What could possibly be a better introduction than a closeup of a bâtard with a nice “_ear_“, inviting you to tear up and feast upon? French country bread is so rewarding and so easy to make, it’s a shame I did not try something like this before! Although [my daily bread][2]is inspired by_Vermont Sourdough_ and_Pain au Levain_ recipes from Mr. Hamelman, this recipe comes from Mr. Leader’s “**local breads**” book. There are slight differences noticeable but the core remains the same.
The main differences between both books and recipes:
1. I’ve used a**stiff levain** this time, the “most traditional” French recipe. Hamelman uses a liquid levain at 125% (but I used 100%). Right now, I converted the liquid one to a stiff one.
2. Instead of**stretch & fold**-ing, Mr. Leader calls it “**turning the dough**“. The physical action is different but it has the same effect on the dough: it gets stretched and tightens again.
3.**Much more wholewheat flour** added to the mix in this recipe. The classic_pain au levain_ from “BREAD” contains only 5% wholegrain flour.<figurestyle="width: 300px"class="wp-caption alignleft">
[<imgtitle="2012-07-21 08.54.20.jpg"src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/-F7t4j9uaDgE/UAsJgE-l4PI/AAAAAAAAGZU/R8OwR5cGR8k/s300-c/2012-07-21%25252008.54.20.jpg"alt="2012-07-21 08.54.20.jpg"width="300"height="300"/>][3]<figcaptionclass="wp-caption-text">A section of the refreshed stiff levain.</figcaption></figure><figurestyle="width: 300px"class="wp-caption alignleft">[<imgtitle="2012-07-21 11.41.04.jpg"src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/-EAUnk6gPbvM/UAsJg-n5K_I/AAAAAAAAGZc/Y3Xrene24s8/s300-c/2012-07-21%25252011.41.04.jpg"alt="2012-07-21 11.41.04.jpg"width="300"height="300"/>][4]<figcaptionclass="wp-caption-text">The bâtards ready to be proofed on a couche.</figcaption></figure>
* 45gr stiff levain starter (50% hydratation, white flour)
* 50gr water
* 95gr all purpose flour
* 5gr stone-ground organic wholewheat flour
**watch out** though, this brings the preferment to 150gr in total but you’ll only need 125gr for the final build. I’ve been confused by the ratios and the metric weights in this book a lot, and there’s never a summary on the builds, which is quite irritating. I assume Leader always pinches a bit off his preferment to keep for the next baking session. Although I’ve seen “discard the rest” a lot… That’s just stupid, I’ll need to rearrange this. Anyway, it’s a**50%**hydratation starter with**5%** wholewheat.
**final build**
* 350gr water
* 350gr all purpose flour
* 120gr wholewheat flour
* 30gr wholerye flour
* 125gr levain starter
* 10gr sea salt
Remarks: 24% wholewheat (baker’s percentage!),**70%** hydratation,**25%**preferment present in the final build. That’s more than usual for a “pain au levain” recipe, and I like it that way. Bulk fermentation: 3-4 hours including 1 stretch & fold after 1 hour. Final proofing: 1 hour.<figurestyle="width: 300px"class="wp-caption alignleft">
[<imgtitle="2012-07-21 16.32.57.jpg"src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/-dEyWFd4JyOo/UAsJkj8_UVI/AAAAAAAAGZs/J6W11CMncRg/s300-c/2012-07-21%25252016.32.57.jpg"alt="2012-07-21 16.32.57.jpg"width="300"height="300"/>][5]<figcaptionclass="wp-caption-text">Can you spot the yeasted and the levain versions?</figcaption></figure><figurestyle="width: 300px"class="wp-caption alignleft">[<imgtitle="2012-07-21 16.22.23.jpg"src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-JkGtxII8pZI/UAsJjOJbcoI/AAAAAAAAGZk/9PVcuqfYVSA/s300-c/2012-07-21%25252016.22.23.jpg"alt="2012-07-21 16.22.23.jpg"width="300"height="300"/>][6]<figcaptionclass="wp-caption-text">The finished bâtards.</figcaption></figure><figurestyle="width: 300px"class="wp-caption alignleft">[<imgtitle="2012-07-21 16.30.40.jpg"src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/-eC3WFuF-tRg/UAsJmyX3vjI/AAAAAAAAGZ8/jEKONTMutWs/s300-c/2012-07-21%25252016.30.40.jpg"alt="2012-07-21 16.30.40.jpg"width="300"height="300"/>][7]<figcaptionclass="wp-caption-text">A section look at the crumb. Left: levain, right: yeasted.</figcaption></figure>
I’ve also made some yeasted straight loaves, also shaped as bâtards because I wanted to practice the shape. The yeasted version was made with about<strong>40%</strong>wholewheat flour (500gr in total for 2 loaves), without any rye. It took me 4 hours from start to finish but they came out a bit tasteless compared to the amazingly mild and pleasant taste the<em>pain au levain</em> has. Can you spot the yeasted version on the pictures above? Yes indeed they also have a lot of nice holes! Great, isn’t it? That’s because of the high percentage of water (<strong>70%</strong>) and the nice score.
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Actually, there’s one more thing that I’ve noticed during this baking session. That’s<strong>steam</strong>. Yes, steam in the oven. I used to spritz a b
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it with a simple plant mister but my scores never turned out into nice<em>ears</em> like the bâtards this time and I had no idea why. I thought it was just bad cutting, but I was wrong! It was<strong>too little steam</strong>, which can cause:
* Too little air pockets to be formed into the crumb
* Too little oven spring
* The cut to close in the oven instead of blooming open
What did I do different this time? This:**a compressed mister** which can release water in a wider angle and at a higher speed using air pressure. This reduces the need to open the oven again and re-mist the sides of the oven because in a conventional oven, steam evaporates too quickly. You could also use lava rocks or a cast-iron skillet with some ice cubes, but the latter could be quite dangerous. Also, if you’re baking on a sheet pan, the skillet should be placed at the same level otherwise the sheet pan blocks the steam from reaching the bread!
I will submit this post to [bread baking day #52][8]– I hope a lot of people will like the result and learn something from it! Also posted on [Yeast Spotting][9]
