For this bread, as the French say “Pain au Levain” you will need your active sourdough starter. That’s why it makes sense to plan a bit in advance here. I fed “Sophie”, my sourdough starter, in the morning and evening the day before and then prepared the levain the following morning. You may only need to feed your starter once until it’s ready to go. The more often you use your starter, the faster you will gain a feel for how often you need to feed your starter until it is ready.
I used a french flour called T65 for this recipe. It has a protein content of 12%, which is comparable to all-purpose flour. In France, T65 flour is used a lot for baking baguettes, for example. I used this flour for the first time in a sourdough bread and it worked very well.
You can bake this bread on the same or next day. If you want to bake this bread the same day, start early in the morning so the bread will be ready in time for dinner. Alternatively, you can let the dough proof overnight in the fridge to bake the next morning.
Tools & Equipment
- Banneton
- Bench scraper
- Digital thermometer
- Dutch oven
- Kitchen towel
- Large bowl
- Medium jar with lid
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
- Scoring knife or razor blade
- Spoon
- Wire rack
Recipe Tips
Sourdough Starter: For this recipe you will need your active starter. The day before, I took my sourdough starter “Sophie” out of the fridge and fed it in the morning and evening. I let it sit at room temperature overnight to give it enough time to double in size.
Room Temperature: The best temperature for your dough is around 25-27°C/77-80°F. If your room temperature is lower, you should plan more time for bulk fermentation. If you don’t have more time, you can mix the dough with warmer water or increase the surrounding temperature to speed up fermentation. To do this, you can place your dough in a turned-off oven with the control light on.
Hydration: for this recipe I used a total of 375g of water, which means 80% hydration. Each flour is different and has a different protein content. Depending on which flour you use, you can add more or less water. The T65 flour I used has a protein content of 12%. You can adjust the water content to your needs.
Bulk Fermentation: Remember, time is only an indicator. Pay more attention to the dough itself to see if the bulk fermentation is complete.
- When you turn the dough, it separates easily from the sides of the bowl.
- The volume has increased by 20-30%.
- Air bubbles have developed around the sides of the bowl.
These are all signs that the dough is ready for shaping. If this is not the case with your dough, increase the fermentation time.
Ingredients for Pain au Levain
Directions – How to Make Pain au Levain
Feed your Starter
Feed your starter the day before in the morning in the ratio you always feed it and let it sit at room temperature. In the evening, take 25g of your active starter and add whole wheat flour and water (24-27°C/76-80°F), then mix. Cover and let it ferment overnight at room temperature.
Make the Levain
The next morning, measure 50g of your active starter, 25g water (30°C/86°F) and 25g whole wheat flour and mix. Cover and let sit at room temperature until doubled in size, for about 2-3 hours. Use the float test if needed to make sure it is properly fermented.
Autolyse
In a large bowl add 350g warm water (30°C/86°F), T65 flour and whole wheat flour. Mix with a spoon for about 1 minute, then mix with your wet hand. Once everything is combined cover and let rest in a warm place for about 2-3 hours.
Add the levain and mix with your wet hands. Then add salt to the dough, followed by the remaining 25g warm water (30°C/86°F). Mix with your wet hands. At this point, the dough should have a temperature of about 24-27°C/76-80°F. Cover and let sit in a warm place, for 30 minutes.
Bulk Fermentation
1st fold: After 30 minutes, take a piece of dough from one side, stretch it out until you feel tension and fold it onto the opposite side of the dough. Rotate and repeat the process 5-6 more times. Lift the dough and put it back down a couple of times, tucking the dough up underneath itself. Cover and let ferment for 30 minutes at room temperature.
2nd fold: After another 30 minutes, stretch and fold the dough as you did the first time. Cover and let it ferment for another 2-3 hours. After these additional 2-3 hours, the dough should have risen by about 20-30%.
Shaping the Dough
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Lightly dust the dough with flour and turn it over so that the floured side is on the work surface. Fold the dough over on itself and work the dough into a round shape. After this initial shaping, let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes.
Lightly flour the top of the dough to shape the loaf. Turn the dough over so that the floured side is now on the work surface and the former underside is facing up. Fold the 3rd third of the dough closest to you up and over the middle 3rd of the loaf.
Stretch the dough to the left and fold it over the center. Then stretch the dough to the right and fold it over the previous fold. Stretch the 3rd of the dough furthest away from you and fold it toward you. Grab the dough closest to you and wrap it as you roll it away from you, so that the smooth bottom of the loaf is now the top and all the seams are on the bottom. Cup the dough with your hands and pull it toward you, pressing it against the work surface to increase the tension. Let the shaped loaf rest for 1 minute.
Proofing Stage
Make a 50/50 mixture of rice flour and T65 flour. Dust the banneton with the flour mixture. This will prevent the dough from sticking. Lift the loaf from the work surface and place it in the banneton with the smooth side down and the seam facing up. Cover and let it proof at room temperature (25-27°C/77-80°F) for about 1-2 hours.
Now, at this point, you have 2 options, depending on whether you want to bake the bread the same day or the next day:
- You can let the dough rise at room temperature (25-27°C/77-80°F) for another 1-2 hours and then bake it the same day.
- If you don’t want to bake immediately, you can delay the process by placing the dough in the fridge for up to 12 hours. The cool environment slows fermentation, but does not stop it. After 8-12 hours, the dough will develop a more complex and slightly sour taste.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 260°C/500°F about 30 minutes before baking and put in a dutch oven with a lid. Dust the top of the loaf with rice flour and carefully turn it out of the banneton onto parchment paper.
Score the loaf to allow it to fully develop in the oven. When your oven reaches 260°C/500°F, remove the heated dutch oven. Place the loaf with the parchment paper in the dutch oven and cover with the lid. Place the dutch oven back into the oven and reduce the temperature to 230°C/450°F.
Bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the lid. A cloud of steam will be released and the color of the crust will be pale and shiny. Continue baking until the crust is a deep caramel color, for about 25-30 minutes. It is done when the core temperature reaches 95°C/200°F. Remove from the oven and carefully lift the bread out of the dutch oven. Let the bread cool on a wire rack. The bread should feel light to the touch and have a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
Storage: Use a paper bag or a kitchen towel to protect the bread from drying out too much. Keep your bread at room temperature for 3-5 days. Do not store bread in the fridge.
Freezing Instructions: This is a good option for longer storage. Let the bread cool completely and freeze either the whole loaf or slices of bread in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
My Summary for Pain au Levain
Difficulty: Intermediate.
Taste: I love the flavor of this sourdough bread, because it has a bit of a sour taste, but not too overpowering. It has a crispy crust with a chewy crumb and nice holes which are more or less evenly distributed. Perfect taste & texture.
Time: Feed your starter the morning and night before. For making the levain and autolyse you need about 2-3 hours, the bulk fermentation took me 3,5 hours (it depends on the temperature in your environment, in my kitchen it was about 25°C/77°F). Shaping the dough is done in 10 minutes and after that let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours (for me it was 90 minutes). For the final proofing I put the loaf into the fridge overnight (other option: let it proof 1-2 more hours at room temperature, if you want to bake the bread the same day). Baking the loaf takes 45-50 minutes.
More Recipes
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- Pain de Campagne
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- Rye Sourdough Discard Bread
- Whole Grain Sourdough Bread
