my daily bread

as you asked

Ok, humans, so this is how i make my daily bread.

i get up at 4 AM and will make coffee. While the water is heating i measure out 120 grams of whole wheat flour into a stainless steel bowl. Then 80 grams of white flour. To this i add 200 grams of warm water. Then i sprinkle approximately 30 grains of dried yeast on the top & mix the whole thing into a slurry making sure to incorporate all the flour. A lid is put on the bowl & it is put into the proofing box set at 76 degrees F.

Rest of day happens & some number of hours elapse. It is not really an issue with this preferment, 4 hours or longer is quite routine for my loaves. Some have gone 2 days, but i put it in the fridge for the second day.

The rest of the loaf is quite regular for a high hydration loaf.

i use an additional 150 grams of warm water to which i add 7 grams of yeast. Setting this aside for about 10 minutes, to freshen, i collect another 300 grams of white flour in a bowl & add 7 grams of salt.

When the yeast is active, it all goes into the mixer for a 7 minute tumble with the flour and the salt from the other bowl and the preferment slurry which should be visibly bubbly.

As this is very high hydration bread, i use the ‘wet hands’ technique and do 4 french folds before putting the dough into a metal bowl with cover for an hour raise in the proofing box.

The hour passes, and then four more french folds to the dough with wet hands, and into the buttered Pullman pan ( read up on them, fascinating) . I like toast with my coffee (carbs & caffeine are great together) so i habitually make Pullman loaves at least 3 times a week with this formula.

Let raise in the pan for an hour, then into a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, more or less, depending on how moist is the air (we live by the ocean so it varies a lot).

As with ALL high hydration loaves, let cool COMPLETELY. Don’t be tempted to cut into it early while hot or the loaf will be ruined by the rapid moisture loss. Ok, so make one as a sacrifice and enjoy. But make one & let cool to room temp then see how the loaf will last 3 to 4 days, not 2.

So that is my daily bread recipe.

If you want to really learn about breads, go to TheFreshLoaf.com. Rad bunch o’bakers there.