diff --git a/tartine-country-bread.md b/tartine-country-bread.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1fd6860 --- /dev/null +++ b/tartine-country-bread.md @@ -0,0 +1,116 @@ +# Tartine Country Bread [^1] + +**Yield:** 2 loaves +**Time:** 2 weeks (or 2 days with active starter) + +## Ingredients + +### For the Starter and the Leaven + +* 1000 grams white-bread flour +* 1000 grams whole-wheat flour + +### For the Bread + +* 200 grams leaven +* 900 grams white-bread flour +* 100 grams whole-wheat flour, plus more for dusting +* 20 grams fine sea salt +* 100 grams rice flour + +## Preparation + +1. Make the starter: Combine 1,000 grams white-bread flour with 1,000 grams + whole-wheat flour. Put 100 grams of warm water (about 80 degrees) in a small + jar or container and add 100 grams of the flour mix. Use your fingers to mix + until thoroughly combined and the mixture is the consistency of a thick + batter. Cover with a towel and let sit at room temperature until mixture + begins to bubble and puff, 2 to 3 days. + +2. When the starter begins to show signs of activity, begin regular feedings. + Keep the starter at room temperature, and at the same time, each day discard + 80 percent of the starter and feed the remaining starter with equal parts + warm water and white-wheat flour mix (50 grams of each is fine). When the + starter begins to rise and fall predictably and takes on a slightly sour + smell, it’s ready; this should take about 1 week. (Reserve remaining flour + mix for leaven.) + +3. Make the leaven: The night before baking, discard all but 1 tablespoon of the + mature starter. Mix the remaining starter with 200 grams of warm water and + stir with your hand to disperse. Add 200 grams of the white-wheat flour mix + and combine well. Cover with a towel and let rest at room temperature for 12 + hours or until aerated and puffed in appearance. To test for readiness, drop + a tablespoon of leaven into a bowl of room-temperature water; if it floats + it’s ready to use. If it doesn’t, allow more time to ferment. + +4. Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine 200 grams of leaven with 700 grams + of warm water and stir to disperse. (Reserve remaining leaven for future + loaves; see note below.) + +5. Add 900 grams of white-bread flour and 100 grams of whole-wheat flour to the + bowl and use your hands to mix until no traces of dry flour remain. The dough + will be sticky and ragged. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rest + for 25 to 40 minutes at room temperature. + +6. Add 20 grams of fine sea salt and 50 grams of warm water. Use your hands to + integrate salt and water into the dough thoroughly. The dough will begin to + pull apart, but continue mixing; it will come back together. + +7. Cover dough with a towel and transfer to a warm environment, 75 to 80 degrees + ideally (like near a window in a sunny room, or inside a turned-off oven). + Let dough rise for 30 minutes. Fold dough by dipping a hand in the water, + taking hold of the underside of the dough at one quadrant, and stretching it + up over the rest of the dough. Repeat this action 3 more times, rotating the + bowl a quarter turn for each fold. Do this every half-hour for 2 1/2 hours + more (3 hours total). The dough should be billowy and increase in volume 20 + to 30 percent. If not, continue to let rise and fold for up to an hour more. + +8. Transfer dough to a work surface and dust top with flour. Use a dough scraper + to cut dough into 2 equal pieces and flip them over so floured sides are face + down. Fold the cut side of each piece up onto itself so the flour on the + surface remains entirely on the outside of the loaf; this will become the + crust. Work the dough into taut rounds. Place the dough rounds on a work + surface, cover with a towel, and let rest for 30 minutes. + +8. Mix 100 grams whole-wheat flour and 100 grams rice flour. Line two 10- to + 12-inch bread-proofing baskets or mixing bowls with towels. Use some of the + flour mixture to generously flour towels (reserve remaining mixture). + +10. Dust rounds with whole-wheat flour. Use a dough scraper to flip them over + onto a work surface so floured sides are facing down. Take one round, and + starting at the side closest to you, pull the bottom 2 corners of the dough + down toward you, then fold them up into the middle third of the dough. + Repeat this action on the right and left sides, pulling the edges out and + folding them in over the center. Finally, lift the top corners up and fold + down over previous folds. (Imagine folding a piece of paper in on itself + from all 4 sides.) Roll dough over so the folded side becomes the bottom of + the loaf. Shape into a smooth, taut ball. Repeat with the other round. + +11. Transfer rounds, seam-side up, to prepared baskets. Cover with a towel and + return the dough to the 75 to 80-degree environment for 3 to 4 hours. (Or + let the dough rise for 10 to 12 hours in the refrigerator. Bring back to + room temperature before baking.) + +12. About 30 minutes before baking, place a Dutch oven or lidded cast-iron pot + in the oven and heat it to 500 degrees. Dust tops of dough, still in their + baskets, with whole-wheat/rice-flour mixture. Very carefully remove the + heated pot from the oven and gently turn 1 loaf into the pan seam-side down. + Use a lame (a baker’s blade) or razor blade to score the top of the bread a + few times to allow for expansion, cover, and transfer to the oven. Reduce + temperature to 450 degrees and cook for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the lid + (steam may release) and cook for 20 more minutes or until the crust is a + rich, golden brown color. + +13. Transfer bread to a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before + slicing. The bottom of the loaf should sound hollow when tapped. Increase + oven temperature to 500 degrees, clean out the pot and repeat this process + with the second loaf. + +## Tips: + +1. The remaining leaven is your new starter. Continue to feed it if you plan to + bake again soon or hold it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for + future use. When you want to bake again, begin feeding the starter a few days + or a week beforehand until it once again behaves predictably. + +[^1]: https://tartinebakery.com/stories/country-bread