artisan Bread Baker’s FB group posted about her experiments with the Einkorn/Wheat Tartine from Tartine Book No. 3, it peaked my interest. I have the book, of course, but I haven’t tried very many breads. I decided to remedy that.

I like the way Chad Robertson, the author of Tartine 3, blends flours and grains in his loaves. He uses ancient grains, but he also incorporates whole wheat and bread flour in his breads. I decided if he can do it, so can I.

 

Einkorn and Wheat Tartine

This Einkorn and Wheat Tartine is a marriage between old and new grains; milled and sifted.

Makes: 1 Loaf

Adapted from Tartine Book No. 3 by Chad Robertson

Ingredients:

• 200g white winter wheat, sifted (I used home-milled flour, then sifted it once to remove some of the bran)
• 150g whole grain einkorn flour
• 150g all-purpose einkorn flour
• 75g refreshed levain (100% hydration) *
• 425g warm water (80ºF or 27ºC), reserve 50g to mix with salt
• 12g sea salt

* To make one loaf, you only use 75g of the refreshed starter so you’ll have some left over.  See directions below.

 

Method:

Build your Levain

For the best results, you should start by refreshing, or building your starter. To do this, take 25g of your favorite starter. I used my einkorn starter (aka EK) and to that, added 100g water, 50g all-purpose einkorn flour, and 50g whole grain einkorn flour. Mix well, cover, and let stand at room temperature for 4 – 6 hours.

If you’re making this bread in a colder climate, it might take longer for the levain to be ready for use. To test for doneness, take a spoonful of the levain and drop it in a glass of water.  If it floats, it’s ready, if it sinks to the bottom, let it ferment a little longer.

 

Mix the Dough:

In a large bowl whisk together the flours.

In a separate bowl combine the refreshed starter and the warm water.

Combine the wet and dry mixtures and mix with your hands or with a Danish dough whisk until no dry bits remain.

Autolyse: Cover and let the dough rest (autolyse) for at least 30 minutes.

After the autolyse, add the salt and 50g of warm water.

Mix well to incorporate into the dough. Transfer dough to large bowl, and cover for bulk fermentation.

Bulk Rise: During the bulk rise (3 to 4 hours, depending on temperature), fold and turn the dough every 30 minutes for the first 2 ½ hours. To do a fold, scoop the underside of the dough up and stretch it over itself towards you. Rotate the container one-quarter turn and repeat three to four times. Keep dough covered between folding. After 3 hours and six folds, the dough should feel aerated, billowy, and softer. You will see a 20-30 percent increase in volume. If not, continue bulk rising for 30 minutes to 1 hour longer.

Dividing & Shaping: The next day, or after the bulk rise, turn out the dough onto a clean, un-floured work surface. Lightly flour the top surface of the dough and cut into two pieces. Pre-shape each piece gently into a round by working the dough in a circular motion. Take care to work the dough gently and not de-gas.

Bench Rest: Lightly flour the tops of the rounds, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest on the work surface for 20-30 minutes. Line two medium baskets or bowls with clean, dry kitchen towels and dust generously with a 50/50 mixture of any wheat and rice flours.

Final Shaping: Refer to the Tartine (Chad Robertson) method for shaping wet dough (here is a helpful video link: http://youtu.be/cIIjV6s-0cA, the shaping starts at the 3:09 minute mark)

Final Rise: Transfer the dough to the floured basket, flipping the dough over so that the seam side is facing up and centered. Cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel and let rise at warm room temperature for 3 to 5 hours or overnight in the refrigerator (bake directly from the refrigerator, if using this option).

I placed the baskets in the refrigerator overnight.

To Bake: Pre-heat the oven to 500F/260C, adjust the oven rack to its lowest position, and place a cast iron Dutch oven, or any other heavy ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid into the oven. I used a Dutch oven combo baker to bake this loaf. Pre-heat for at least 30 minutes.

Carefully transfer the dough round into the preheated Dutch oven, tipping it out of the basket into the pot so it is now seam-side down. Score the top of the dough in the pattern of your choice. Cover the pot and return it to the oven.

After 20 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 450F/230C. Bake another 10 minutes, then carefully remove the lid (being careful of the cloud of steam). Continue to bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown.

When the loaf is done, turn it out onto a wire rack to cool.

Cool completely, then slice, and enjoy!  

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Ancient Grain Tartine: Spelt, Einkorn & KAMUT

The Bread of the Month (BOM) for the Artisan Bread Baker’s FB group is Spelt-Wheat Sourdough (modified from a Tartine recipe).

I wanted to make my version exclusively with ancient grains so I substituted Einkorn for the regular whole wheat, and 50/50 all-purpose KAMUT/Spelt flour for the bread flour. I used my Einkorn sourdough starter and mixed it with all-purpose Spelt to create the levain. 

I baked the loaves in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven Combo like the method outlined in Chad Robertson’s book. However, I used a slightly different proofing, scoring and baking technique.

I let the dough retard in the refrigerator for the bulk fermentation and the final proof (after placing the loaves in the banneton baskets). I did this in order to accommodate my schedule over the weekend, but I also wanted to see how it would affect the bread. For the final proof, I placed the loaves seam side up in the proofing baskets and when it was time to bake them, I took the baskets out of the refrigerator, and carefully flipped the loaves over onto a round piece of parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the combo-baker.

I scored the loaves on the parchment paper and used a pizza peel to transfer them to the hot combo-baker instead of flipping them directly onto the bottom of the baker and scoring them at that time. This proved to be much easier on my arms and reduced the chance of being burned while flipping or scoring the loaves.

 

Ancient Grain Tartine

Adapted from Tartine Book No. 3 by Chad Robertson

Makes: 2 Loaves

Ingredients:

• 300 g whole grain spelt flour
• 300 g all-purpose spelt flour
• 300 g all-purpose KAMUT flour
• 150 g Einkorn flour
• 150 g Refreshed Levain (100% hydration) *
• 770 g Warm Water (80ºF or 27ºC) **
• 25 g sea salt
• 30 g warm water

* You only use 150 g of the refreshed starter in this bread so you’ll have some left over. You can use that as your starter and feed it like you normally would going forward. However, since I used a mixture of Einkorn and spelt, I didn’t plan to keep this mixture as my starter. I used the remaining levain to make sourdough crackers instead.

** The original formula calls for 800g of warm water. If you use regular bread flour and whole wheat flour (instead of ancient grains), you’ll probably need the additional water, but Einkorn and Spelt do not absorb water the same way regular wheat does.

Method:

Build your Levain

For the best results, you should start by refreshing, or building your starter. To do this, take 50 g of your favorite starter. I used my Einkorn starter (aka EK) and to that, added 200 g water, 100g all-purpose spelt flour, and 100 g whole grain Einkorn flour. Mix well, cover, and let stand at room temperature overnight (or until bubbly and active). It can take anywhere from 12 – 18 hours.  It took mine about 14 hours.

 

Mix the Dough:

In a large bowl whisk together the flours.

In a separate bowl combine the refreshed starter and the warm water.

Combine the wet and dry mixtures and mix with your hands or with a Danish dough whisk until no dry bits remain.

Autolyse: Cover and let the dough rest (autolyse) for at least 30 minutes.

After the autolyse, add the salt and 30 g of warm water.

Mix well to incorporate into the dough.Transfer dough to large bowl, and cover for bulk fermentation.

Bulk Rise: During the bulk rise (3 to 4 hours, depending on temperature), fold and turn the dough every 30 minutes for the first 2 ½ hours. To do a fold, scoop the underside of the dough up and stretch it over itself towards you. Rotate the container one-quarter turn and repeat three to four times. Keep dough covered between folding. After 3 hours and six folds, the dough should feel aerated, billowy, and softer. You will see a 20-30 percent increase in volume. If not, continue bulk rising for 30 minutes to 1 hour longer.

 

At this point, I retarded my dough in the refrigerator overnight. You can continue with the dividing and shaping and the bench rest if you prefer.

Dividing & Shaping: The next day, or after the bulk rise, turn out the dough onto a clean, un-floured work surface. Lightly flour the top surface of the dough and cut into two pieces. Pre-shape each piece gently into a round by working the dough in a circular motion. Take care to work the dough gently and not de-gas.

Bench Rest: Lightly flour the tops of the rounds, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest on the work surface for 20-30 minutes. Line two medium baskets or bowls with clean, dry kitchen towels and dust generously with a 50/50 mixture of any wheat and rice flours.

Final Shaping: Refer to the Tartine (Chad Robertson) method for shaping wet dough (here is a helpful video link: http://youtu.be/cIIjV6s-0cA, the shaping starts at the 3:09 minute mark)

Final Rise: Transfer the dough to the floured baskets, flipping the dough over so that the seam side is facing up and centered. If you want to coat the loaf in seeds or cracked grain, roll the smooth side of the dough in the coating before transferring it to the floured rising baskets, placing the dough coated-side down, seam-side up. Cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel and let rise at warm room temperature for 3 to 5 hours or overnight in the refrigerator (bake directly from the refrigerator, if using this option).

I opted to place the baskets in the refrigerator overnight. As I mentioned, I wanted to see how they performed with the double retardation in the refrigerator.

 

To Bake: Pre-heat the oven to 500F/260C, adjust the oven rack to its lowest position, and place a cast iron Dutch oven, or any other heavy ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid into the oven. Pre-heat for at least 30 minutes.

Carefully transfer one dough round into the preheated Dutch oven, tipping it out of the basket into the pot so it is now seam-side down. Score the top of the dough, Cover the pot and return to the oven. After 20 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 450F/230C. Bake another 10 minutes, then carefully remove the lid (a cloud of steam will be released). Continue to bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown.

This is where I deviated from the instructions.  Instead of tipping the loaves directly into the hot Dutch oven bottom, I flipped the loaves onto round parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the Dutch oven. Then I scored the loaves on the parchment paper and transferred them to the bottom of the Dutch oven using a pizza peel.

When the loaf is done, turn it out onto a wire rack to cool.

To bake the second loaf, raise the oven temperature to 500F/260C, wipe out the Dutch oven with a dry kitchen towel, and reheat with the lid on for 15 minutes. Repeat the baking procedure as with the first loaf.

Cool completely, then slice, and enjoy!  

I think I may have proofed the loaves a bit too much, but they sure were good.  They were chewy and flavorful due to the sourdough levain.

 

This was a fun bake.  Thanks to Nancy for choosing and providing the instructions and inspiration for this bread.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Seeded Semolina Spelt Tartine

I saw a beautiful photo of a Tartine bread the other day on Facebook. It was made with Spelt and white flour.

It’s been awhile since I’ve made bread using the Tartine method and this photo inspired me to try it again. This time, I made Semolina Bread, but substituted all-purpose Spelt for the all-purpose white flour and adapted the method to suit my schedule and starter.

 

I used a different method for creating the leaven than what is outlined in the Tartine Bread book.  If you’re maintaining a starter of 50/50 all-purpose/whole wheat flours, the method in the book works well because you discard a portion,  then feed what’s left.  You’ll only use half of the leaven in the bread and then what’s left over you’ll maintain as the mother starter going forward.

I don’t maintain a 50/50 starter and I didn’t want to end up with unused leaven so I started with a tablespoon of mature starter and added a mixture of bread flour/whole grain spelt flour to make the leaven. This method worked out well.

The dough is 80% hydration which means the amount of water (800 grams) is 80 percent of the weight of the total flour (1000 grams). It was tricky to work with. The dough also includes a good bit of seeds in addition to the flour, but even after the seeds were incorporated, the dough was still really wet. To keep from adding too much additional flour, I ended up placing the dough in the refrigerator twice, once during the bulk fermentation and again after the loaves had been placed in the banneton (proofing) baskets. This affected the oven spring, but the loaf had a delicious texture and flavor.

 

Seeded Semolina Spelt Loaf

Inspired by Corinne’s Tartine loaf on FB

Adapted from:Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson

Levain:

• 1 tablespoon mature starter (I used this one)
• 100 grams warm water
• 50 grams bread flour
• 50 grams whole grain Spelt

 

Final Dough:

Ingredients	Quantity	Baker’s Percentage
Leaven	200 grams	20
Water (80 degrees F.)	750 grams, 50 grams	80
Semolina Flour	700 grams	70
All-Purpose Spelt Flour	300 grams	30
Fennel Seeds	75 grams	7.5
Sesame Seeds	75 grams	7.5
Sea Salt	20 grams	2
Mixed seeds for top – I used a mixture of sesame seeds & poppy seeds	200 grams

 

Method:

Making the Leaven:

The evening before you plan to bake the bread, take 1 tablespoon of starter and mix it with 100 grams warm water.  Stir in 50 grams bread flour and 50 grams whole grain Spelt flour using a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk.  Cover the levain with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it sit on the counter overnight at a cool room temperature (65 degrees F.)

The next day, it should be quite active and the volume should have increased by 20 percent. 

When I saw how bubbly this levain was, I thought it was ready, but decided to do the float test to see if it really was ready.

 

I dropped a spoonful of the leaven into a container of room temperature water and it sunk.  It wasn’t fully ripened. 

 

I stirred the spoonful back into the rest of the leaven and let it ripen for another hour.  The 2nd time I tried the float test, it worked.  Now, it was time to make the dough.

 

Mixing the Dough:

Take 750 grams of the water and pour it into a large mixing bowl. Add the 200 grams of leaven and stir it to disperse. This was fun!  The whole levain floated to the top.  It was definitely ready. 

 

Add the flours, 700 grams of Semolina and 300 grams all-purpose Spelt and mix thoroughly using a Danish dough whisk or wooden spoon. 

I started mixing the dough using the dough whisk, but then switched to my hands to make sure everything was incorporated. I love the feel of dough made with Semolina.

 

Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula.  Let the dough rest for 25 to 40 minutes.  Don’t skip this part because the flour starts to absorb the water during the rest which helps develop the gluten.

 

While the dough is resting, toast the fennel seed and sesame seeds for about 5 minutes in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Let the seeds cool, then coarsely grind them using a mortar and pestle.  Add some poppy seeds to the mixture if you like.

 

After the dough has rested, add the 20 grams of salt and 50 grams of water.  Squeeze the dough between your fingers to incorporate the salt. Mix thoroughly.

 

Bulk Fermentation:

Transfer the dough to a clean, large container or clear bucket and let the dough bulk ferment for 3 to 4 hours.  This should be done at a temperature between 78 degrees F. to 82 degrees F.

 

Fold and Turn the Dough:

This dough is not kneaded. To develop the gluten structure, you’ll do a series of turns and folds in the bowl during the bulk fermentation. During the first 2 hours, give the dough one turn every half hour.

To perform a fold and turn, dip your hand in water to keep it from sticking to the dough.  Grab the underside of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it back over the rest of the dough.  Repeat this a few times to make sure you’ve incorporated all of the dough. This is considered 1 turn.

After the 2nd fold and turn, add in the ground fennel and sesame seeds.  Moisten with a little water if necessary.

 

Use your hands to mix in the seeds.  This is definitely a hands on bread.  It’s fun to squish the dough between your fingers. After the seeds are thoroughly incorporated, continue the fold and turn process every half hour until you reach the third hour, then do the fold and turns more gently. 

 

By the end of the third hour, the dough should feel more cohesive, but my dough was still pretty slack (I didn’t take a photo of this part) so I covered it back up and placed it in the refrigerator overnight.  You can extend the bulk fermentation at room temperature, but it was getting late and I was ready to get some sleep.

 

Dividing and Shaping the Loaves

The next day, I removed the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature.  Then I placed the dough on a lightly floured work surface and divided it into two equal pieces using a bench knife.

 

During this process, you’re supposed to incorporate as little flour as possible and just flour the tops of the top.  I ended up flouring the surface a little bit as well as the tops of the dough. 

Use the bench knife and your hands to form the pieces into rounds.  The tension should start to build.  Let the rounds bench rest on the counter for 20 to 30 minutes. 

 

 

Lightly flour the tops of the rounds and cover with a kitchen towel. During the bench rest, make sure there are no drafts that will cool the dough down too much. This meant I had to turn off the fan in my kitchen and it was really hot that day.  The things we do for our bread.

 

If your dough spreads a lot during the bench rest, this means it needs to be developed further.  Just reshape the rounds again to give them additional structure. I had to reshape mine a couple of times.

 

Proofing the Loaves:

Place 200 grams of mixed seeds in a shallow pan and have a spray bottle ready for spritzing.  You’ll use this to spray the tops of the loaves before dipping them into the seed mixture.

Shape the loaves into a tight round and dip the tops of the loaves into the seed mixture. To do this, hold one round in one hand and spritz the top of the loaf with water with the other hand.  Then carefully dip the top of the loaf into the seed mixture.

Gently place the loaf seed-side down in a banneton basket that has been dusted with a mixture of white rice flour and all-purpose flour.  Since this dough was so wet, I also used basket liners. I’ve tried this particular bread before without the liners and the dough ended up sticking to the baskets. I did things differently this time and I liked the results.

 

At this point, you can either let the dough rise at warm room temperature, 75 degrees F. to 80 degrees F., for about 3 to 4 hours before baking or you can retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator, or up to 12 hours.  It was getting late again so I opted to retard the dough overnight.  The slow fermentation will develop a more complex flavor.

 

Preparing the Loaves for Baking:

The next day, about 20 minutes before you plan to bake the loaves, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. and place a Dutch oven combo baker on the bottom rack.  You’ll need to remove the middle rack.

If you retarded your dough overnight, take one of the loaves out of the refrigerator.  Leave the other loaf in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake it.

 

Dust the top of the loaf in the basket with rice flour.  When the oven reaches the preheated temperature, remove the heated shallow pan from the oven and place it carefully on the stove. It’s best to use heavy oven mitts because it is really hot. Keep the deep part of the combo baker in the oven.

Being very careful not to burn yourself, invert the loaf onto the shallow pan.  Hopefully, it will release easily. Mine did this time. This was the liner after I removed the loaf.  No dough stuck to the sides. Yea!

 

Scoring the Loaves:

Score the top of the loaf in a square pattern using 4 cuts. Make the cuts at a very low angle, almost horizontal to the dough. It was a little tricky to cut through all of the seeds.  The pan is very hot so be careful not to don’t touch the sides while you’re scoring the loaves.

 

Baking the Loaves:

Using heavy oven mitts, carefully return the shallow pan (with the loaf in it) to the preheated oven.  Cover it with the deep pan.  Immediately reduce the oven to 450 degrees F.  Bake the loaf for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, open the oven and carefully remove the top pan using oven mitts. The deep pan is fairly heavy, but I’m happy to say that my tennis elbow has gotten stronger so I was able to lift it.

Steam will be released when you remove the top pan. The color of the crust will be pale and shiny. Continue to bake the bread until it is a deeply caramelized color, about 20 to 25 minutes.

 

Remove the loaf from the oven once it reaches a golden brown color or darker if you prefer.  Use oven mitts and transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

 

Baking the 2nd Loaf:

To bake the other loaf, raise the oven temperature back to 500 degrees F.  Wipe out the combo cooker with a kitchen towel and place it back in the oven to reheat for 10 minutes.  Follow the above process to bake the 2nd loaf.

 

Slice and Enjoy!

This loaf is delicious.  The fennel seed gives it a licorice-type flavor.  It’s chewy and crunchy due to all of the seeds. My friend taste-tested it and he really enjoyed it.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

World Bread Day & Tartine Whole Wheat Bread

Happy World Bread Day!  World Bread Day was started by the International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners (IUB) as a time to talk about the importance of bread, as well as its history and future.

Zorra adopted World Bread Day as a (food)blogger event in 2006 and the event has been celebrated by bread bakers around the world every year since then. Take a look at the previous World Bread Day Roundups.  You’ll be amazed at the creativity of all of the bakers around the world.

I love to talk about bread so I jumped right on the bread-baking bandwagon. This is my third year participating in World Bread Day.

 

 

My contribution to World Bread Day 2011 is Tartine Whole Wheat Bread. This bread is a variation on a theme. It is similar to the Tartine Country Bread I submitted for BBD #37, but it uses a greater proportion of whole wheat flour to white all-purpose flour. And since I use a 50/50 blend of whole wheat and white all-purpose flour, my version has a bit more whole wheat than the original formula.

 

“My bread is sweet and nourishing, made from my own  wheat, ground in my own mill, and baked in my own oven.”

Tobias Smollett, Humphrey Clinker, 1771

 

 

Whole Wheat Bread

Adapted from: Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson

Makes: One 2-pound loaf

 

Ingredients:

• 400 grams water (plus a couple of tablespoons)
• 100 grams leaven
• 350 grams whole wheat flour (I used home-milled flour from hard red winter wheat)
• 150 grams all-purpose flour (I used a 50/50 blend of whole wheat and white all-purpose flour)
• 10 grams salt

 

Directions:

1. Making the Leaven:

   The night before you plan to mix the dough, take 1 tablespoon of a mature starter and feed it with 200 grams of warm (78 degrees F) water and 200 grams of a blend of 50 white bread flour/50 whole wheat bread flour. I used a tablespoon of my new apple starter. Cover with a kitchen towel (or plastic wrap) and let the starter rise overnight at a cool room temperature (65 degrees F).  This is the leaven.* 

   The next morning, the volume should’ve increased by 20 percent.  To find out if it’s ready, test to see if it floats in water.  Drop a spoonful into a bowl of moderate room-temperature water.  If it sinks, it is not ready to use and needs more time to ferment and ripen.

    

2. Mixing the Dough:

   Weigh 400 grams of 80 degrees F water and pour it into a large mixing bowl.  Add 100 grams of leaven and stir it to disperse.

    

   *You don’t use all of the leaven for this bread so save the leftover for your starter if you like or use it to bake more bread. Since I’m keeping my starters separate, I decided to bake another loaf with the left over leaven.

    

   Add 500 grams of flour – 350 grams whole wheat and 150 grams white – to the water and mix thoroughly by hand until you do not see any dry flour. 

    

    

   Let the dough rest for 25 to 40 minutes.  Don’t skip the rest period.  It allows the flour to absorb the water and then swell.  Then it will relax. 

    

    

   After the dough has rested, add the 10 grams of salt.  The original formula says to add 50 grams warm water at this point, but this whole wheat version didn’t mention adding any additional water.  However, I used freshly-milled whole wheat flour which  absorbs the water a little more so I added a couple of tablespoons of water and incorporated it along with the salt.

   Incorporate the salt into the dough by squeezing the dough between your fingers. Come on you know you want to get your hands in that dough…

   

    

   Fold the dough on top of itself and transfer to a clean bowl. I just washed out the same bowl and placed the dough back in it and covered it with plastic wrap. Let the dough bulk ferment for 3 to 4 hours or longer if necessary.

   

    

3. Turning the Dough:

   I didn’t take photos of this process. You can view the step-by-step process for turning the dough, including photos on the Tartine Country Bread post.

   Using this method, the dough is not kneaded on a counter, the development of the dough is achieved by a series of turns in the bowl during the bulk fermentation.

   To do a turn, dip one hand in water to prevent the dough from sticking to you and then grab the underside of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it back over the rest of the dough.

   Repeat this action two or three times so that all the dough gets evenly developed. This is considered one turn.

   During the first 2 hours of fermentation, give the dough one turn every half hour or so.  During the last hour or so, turn the dough more gently to avoid pressing gas out of the dough. If the dough seems to be developing slowly, you can extend the bulk fermentation time.

    

4. Shaping the Loaves:

   To view the step-by-step shaping process with photos, go to the Tartine Country Bread post.

   Transfer the dough to an unfloured work surface. Lightly flour the surface of the dough. Cut the dough into two equal pieces. Flip it so that the floured side rests on the counter.  Do this with the other piece of dough.

   Fold each piece onto itself so that the flour on the surface of the dough is sealed on the outside of the loaf.  The outer surface will become the crust, so you can use a little more flour if necessary.

   Work each piece of dough into a round shape. Let both rounds of dough rest on the work surface for 20 to 30 minutes covered with a kitchen towel to prevent the dough from drying on top.  I floured the loaves lightly before placing the towel over them.

   To form the final shapes, lightly flour the top surface of the dough rounds.  Lift both rounds off the work surface, being careful to maintain the round shape. Flip the round so that the floured side is now resting on the work surface.  What was the underside is now facing up.

   Perform a series of folds to build tension so that the loaf will holds it form and rise when baked.  First, you fold the third of the dough closest to you up and over the middle third of the round.  Stretch out the dough to your right and fold the right third over the center. 

   Stretch the dough to your left and fold this third over the previous fold.   Now, stretch out the third of dough farthest from you and fold it toward you, over the previous folds, and press it in place with your fingers.

   I folded both rounds as indicated above, then I pinched the seams together on top and placed the dough seam-side up in banneton baskets that had been floured with a 50/50 mixture of rice flour and wheat flour.

    

   

   At this point, you can let the dough rise at warm room temperature for 3 to 4 more hours or retard the dough overnight. 

    

5. Baking the Loaves:

   20 minutes or so before you plan to bake the loaves, place a Dutch oven combo cooker (lid and pot) in the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

   

   Dust the surface of one of the loaves in the basket with rice flour.  When the oven reaches 500 degrees, carefully pull the shallow pan out of the oven and place it on top of the stove.  Leave the other pan in the oven.  Carefully inverting the basket, turn the dough into the hot pan.

   Score the loaf using a simple square pattern with four cuts. To make pronounced “ears,” make shallow cuts at a very low angle (almost horizontal) to the dough.  I’m still working on perfecting this process, but I was pretty pleased with the scoring on this loaf.

   

   Be careful not to burn yourself during this part.  This is why you use the shallow pan on the bottom instead of the deep pot.  It makes it easier to score the loaf without burning yourself.

   Return the shallow pan with the loaf to the oven and cover it with the deep pot.  This is sort of tricky.  The deep pot can be pretty heavy so be careful. 

   Immediately reduce the oven to 450 degrees F and bake the loaf for 20 minutes.  Then carefully remove the top pan.

   

    

   Let the loaf continue to bake (without the top) for about 15 to 20 more minutes, until the crust is a deep color. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the loaf to a rack to cool.

   

    

6. Enjoying the Loaves: Let the loaf cool completely before slicing and serving.

   

    

    

   Thank you for joining me for World Bread Day.  Come let us break bread together.

    

   Happy Baking!

   Cathy