Hi All,
I wanted to let people know about a slight modification to levain
that I have been baking semi-weekly for the last month. It comes from
experimenting with Ancienne from the Baker's Apprentice. The trick is
to do all but proving in the refrigerator.
My procedure is to use 100% hydration barm. Immediately upon
refreshing (with RT flour and water), the barm is return to the
fridge. It takes 48-72 hours in my fridge to double in size. At least
12 hours after it has done so, I build a loaf with 70% barm, 70%
total hydration, 2% total salt (by total I mean including the flour
and water in the barm). This dough is stirred for 1 minute and placed
in the fridge. In 2 days it nearly doubles. I remove from the fridge,
do a vigorous turn/punch by stretching and folding both lengthwise
and widthwise, shape, and prove in a basket/couche. In 2-3 hours its
ready to bake (475 F for 20 min, 400 for 20 min). The method works
for white or 20% whole wheat/80% white flours. Kneading is 1 minute
of mixing and 1 minute of stretch/fold.
The flavor has no detectable acidity and I think it combines Ancienne
and levain very well. To get a levain that likes the fridge takes
several refreshments in the fridge, but I didn't have that much
trouble training my levain. The trick was to double the levain, let
it double, and repeat (by discarding half). After two weeks, it could
double in 2 days.
If anyones tries this, please let me know. The pace is just perfect
for one or two loaves a week and it schedules very easily since you
only need 3-4 hours total on baking day.
Two further refinements:
Recently I tried doing the final rise in the ref. as well and it
worked fine. After the primary doubled in size, I punched down,
stretched and folded, panned and shaped. The dough is placed in a
wicker basket, wrapped with 3 layers total of muslin (cotton and
cotton/poly), and placed in the ref. 12 hours later it was fully
risen and--after docking--went straight into the oven. The result was
identical to the RT final rise.
With this refinement, you only need to be home during the baking
time--perfect for baking without losing your job.
Second, my barm is now grown with whole wheat flour, while the final
build is done with white flour. The ratio of whole wheat to white is
1:2. I have observed no loss in the lightness of the loaves or the
irregularity of the large holes. The flavor is wheaty and excellent.
raj