Blueberry, Pecan, and Citrus Zest Pain au Levain

This Pain au Levain, or sourdough bread, is filled with dried blueberries, pecans, and tangelo zest.

This recipe for Blueberry, Pecan, and Citrus Zest Pain au Levain takes over two days to make, but most of that time is hands off, and the long slow rise in the refrigerator really develops flavor.

This is a sourdough bread, leavened with a sourdough starter, or a "levain." The bread is about 42 percent whole wheat with about 85 percent hydration. I was hoping for a more airy crumb, but I never quite get the same results as I do with a formula using less whole wheat.

This month, the Bread Baking Babes are making Pain au Levain with whole grains and citrus, nuts, seeds, and/or herbs. Our host kitchen babe is Cathy of Bread Experience. She was inspired by Richard Miscovich's book, From the Wood Fired Oven. I happen to have the book, and have loved every formula I have tried.

This bread is super moist and has a subtle sourdough flavor and aroma. The blueberries and pecans, combined with the tangelo zest, are very tasty in this bread.

I used dried blueberries in this bread. They are my new favorite ingredient for fruited bread. They are not as dry as raisins or cranberries, and they are so flavorful. For the citrus, I used the zest from a tangelo, but you could use the zest from an orange or two small tangerines.

Notes on this recipe: This bread is fermented in the refrigerator for the final rise. I prepared the dough a bit early and let the shaped loaves sit for about 15 hours in the refrigerator. Next time I will be more vigilant about only fermenting the dough for 8 to 10 hours.

More notes on this recipe: You will need a very active 100 percent hydration sourdough starter to make this bread. Be sure to feed your starter a couple of times if you've been neglecting it to get it all bubbly and ready.

After the recipe, be sure to check out the rest of the Bread Baking Babes' adaptations of Cathy's recipe.

bread, artisan bread, sourdough, levain

Bread, sourdough

American

Yield: 2 1 1/2 pound loaves

Blueberry, Pecan, and Citrus Zest Pain au Levain

ingredients:

Starter/Levain

• 46 grams 100 percent hydration sourdough starter that is bubbly and active
• 227 grams water
• 227 grams all purpose flour

Final Dough

• All of the levain
• 415 grams all purpose flour
• 275 grams whole wheat flour
• 500 grams water plus 50 grams to add with the salt
• 15 grams salt
• Zest from an orange, tangelo, or two tangerines
• 130 grams chopped pecans
• 130 grams dried blueberries

instructions

Day 1: Late Evening - Make the Levain

1. Mix the starter and water together in a large bowl. Mix in the flour, and cover and let rest at room temperature overnight. 

Day 2: Afternoon - Mix the Final Dough and Shape the Loaves

1. Pour the water over the levain and mix with a dough whisk or spoon. Add the flours to the levain and water mixture and mix with a wet hand or dough whisk until you have a shaggy dough. Cover and let rest for for 30 minutes (autolyse). 
2. Sprinkle the salt over the the dough, along with the 50 grams of water. With a wet hand, fold the dough over the salt, and then pinch the dough throughout to incorporate the salt. Add the zest, pecans, and blueberries, and continue to stretch and fold the dough until everything is evenly distributed. Cover and let rise for 120 minutes, performing two stretch-and-folds, twice, every 40 minutes. 
3. Remove the dough from the bowl. Divide it into two pieces, and pre-shape each into a boule or batard, and let rest, seam side down, covered with oiled plastic wrap, for 20 minutes. 
4. Shape the dough into a boule (round) or batard (oval) and place each seam side up in a heavily floured tea towel lined basket. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes and then place in the refrigerator overnight, for 8 to 10 hours. 
5. With a baking stone on the lower third of the oven, and a steam pan on the lowest rack, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. You could also bake the loaves in preheated Dutch ovens, lifting the lids after 20 minutes of baking. 
6. Remove the loaves from the refrigerator. Invert the loaves onto a parchment lined peel. Score the loaves and slide them onto the baking stone, carefully add a cup of hot water to the steam pan (cover your oven window with a towel while doing this), and close the oven door. 
7. Bake the loaves for 35 to 45 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of about 205 to 210 degrees F. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2018/06/blueberry-pecan-and-citrus-zest-pain-au.html

Created using The Recipes Generator

The bread baking babes are:

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
• Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• Bread Experience - Cathy
• My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
• Feeding My Enthusiasms - Elle