White, Whole Rye, and Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

This White, Whole Rye, and Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread is a wonderful combination of three kinds of flour. 

This bread begins with an active levain (sourdough) and requires a couple of days to complete. The interior is super soft and the crust is very chewy. It makes great deli-style sandwiches.

75% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

This 75% whole wheat bread is so flavorful, and it actually gets more tasty over a couple of days. It's wonderful when spread with lots of good salted butter, as toast, and spread with soft herbed cheese.

The crumb of this bread is a little more dense than most high hydration loaves. That is because of the high percentage of whole wheat.

White Bread with Poolish

This White Bread with Poolish is one of my favorite artisan loaves to make. I love the open crumb and crunchy crust, and the method for making this bread is pretty foolproof. 

The crust of this White Bread with Poolish crackles for a long time after the bread emerges from the oven. I feel compelled to listen to it until it quiets down.

Apple and Ham Pizza

This apple and ham pizza absolutely made my day.  The combination of the apple, ham, and Havarti cheese is the perfect combination of savory and sweet, and the apples hold up well during the hot bake.

We had this pizza for dinner with a salad, and I had the lone leftover piece for breakfast the next day. I immediately made it again. So good.

The crust for this pizza is really versatile and easy to work with. The dough is mixed a day in advance and magically rises overnight. The dough recipe yields five pizzas. You refrigerate the dough after shaping it into dough balls, and you can make pizza over two to three days. Woo hoo! I used the rest of the dough to work on my pizza skills, including baking pizza on the barbecue. It was awesome. (I'm pretty sure I drove my friends on Instagram crazy with all of the pizza posts).

The outer crust gets all airy and bubbly, and the pizza is crispy throughout.

Will I make this again? Oh yeah.

Apple and Ham Pizza

Overnight Pizza Dough

1000 grams (7 3/4 C) white flour

3 C water at 90 to 95 degrees F

20 g (1 T + 3/4 tsp) fine sea salt

.8 g (scant 1/4 tsp) instant yeast

1. Hydrate the yeast in a small amount of the measured and heated water in a small container. 
2. In a very large bowl or 12 quart dough rising bucket, combine the flour and the rest of the water. Mix by hand until all of the flour is wet, cover, and let rest for 30 minutes. 
3. Scatter the salt over the top of the dough, and add the yeast mixture. Wipe out the container with a piece of the dough to get all of the dissolved yeast. 
4. Mix the dough by hand by pinching it and folding it alternatively, until the salt and yeast is fully incorporated, about 3 to 5 minutes. 
5. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Stretch and fold the dough twice during the first hour (once after 30 minutes, and once after 60 minutes). 
6. After the last fold, spray the top of the dough with spray oil, cover the dough, and let it rise for about 12 hours at room temperature. 
7. When the dough is ready, gently ease it onto a floured work surface. Cut it into 5 equal pieces, about 340 grams each. 
8. Shape the pieces into balls and place them onto a floured baking sheet. Spray the tops with spray oil, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 3 days. 

Apple and Ham Pizza

1 T olive oil plus more for the baking sheet

1/2 thinly sliced red onion

1 T fresh thyme

Salt and pepper

1 pizza dough ball

8 ounces grated Havarti cheese

1 thinly sliced crisp apple, peel on (I used Honeycrisp, but Braeburn would be great too)

4 ounces thinly sliced ham

1. Place a pizza stone in the middle of your oven and preheat it to its highest temperature.
2. Rub 1 T olive oil onto a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Toss the red onion with the thyme, 1 T olive oil, and salt and pepper. 
4. Place the pizza dough onto a floured work surface and press it down to form a disk. Flip it over, and continue to press it to stretch the dough. Pick it up, and stretch it with your hands. 
5. Place it over your hands, and work it around with your knuckles to continue to stretch the dough. 
6. Place the dough onto the oiled baking sheet. Press it into the oil to stretch to to about a 10 inch round. Take the cheese, and press it into the dough. As you add the cheese, the dough should eventually stretch into a 12 inch round. 
7. Add the onion mixture, top with the apples and the ham. 
8. Place the baking sheet on top of the baking stone and bake for about 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and continue baking for about 15 to 20 minutes more, until the crust is golden brown. 

The pizza dough recipe was adapted from Ken Forkish's book, Flour, Salt, Water, Yeast. The book is amazing. Trust me. You can also find the recipe here. 

Overnight Country Sourdough Bread

This overnight country sourdough bread is thusly named because the first rise takes 12 to 15 hours. The resulting bread is has a wonderful sourdough tang because of the long rise time.

White Flour Warm Spot Levain

The reason why this bread is called Warm Spot Levain is because the sourdough starter is fed three times in a fairly short period of time and then allowed to sit in an 85 degree environment between each feeding. The final levain is stiffer than most (70 percent hydration), and has a uniquely sweet/sour flavor.

You will need three days to make this bread (three days????) but it is worth it.

For my "warm spot," I placed the levain in the garage (it is summer right now). You could also place it in the microwave along with two coffee cups of freshly boiled water, under a heat lamp, or in a gas oven with the light on.

The resulting bread has a super crispy crunchy crust and an amazingly soft, moist interior.

Because making this bread required feeding a levain three times in a short period of time, I had quite a bit of starter left over. Since I hate tossing out that much levain, I used some of the excess to make this Sourdough Polenta Bread.

This bread freezes well. Once it cools, wrap it in foil and then plastic wrap, and freeze it immediately. To thaw, remove the plastic wrap and let it sit in the foil until it has thawed.

White Flour Warm-Spot Levain Bread

Adapted from Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza.

Ingredients

First Levain Feeding

50 grams sourdough starter that has been fed about 24 hours ago

250 g white flour

175 g 85 degree water

Second Levain Feeding

50 g of the first levain

250 g white flour

175 g 80 degree water

Third Levain Feeding

100 g of the second levain

500 g white flour

350 g 85 degree water

Final Dough

750 g white flour

605 g 80 degree F water

20 g fine sea salt

1 g instant yeast

425 g of the levain

Instructions

1. Around 9 am on the first day, mix the first levain with your hand or a spoon and cover with plastic wrap. Place it in a very warm place (85 degree F) to rest. 
2. Eight hours later, discard (or save for another use) all but 50 g of the levain, and feed it again. Mix with your hand or a spoon, and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a very warm place (85 degrees F) to rest overnight. 
3. The next morning, discard (or save for another use) all but 100 g of the levain and feed it again with the ingredients listed above under "Third Levain Feeding." Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 6 hours in a very warm place (85 degrees F). You should have about 2 quarts of levain. 
4. To make the final dough, mix the white flour and water in a 12 qt bucket or very large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes. 
5. Sprinkle the salt and yeast over the top of the dough and add 425 g of the levain to the bucket/bowl. A scale is essential. 
6. Mix with your wet hand by alternatively folding and pinching the dough to fully mix in the salt and yeast, as well as incorporate the levain. 
7. Cover the container, and do four stretch and folds, every 30 minutes. When the dough is 2 1/2 times its original size, about 6 hours later, it's ready to divide and shape. 
8. Dust your work surface with flour.
9. Gently remove the dough onto you work surface, and divide it in half with a bench knife. 
10. Form the dough into two medium tight balls and place them, seam side down, into two floured proofing baskets. Cover with plastic wrap or place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate overnight, 12 to 14 hours. 
11. About 45 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F with two empty covered Dutch ovens placed on the middle rack. 
12. When you are ready to bake, cut parchment into two 9 inch by 15+ inch pieces. 
13. Remove the Dutch ovens from the oven and remove the tops. One loaf at a time, place the parchment over the dough and place a plate over it. Flip the dough over, remove the basket, and lift and place the loaf in the Dutch oven by using the parchment as a sling (leave the paper under the dough). Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the hot oven. Repeat with the second loaf. 
14. Bake covered for 30 minutes, and then remove the Dutch ovens from the hot oven, uncover, and place the loaves on a baking sheet. Be careful not to burn yourself! Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more, until the interior of the bread reaches 205 to 210 degrees F and the bread is a deep brown. My loaves were ready sooner, so check early. 
15. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

This bread has been Yeastspotted

Double-Fed Sweet Levain Bread - An Amazing Sourdough Bread

This Double-Fed Sweet Levain Bread is, to me, a revelation. I can't stop walking into the kitchen and slicing off a sliver, slathering it with butter, and taking another taste.

My theory is that if you eat it in tiny slices it doesn't count. It's practically zero calories, right?

When it was baking, the aroma was amazing. This is a sourdough that is both traditionally sour, and yet sweet because of the two feedings within a short period of time. The bread is moist and soft, and the crust is chewy and flavorful.

It still amazes me that bread that is unenriched (meaning no fat, no eggs, no sugar) lasts a lot longer than enriched bread. Sourdough bread, in particular, has an amazing way of staying fresh for several days. It's kind of magical.

I posted the photo above on the Artisan Bread Bakers Facebook page and someone casually commented, "it looks like a Forkish bread."

Um. Yeah!! Which means it looks awesome!

This person obviously does not know about my obsession with Flour, Water, Salt, and Yeast (I am not a stalker. Even though I used valuable vacation time from my job to visit his bakery and restaurant. That's two different days people.)

Sigh....

Double-Fed Sweet Levain Bread

Adapted from Flour, Water, Salt, and Yeast, by Ken Forkish

Note: This one requires an overnight rise in the refrigerator. Start the morning of the day before you plan to bake the loaves.

Tools I used to make this bread:

1. 12 quart Cambro bucket (a large bowl would work)
2. Kitchen scale
3. Two 9 inch bannetons 
4. Two Lodge combo cooker Dutch ovens
5. Plastic dough scraper
6. Metal bench scraper
7. Bowl of water
8. My hands 

Ingredients

First Sourdough Feeding

50 g active sourdough 

200 g unbleached all purpose flour

50 g whole wheat flour

200 g water at 95 degrees F

Second Sourdough Feeding

250 g sourdough from the first feeding

400 g unbleached all purpose flour

100 g whole wheat flour

400 g water, 85 to 90 degrees F

Final Bread Dough

660 g unbleached all purpose flour

40 g whole wheat flour

540 g water, about 95 degrees F

20 g salt

2 g instant yeast

540 g of the second sourdough 

Instructions

1. Mix the ingredients for the first sourdough feeding in a bowl large enough for the ingredients to double, and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 3 hours.
2. In a large bowl, mix the ingredients for the second sourdough until just incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for for 4 or 5 hours. 
3. From the Final Bread Dough ingredients list, mix the flours and water until just incorporated. I use a 12 quart round Cambro tub. Cover and let rest (autolyse) for 30 minutes. 
4. Add the salt and yeast over the top of the dough, and then add 540 grams of the second sourdough. I place my tub on a scale and then add the sourdough until I have the correct amount. 
5. With a wet hand (I keep a bowl of water nearby), mix the dough by pinching it and folding it alternately to mix in the salt and yeast and integrate the sourdough. 
6. Let rise for five hours, with 4 stretch and folds every 30 minutes the first two hours. (Take the dough, stretch it, and fold it over itself, from all four "sides.") The dough should be about 2 1/2 times its original size. 
7. Gently remove the dough onto you work surface, and divide it in half with a bench knife. 
8. Form the dough into two medium tight balls and place them, seam side down, into two floured proofing baskets. Cover with plastic wrap or place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate overnight, 12 to 14 hours. 
9. About 45 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F with two empty covered Dutch ovens placed on the middle rack. 
10. When you are ready to bake, cut parchment into two 9 inch by 15+ inch pieces. 
11. Remove the Dutch ovens from the oven and remove the tops. One loaf at a time, place the parchment over the dough and place a plate over it. Flip the dough over, remove the basket, and lift and place the loaf in the Dutch oven by using the parchment as a sling (leave the paper under the dough). Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the hot oven. Repeat with the second loaf. 
12. Bake covered for 30 minutes, and then remove the Dutch ovens from the hot oven, uncover, and place the loaves on a baking sheet. Be careful not to burn yourself! Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more, until the interior of the bread reaches 205 to 210 degrees F and the bread is a deep brown. My loaves were ready sooner, so check early. 
13. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

This bread has been Yeastspotted

Skillet Pizza

This cast iron skillet pizza is so easy to make it's almost foolproof. Rather than juggle with a pizza peel and a hot baking stone, I placed this dough into a cold skillet, topped it, and then baked it near the bottom of a super hot oven. The baking time is about triple the time it would take to bake the pizza on a hot stone, and the crust is very firm.

The dough is ready in about 8 hours, with a 6 hour first proof and a 1 1/2 to 2 hour second proof after shaping. If you want to bake your pizzas the same day, mix the dough by 9 a.m. and you'll have pizza by 6 p.m. You can also keep the dough balls in the refrigerator for up to two days.

I divided the final dough into eight 200 gram pieces for a thinner crust pizza. You can also divide the dough into five 320 gram pieces for a thicker crust pizza.

This dough can also be used for Neapolitan style pizza or focaccia. For bread geeks, the hydration level of the dough is 70%.

Of course, you can use some of the leftover pepperoni, sauce, and cheese to make pizza muffins in no time at all. Pizza for breakfast! 

The pizza pictured here is topped with a smooth tomato sauce (page 230 in Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast), whole milk mozzarella cheese, salami, pepperoni, and Canadian bacon. The resulting pizza got two thumbs up from the pizza lovers who tried it. The crust is super crunchy and flavorful, and holds up well under the cheese and meat. If you like a char on your crust, just turn on the broiler for the last few minutes (keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn).

I happened to have a 1 Kg bag of Caputo 00 flour that I picked up for just such an occasion (you never know, right?). If you don't have 00 flour (who doesn't?) any good quality unbleached all purpose flour will work with this recipe.

Skillet Pizza

Adapted from Ken Forkish's Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast

Dough Ingredients

700 g (3 C) 90 degree F water

2 g (1/2 tsp) instant yeast

1000 g (7 3/4 Cups) white flour (either 00 flour or unbleached all purpose flour)

20 g (1 T +3/4 tsp) fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Mix 3 T of the warm water and the yeast in a small container and set aside. 
2. In a 12 quart container, combine the flour and the rest of the water by hand until incorporated. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. 
3. Sprinkle the salt over the dough and add the yeast mixture. 
4. Mix by hand, folding the dough over itself several times. Then pinch the dough with your fingers to make sure the salt is fully incorporated. Alternate between pinching and folding until the salt is incorporated and the dough is about 78 degrees F. 
5. Let the dough rest for about 60 minutes, covered. Fold the dough from all four sides and re-cover it. 
6. Form the dough into a ball, add some olive oil to the container, and roll the dough to fully coat it. 
7. After 6 hours, the dough should be doubled in size. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. 
8. Shape each piece into a ball. 
9. Place each dough ball onto a floured baking sheet, spraying each ball with spray oil so that the balls do not stick to each other. Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature. Next, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 days. 
10. Remove the number of dough pieces that you will be baking from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 525 degrees F with a rack placed on the lowest rung. 
11. Stretch one of the dough balls into a nine inch circle and place it into a 9 inch cast iron skillet. Depending on your oven size and the number of skillets you have, you can bake more than one pizza at a time. 
12. Top with your favorite sauce, cheeses, and meats, and vegetables. 
13. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the dough is fully baked and the cheese is melted. 
14. Remove from the oven, and using tongs, slide the pizza onto a cutting board, slice, and eat. 
15. Repeat with the rest of the dough, or save it in the refrigerator and bake more pizza the next day! 

White, Rye, and Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

This White, Rye, and Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread is called Field Blend #1 in Ken Forkish's Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza.