Back in 2012 I started putting some of recipes and calculations down in a small spiral bound notebook. I was finding it difficult to find the time to pull out the computer and get my thoughts into the blog. The notebook was easier to keep at hand and I'm still using it.
At the beginning it was an odd mix of things that made it into the book. Recipes for bottle-conditioned soda, fruit liqueurs, and canned condiments (fruit butter, mustard, tomato sauce) all show up within the first few pages. I've since written down recipes for the odd cocktail that I might run across while reading. Interesting spice blends make it in. The random sauce.
Some of these recipes I've committed to memory as I use them often, others I hardly ever look at (we haven't made quince butter since the recipe went into the book). Perhaps the most looked-at page in the notebook at the moment is page 15, on which I have written the Tartine Bread recipe. Some of the best bread I've made has been based off of this recipe.
The recipe requires the use of a sourdough starter, which is fairly easy to start and maintain. The main problem I have with most sourdough starter recipes and methodologies is that almost all of them have you toss out a large portion of the bulk starter before feeding and bulking up again (i.e. the refreshment ratio is high: a little bit of starter, lots of fresh food). This drives me nuts; I can't make enough bread or sourdough pancakes to make up for all the starter that gets thrown out. So I don't do it.
At this point I start with about 25 g of starter at the beginning of the week and add 25 g each of flour and water. This is initially a high-ish refreshment ratio and gets the culture started out with enough food. After that I'll add another 25 g each flour and water about every 24 hours for about a week. The starter is most active at about mid-week, which is when I use some of it for bread. By the end of the week the refreshment ratio has dropped off quite a bit and the culture is flagging. I'll use about 25 g of this and start a new cycle of feeding. The rest I use for pancakes or waffles. Nothing gets thrown out. I might sacrifice a little bit of oven spring during the baking process, but I feel like it's worth it. Large quantities of food waste is unacceptable and really unnecessary for home-made bread. I'm just going for "mmmmm", not consistency.
I've got time in the evenings on Tuesday and Thursday. This recipe works well if I start the leaven on Monday evening, do the foldings on Tuesday, and let the bread rise in the fridge until Thursday evening, when I'll then bake it.
I can also make a Thursday fold, Saturday bake schedule work.
Just FYI, this recipe is highly truncated. A fuller explanation can be found in the Tartine Bread book.
For two loaves of bread (~400 g each):
Leaven (25%):
1 Tbs. Active Starter
75 g All Purpose Flour
75 g Filtered Water
Brine:
1 Tbs. Salt
50 g Filtered Water
Dough:
475 g Filtered Water
700 g All Purpose Flour
Start the leaven the evening before you plan to do the folding by combining the active starter, 75 g flour, and 75 g water. Allow to ferment at room temperature until the following evening (~18 hours). It should be most active after 12 hours, so it will have most likely fallen by the time you're able to give it any attention.
Mix the salt and 50 g of filtered water and set aside to allow the salt to dissolve.
Pour 475 g filtered water over the leaven. Mix in the flour.
Allow to rest 30 minutes. This is called the autolyse phase, it allows the flour to become fully hydrated so proper gluten formation can occur.
Work in the brine by squeezing it in by hand.
1st Fold: after the brine is incorporated, lift the dough and fold it down onto itself multiple times. It will be extremely tacky. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Complete the 2nd round of folding and allow to rest another 30 minutes.
Complete the 3rd round of folding and allow to rest another 30 minutes.
Complete the 4th round of folding and allow to rest another 30 minutes.
Split the loaves and complete the first shaping. Turn out the dough onto a very lightly floured surface. Use a dough scraper to split the loaves and shape them. Shape them by pushing the edge of the dough under itself using the dough scraper. It will stick to everything, which is fine. Just bunch it all back onto itself and try to get it into a tight rough. Allow to rest covered for about 20 minutes.
Perform the 2nd shaping and place the loaves into prepared baskets. Flour the tops of the rested rounds, then flip them over onto the table. Stretch out the top edge of the dough and fold it back over the loaf, repeat with each of the two sides, then finish with the bottom edge. Place the loaf crease-side up into a basket lined with a well-floured flour-sack towel.
Place into the fridge to rise for the next 24-48 hours.
On baking day:
Heat a covered cast iron pot in the oven to 500F. When ready, lower the temp to 450F. Carefully slash the dough and place into the hot cast iron pot. Cover and place back in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and complete baking anywhere from 15-30 minutes, until bread is well browned.
Allow to cool completely before cutting.
Variatons:
Oatmeal Bread: replace 200 g of the flour with grown oats. Add an additional 100 g water.
Rosemary Walnut Bread: replace 100 g of the flour with ground chocolate or caramel malt (spent), add 2 Tbs. molasses and 1 cup chopped walnuts.
Millet Bread: replace 200 g flour with ground millet, add 100 g un-ground millet.
Rye: replace 200 g of white flour with rye flour.
Maple Miso Oat: replace 100 g of the flour with rolled oats. Add 4 Tbs. maple syrup, 1/2 cup miso, and reduce salt by half.
Fenugreek: replace equivalent weight of flour with 1/2 cup finely ground bran. Add 4 tsp. ground fenugreek and 2 tsp. whole fenugreek.
