Tom's Easy Artisan Bread Recipes

Flour, Water

& a Pinch of Salt

I'd like to keep it basic in this story. No attention-grabbing hype or funny stuff. Just guidelines for baking tasty & aromatic sourdough bread made with a lot of nutritious whole wheat. Can you handle that?

Hello, Tom here...

The Cast-Iron Dutch Oven Bakes Sourdough Bread

The quantities in the formula are for two loaves. I use two Dutch ovens concurrently. Pre-heat your kitchen oven to 475° F and bake doughs for 25 minutes with the lid on, then take the lid off and bake for another 15 minutes. Let the loaves cool for 1 to 2 hours to reach room temperature. Enjoy...

1. Prep time for sourdough bread runs over two days. 2. You will need to have a sourdough starter at hand. 3. Only flour percentages add up to 100%. Dark rye flour is added in whole wheat's percentage. 4. Dough's hydration is fairly high at between 77% to 80%. Dough can be a bit sticky. 5. The optimal temperature for dough during bulk fermentation is 76° to 82° F.

A few pointers to keep in mind...

6. Select from four formulas and use one process.  7. The process is the same for each formula. 8. The ingredients can be mixed by hand or in a capable stand mixer. 9. Everyone has a few fails in the beginning. 10. Practice makes perfect!

Just a few more...

Ingredients Whole Wheat Flour   Dark Rye Flour  Bread Flour Water Salt Levain - Whole Flour Weight

(%) grams (75%)   600 ^     30 (25%)     270 (80%)   680 21 (17%) 360 1961

Formula #1 75% Whole Wheat

Yields 2 loaves each ~ 850 grams.   

Levain: 100% hydrated whole flour

Ingredients Whole Wheat Flour   Dark Rye Flour Bread Flour Water Salt Levain - Bread Flour Weight

(%) grams (75%)   789 ^     30 (25%)     90 (80%)   680 21 (17%) 360 1961

Formula #2 75% Whole Wheat

Yields 2 loaves, each ~ 850 grams.  

Levain: 100% hydrated bread flour

Ingredients Whole Wheat Flour   Dark Rye Flour  Bread Flour Water Salt Levain - Whole Flour Weight

(%) grams (50%)   335 ^     30 (50%)     535 (77%)   685 21 (16%) 360 1966

Formula #3 50% Whole Wheat

Yields 2 loaves each ~ 850 grams.

Levain: 100% hydrated whole flour

Ingredients Whole Wheat Flour   Dark Rye Flour Bread Flour Water Salt Levain - Bread Flour Weight

(%) grams (50%)   520 ^     30 (50%)     364 (77%)   660 21 (16%) 360 1955

Formula #4 * 50% Whole Wheat

Yields 2 loaves, each ~ 850 grams. * My favorite formula. I prefer using white whole wheat flour.  

Levain: 100% hydrated bread flour

Procedure Outline Page 1 of 3

1. Autolyse Mix flour and water in a large bowl or stand mixer. Let rest for 20 minutes. 2. Mix all Ingredients Add salt and levain to autolysed dough and incorporate for a few minutes by hand or on low mixer speed. Then mix for 10 minutes by hand or for 6 to 8 minutes on medium mixer speed. 3. Bulk Fermentation If using a stand mixer, extract dough from the mixer's bowl and place it into larger bowl. Four 'stretch & fold' actions some 30 minutes apart within the first 2 hours. Rest dough for another 2 to 3 hours or until 30% rise and with bubbles visible on top and sides. 4. Divide Extract dough from bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Consolidate the dough into an even shape and divide it into equal portions.

Procedure Outline Page 2 of 3

5. Pre-Shape Perform a 'stretch and fold' per each dough portion again and invert doughs onto their seams. Let rest for 20 minutes. 6 Shape Perform more 'stretch and fold' actions to strengthen each dough. Shape each dough into final round while building surface tension. 7. Move into Bannetons Transfer each dough seam side up into its banneton. Cover loosely with linen cloth or plastic to prevent dough from drying out. 8. Cold Fermentation Place bannetons into refrigerator for 14 to 18 hours.

Procedure Outline Page 3 of 3

9. Bake Pre-heat kitchen oven to 475° F and bake doughs for 25 minutes with the lid on, then take the lid off and bake for another 15 minutes. 10. Now wait This is a most difficult thing. The baking-hot loaves need to cool down to room temperature before being sliced and consumed. Give it at least an hour or two.

My favorite websites with plenty of additional recipes

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you got some benefit from spending a bit of your time on my whole wheat sourdough baking guidance.

Thick Brush Stroke

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