Pain au Levain

Name: Pain au Levain
Yield: makes 1 large loaf or 2 small loaves
Ingredients: 1/3 cup (2.5 oz / 71 g) mother starter (page 42), cold or at room temperature; 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (5 oz / 142 g) unbleached bread flour; 2/3 cup (3 oz / 85 g) whole wheat flour; 2/3 cup (5.35 oz / 151.5 g) water, at room temperature; All of the sourdough starter (16 oz / 458 g); 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (11 oz / 312 g) lukewarm water (about 95°F or 35°C); 2 1/4 teaspoons (0.25 oz / 7 g) instant yeast (optional); 3 1/2 cups (16 oz / 454 g) unbleached bread flour; 2 3/8 teaspoons (0.6 oz / 17 g) salt, or 3 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

December 14, 2011

Pain au levain, which is the French term for naturally leavened bread, is generally considered to be the gold standard for wild yeast breads, though opinions do vary widely—and are strongly held. People from San Francisco, Portland, New York, Boston, anywhere in Germany (where it is called Sauerteig), and many other cities and regions may dispute the superiority of the French version. In fact, there isn’t one single version of pain au levain; it’s really a category of bread, usually consisting primarily of white flour, supplemented with a small amount of whole wheat flour, rye flour, or a multigrain flour. To complicate matters further, some “authentic” French levains are made with all-natural starter, while others use a combination of starter and commercial yeast (usually just a small amount). In this book, I use the term pain au levain to indicate breads that are naturally leavened, either with or without the addition of commercial yeast, using anywhere from 5 to 20 percent whole grain flour. In the process of developing the formulas for Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads, I discovered a method of mixing natural starters with commercial yeast that seems to work especially well for home baking and small batches. By increasing the amount of starter and commercial yeast in the final dough, it’s possible to make breads with all of the flavor development of the great levains, but with a shortened proofing stage at the end. As with most of the breads in this book, the cold, overnight fermentation method also extends the life of the dough to at least 3 days, with flavors that are even more developed on the third day than on the first. Although this unconventional recipe is unlike anything you’ll find in other books, it follows and fulfills the flavor rule (that is, flavor rules!). As with the San Francisco sourdough (page 64), you can make this bread leavened only with natural starter (the “purist” method), or you can add instant yeast to the final dough (the mixed method). If you want to use the “purist” method and bake the bread on the same day as you mix the dough, don’t refrigerate the final dough; just let it rest at room temperature for about 4 hours, or until it doubles in size. Then, shape and proof it at room temperature for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and bake as described below.

Recipe notes