This is the exact same recipe I followed From Dan Leader’s book in terms of ingredients, but I changed a few steps to make a better loaf.
1) Make Levan Starter - https://www.romeosjulienne.com/post/bread-starter
This is my original Sour Dough Post - it uses the exact same ingredients - just a little less flour to make a wetter dough. https://www.romeosjulienne.com/post/san-francisco-sour-dough-bread
It is a little bit harder to work with the wetter dough, so if you are inclined, add more flour to your dough working comfort level.
The thing that is really nice about this method is that you get to bake your loaves in the morning. That makes the whole day so much better.
Total Time – Start To Finish about 60 hours if you already have the starter in the refrigerator ready to go
Levan Starter - 10 - 12 hours the night before you make the poolish.
Poolish:
Allow 24 hours to ferment
8 oz Levan Starter
8 oz Spring Water
8 oz Organic White Bread Flour
Final Dough:
16 oz Spring Water
28 oz Organic White Bread Flour
1 TBS Fine Sea Salt
Day 1:
Make the Levan Starter from the Chef 8 – 10 hours before you make the poolish. Add 6 oz of the flour blend (20% Bran Wheat Flour) to the chef. Blend it well and let it ferment for 8 – 10 hours. I typically do this at 10:00 PM so I can make my next move at 8:00 AM
Day 2:
Make the poolish. Mix the 8 oz Levan Starter with the spring water. After it is dissolved, add the 8 oz flour. Let this ferment for a full 24 hours.
Difference # 1
But don’t leave it at room temperature for the full 24 hours. Leave it at room temperature for about 3 hours and then put it in the refrigerator.
You want to have a lively poolish for your final dough. Leaving this out at room temperature for 24 hours is going to leave you with an exhausted poolish.
Convert the balance of the levan back to a chef and store it in the fridge. Recall this is adding 7 oz spring water and 2 ½ oz of the 20% bran mixture.
Day 3:
Difference # 2
Change the order of the mixed ingredients
Add the salt to the 16 oz of water and fully dissolve it
Start adding flour until you have a solid dough in the bowl. Add the poolish to the dough and continue to mix on the bench but try to not knead it.
Difference # 3
Work the dough lightly without kneading it too much. Also, this dough will be a bit wetter than the original dough.
Work the dough a little bit and then let it rest on the board for 30 minutes between sessions. Cover with a damp towel. This may take a few sessions before you have a smooth dough.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and let it rise. This may take 2 – 6 hours. It may not double totally, but let it rise until it is just about double in size.
Divide the dough into two loaves, and form them into a ball. Let them rest for 30 minutes under a damp towel.
Shape the loaves and place each loaf in a well-floured bread basket seam side up. Flour the top of each loaf.
Difference # 4
Place each basket in a 2 – 2.5 gallon zip lock. Seal them and place them in the refrigerator overnight. If you started at 8 or 9 AM, it is likely 3 or 4 PM now.
Tomorrow morning:
Day 4:
Difference # 5
Preheat the oven with your Dutch oven in the oven to 500° for about 45 minutes.
Turn a loaf over onto a piece of parchment paper and brush off the excess flour. Score your loaf with a razor of lame as you see fit.
Place the loaf in the Dutch oven, cover with the lid and bake at 500° for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the bread from the Dutch oven and place it on the rack in the oven for an additional 25 minutes at 450°
Keep the Dutch oven in the oven to get it back up to temperature for the next loaf.
When your loaf is done, let cool completely on a wire rack
Repeat with the second loaf.
The new Sour Dough video
Kiss yourself for making deliciousness
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