---
title: 'The French classic: pain au levain'
author: Wouter
type: post
date: 2012-07-21T19:57:00+00:00
url: /pain-au-levain/
featured_image: /wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-07-21-13.24.59.jpg
tags:
  - tarwe
---

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 &#8220;BREAD&#8221; contains only 5% wholegrain flour.<figure style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft">

[<img title="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]<figcaption class="wp-caption-text">A section of the refreshed stiff levain.</figcaption></figure> <figure style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft">[<img title="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]<figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The bâtards ready to be proofed on a couche.</figcaption></figure> 

<h1 style="clear: both;">
  The recipe
</h1>

**preferment**

  * 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&#8217;ll only need 125gr for the final build. I&#8217;ve been confused by the ratios and the metric weights in this book a lot, and there&#8217;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&#8217;ve seen &#8220;discard the rest&#8221; a lot&#8230; That&#8217;s just stupid, I&#8217;ll need to rearrange this. Anyway, it&#8217;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&#8217;s percentage!), **70%** hydratation, **25% **preferment present in the final build. That&#8217;s more than usual for a &#8220;pain au levain&#8221; recipe, and I like it that way. Bulk fermentation: 3-4 hours including 1 stretch & fold after 1 hour. Final proofing: 1 hour.<figure style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft">

[<img title="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]<figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Can you spot the yeasted and the levain versions?</figcaption></figure> <figure style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft">[<img title="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]<figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The finished bâtards.</figcaption></figure> <figure style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft">[<img title="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]<figcaption class="wp-caption-text">A section look at the crumb. Left: levain, right: yeasted.</figcaption></figure> 

<p style="clear: both;">
  I&#8217;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&#8217;t it? That&#8217;s because of the high percentage of water (<strong>70%</strong>) and the nice score.
</p>

<p style="clear: both;">
  Actually, there&#8217;s one more thing that I&#8217;ve noticed during this baking session. That&#8217;s <strong>steam</strong>. Yes, steam in the oven. I used to spritz a b
</p>

&nbsp;

<p style="clear: both;">
  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:
</p>

<img class="alignright" title="2012-07-21 16.33.34.jpg" src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/-ydivZlM94To/UAsJlubj-oI/AAAAAAAAGZ0/H7nJaNjhCXQ/s300-c/2012-07-21%25252016.33.34.jpg" alt="2012-07-21 16.33.34.jpg" width="300" height="300" />

  * 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&#8217;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] &#8211; I hope a lot of people will like the result and learn something from it! Also posted on [Yeast Spotting][9]

 [1]: https://redzuurdesem.be/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-07-21-13.24.59.jpg
 [2]: https://redzuurdesem.be/placemarks/baked-my-daily-bread/ "Baked my daily bread"
 [3]: http://lh5.ggpht.com/-F7t4j9uaDgE/UAsJgE-l4PI/AAAAAAAAGZU/R8OwR5cGR8k/s1024/2012-07-21%25252008.54.20.jpg "2012-07-21 08.54.20.jpg"
 [4]: http://lh4.ggpht.com/-EAUnk6gPbvM/UAsJg-n5K_I/AAAAAAAAGZc/Y3Xrene24s8/s1024/2012-07-21%25252011.41.04.jpg "2012-07-21 11.41.04.jpg"
 [5]: http://lh5.ggpht.com/-dEyWFd4JyOo/UAsJkj8_UVI/AAAAAAAAGZs/J6W11CMncRg/s1024/2012-07-21%25252016.32.57.jpg "2012-07-21 16.32.57.jpg"
 [6]: http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JkGtxII8pZI/UAsJjOJbcoI/AAAAAAAAGZk/9PVcuqfYVSA/s1024/2012-07-21%25252016.22.23.jpg "2012-07-21 16.22.23.jpg"
 [7]: http://lh6.ggpht.com/-eC3WFuF-tRg/UAsJmyX3vjI/AAAAAAAAGZ8/jEKONTMutWs/s1024/2012-07-21%25252016.30.40.jpg "2012-07-21 16.30.40.jpg"
 [8]: http://cindystarblog.blogspot.it/2012/07/announcing-bread-baking-day-52.html
 [9]: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting/