A 90/10 white-wholemeal country loaf at 78% hydration with a 10% mature levain, overnight cold retard, and dark bake. Timeline: levain build morning, mix midday, shape evening, bake next morning — designed to slot around a production day. Yield: 4 loaves at ~900g scaled. Requires an established sourdough culture for the levain build.
Yield: 4 portions · Prep 90 min · Bake 45 min
Ingredients
100 g bread flour (levain build)
100 ml water (levain build)
1800 g bread flour
200 g wholemeal flour
1520 ml water (76% + bassinage)
44 g fine sea salt
Method
Levain Build the levain from your mature culture: 100g flour, 100g water at 26°C, plus a spoon of starter. Ripe in 4-5 hours at 24-26°C — domed, aerated, and just starting to recede at the centre.
Autolyse and mix Autolyse the flours with 1440g of the water for 60 minutes. Add the ripe levain and mix; add the salt with the remaining 80g water (bassinage) and mix to moderate development. Target dough temperature 25-26°C.
Bulk with folds Bulk ferment 3.5-4 hours at 25-26°C with 3 coil folds in the first 2 hours. End of bulk: ~50% volume gain, a domed jiggly surface, and bubbles at the edges of the tub.
Divide and shape Divide at ~900g, preshape into loose rounds, bench rest 20-25 minutes, then shape tight batards with a taut skin and seam-side-up into floured bannetons.
Cold retard Retard at 2-4°C for 10-14 hours. The cold proof sets the shaping, develops acidity, and lets you bake on demand across the morning straight from the fridge.
Bake dark Bake from cold with heavy steam at 250°C dropping to 230°C — 20 minutes steamed, 22-25 minutes venting — to a deep mahogany with a 96°C core. In deck ovens, load close and steam once; in Dutch ovens, 25 minutes lidded, 20 uncovered.