Recipes Sites Ingredients

Sourdough Pain de Campagne

Source King Arthur Baking

Ingredients

  • 522 g ap flour
  • 15 g gluten
  • 3 g diastatic malt
  • 60 g whole wheat flour
  • 470 g tepid water (75°F to 80°F)
  • 12 g salt
  • 80 g sourdough starter

Method

  • Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. It’s fine to use sourdough starter straight from the refrigerator if that’s where you keep it, though it’s best if you’ve fed it at least once in the past week.

  • Mix the ingredients by hand until the dough forms a shaggy mass and the flour is hydrated. Cover the bowl or bucket and let the dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.

  • Fold the dough by grabbing a section from one side with a wet hand, lifting it up, then pressing it down to the middle to seal. Repeat this with the remaining three sides of the dough. Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.

  • Fold the dough two more times, giving it a 15-minute rest between the two, for a total of three sets of folds in 45 minutes. As you perform the folds you’ll notice that the dough smooths out, gaining strength and becoming elastic.

  • Cover the dough tightly after the final fold and leave it at room temperature (approximately 72°F) for about 12 hours. It’s helpful to mark the height of the dough (use the markings on the bucket or a large rubber band around your bowl) to gauge how much it rises.

  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured or greased surface and gently form it into a round, cover and let rest seam-side down for 10 minutes.

  • Generously dust a bannetons or towel-lined large bowl with whole wheat flour.

  • Shape the loaf into a tight round, place seam-side up into the prepared banneton or bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.

  • If your dough doubled (or came close to doubling) during the 12-hour rise period, immediately place the boule into the refrigerator. But if your dough was a bit more sluggish, let the boule rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes to give it a head start on the second rise.

  • Let the boules rest in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.

  • When you’re ready to bake, place a Dutch oven onto a rack set in the lowest third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 500°F for 45 - 60 minutes.

  • Turn the loaf out onto a piece of parchment paper and slash it with a lame or sharp knife.

  • Remove the preheated Dutch oven from the oven. With the help of the parchment, carefully transfer the loaf to the Dutch oven. You can add a few ice cubes or a splash of water to the oven at this point to increase steam production.

  • Cover the Dutch oven with the lid and place it in the oven.

  • Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 450°F and bake the covered loaf for 20 minutes. Remove the lid from the Dutch oven and bake the loaf for 20 to 25 minutes uncovered, until they’re a deep golden brown.

  • Remove the loaf from the oven and carefully it out of the Dutch oven onto a rack to cool completely.