I typically start at 9 PM with this:
Start by making a flour mixture of wheat and rye flour. You can easily make a larger portion, as you will need more of the mixture later.
Take your sourdough out from the fridge.
Weigh 120 grams of it and discard the rest.
Add the same amount of your flour mixture and water and mix it well to ensure there are no lumps.
Place it in a container and let it sit on the kitchen counter.
Repeat the process from the first evening. Weigh 120 grams of all three ingredients and mix them together.
Place an elastic band around the container/jar so you can see where the sourdough started.
In the meantime, the autolyse needs to be made:
Mix manitoba flour, whole grain wheat flour, and water together in a mixing bowl.
Let it run so you get a good mix.
Cover with a tea towel and let it sit at room temperature while the sourdough is getting ready. This typically takes a couple of hours.
When the sourdough has risen well and is bubbling, weigh 120 grams of it.
Add your active sourdough to the mixing bowl with the autolysis dough.
Mix it well on a low speed. I typically give my dough about 10 minutes.
Add salt and run it for 5 minutes on low speed.
Increase the speed to high and let it run for 12-15 minutes, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
Let the dough rest for 2 hours, either in a covered bowl or in a Condibøtte.
With a wet hand, stretch and fold: Your moist hand pulls and folds each of the dough's four corners, one at a time. You grab the bottom of the side and pull it up over the dough. Cover again and let the dough rest for another 2 hours.
Repeat the above process and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle rice flour on your kitchen counter and slowly pour the dough out of the bowl into it.
Now the bread needs to be pre-shaped: Use a dough spatula/scraper to get under the bread and form it into a ball.
Let it rest on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes.
Prepare a proofing basket by placing a linen cloth in it and sprinkling it with rice flour.
Shape your bread and carefully place it in the proofing basket. Place a shower cap/plastic bag over it and let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
After an hour, place your
baking steel in the oven, which you have preheated to 250 degrees Celsius (482 degrees Fahrenheit) with convection. If you don't have a baking steel, you can use a cast iron lid or a cast iron pan instead. Both should be turned upside down. You can also bake the bread in the cast iron pot. I also have a
Brovn dome (a baking steel with a groove that accommodates a glass dome. The dome helps me to get steam in the oven). If you also have one, it should go in the oven along with the baking steel.
After the bread has rested for 2 hours, it should be very gently turned over onto the baking steel.
Make a cut in the bread; it is easiest if you have a scoring knife. Typically, a classic elongated cut is made.
Place (if applicable, a glass dome) over it or spray water in the oven with a spray bottle.
Bake the bread for 15 minutes, remove the dome, and bake for another 15 minutes. It is in the first 15 minutes that the bread rises the most and possibly gets an oven spring.
Lower the temperature to 220 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes. If you are unsure if your bread is done, you can use a meat thermometer. The bread should be 98 degrees.
Take the bread out of the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy.
