San Francisco Sourdough - spring water

Method

• Combine the levain and water in a 2-quart clear plastic container with a lid.
• Break up the levain well with a wooden spoon or squeeze through your fingers until it is broken up.
• Stir until the levain is partly dissolved and the mixture is slightly frothy.
• Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until very thick and sticky.
• Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
• Cover with plastic wrap and put in a moderately warm (74 to 80 degree) place for 24 hours.
• Final dough: 2 cups (16 fluid ounces) spring water 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups (27 to 32 ounces) organic white flour with germ 1 tablespoon (3/4 ounce) fine sea salt
• Combine the poolish and water in a 6-quart bowl.
• Break up the poolish well with a wooden spoon and stir until the poolish becomes loose and the mixture slightly frothy.
• Add 2 cups (10 ounces) of the flour and the salt; stir until well combined.
• Add just enough of the remaining flour to make a thick mass that is difficult to stir.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding remaining flour when needed, until dough is firm and smooth, 15 to 17 minutes total.
• The dough is ready when a little dough pulled from the mass springs back quickly.
• Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest on a lightly floured surface while you scrape, clean, and lightly oil the largest bowl.
• Place the dough in the bowl and turn once to coat with oil.
• Take the dough's temperature: the ideal is 78 degrees.
• Cover with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap and put in a moderately warm (74 to 80 degree) draft-free place until doubled in volume.
• Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center and pulling up the sides.
• Cover with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap and put in a moderately warm (74 to 80 degree) draft-free place for 30 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured board and knead briefly.
• Shape into a tight ball.
• Cover with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap, and put in a moderately warm (74 to 80 degree) draft-free place for 30 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal portions.
• Flatten each with the heel of your hand on a lightly floured board.
• The dough may be very soft and loose at this point.
• Shape into 12-inch-long torpedoes.
• You may also choose to shape the dough into rounds.
• Place the torpedoes, seam side up in a well-floured couche*.
• Cover with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap.
• Put in a moderately warm (74 to 80 degrees) draft-free place until increased in volume about 1 1/2 times, or until a slight indentation remains when the dough is pressed with a fingertip.
• Place rounds on a cornmeal-dusted surface to rise.
• Preheat the oven and baking stone to 450 degrees, 45 minutes to 1 hour before baking.
• The oven rack must be in the center of the oven.
• If it is in the lower 1/3 of the oven the bottom of the breads may burn, and if it is in the upper 1/3, the top crusts may burn.
• Gently roll one loaf from the couche onto a lightly floured peel so that it sits seam side down.
• Using a very sharp, serrated knife or a single-edged razor blade, score the loaf by making quick shallow cuts 1/4 to 1/2-inch deep along the surface.
• Using the peel, slide the loaf onto the hearth.
• Quickly repeat the process with the second loaf.
• Quickly spray the inner walls and floor of the oven with cold water form a spritzer bottle.
• If there's an electric light bulb in the oven, avoid spraying it directly; it may burst.
• Spray for several seconds until steam has filled the oven.
• Quickly close the door to trap the steam and bake 3 minutes.
• Spray again in the same way, closing the door immediately so that steam doesn't escape.
• Bake until loaves begin to color, about 15 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake until loaves are a rich caramel color and the crust is firm, 15 to 20 minutes.
• To test for doneness, remove and hold the loaves upside down.
• Strike the bottoms firmly with your finger.
• If the sound is hollow, the breads are done.
• If it doesn't sound hollow, bake 5 minutes longer.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Note: If the dough temperature is higher than 78 degrees, put it in a cooler than (78 degree) place like the refrigerator, until the dough cools to 78 degrees.
• If it is lower than 78 degrees, put in it a warmer than 78 degree place until the dough warms to 78 degrees.
• The point is to try to keep the dough at 78 degrees during its fermentation.
• If you do have to move the dough, be gentle and don't jostle it, or the dough may deflate.
• *Couche?French for "couch" or "resting place".
• This is a simple holding device you make yourself for proofing long loaves like logs, torpedo shapes, and baguettes.
• Using well-floured canvas or linen towels create folds to separate loaves while hold them securely next to each other during proofing.
• Use a length of fabric at least a yard long.
• Place 12 to 16-inch wooden blocks cut from 2 by 4's at either long end to contain the loaves.
• Or substitute large books to contain the loaves.
• Add the flour directly into the container with the full batch of room-temperature, batterlike ripe chef.
• Stir vigorously to add fresh oxygen to the mixture.
• This will form a stiff consistency more like a stiff dough than a batter.
• This firm texture is important for ripening levain, because a dense rather than loose levain creates delicious sour bread without an overpowering tangy bite.
• Scrape down the sides, cover tightly, and let stand in a cool to moderate (about 70 degrees) draft-free place for 8 to 10 hours.
• The levain should have doubled in volume.
• The texture will be somewhat light, with many tiny bubbles throughout.
• Do not let the levain stand for longer than 10 hours, or the yeast will become exhausted and not raise the final dough.
• This recipe yields 18 ounces of levain.
• Combine the flour and water in a tall 2 to 3-quart clear plastic container with a lid.
• Stir well to make a thick, soft dough.
• The exact consistency of the dough will vary with the brand of flour or water at this point to adjust the texture.
• Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, cover tightly with lid and let stand in a moderate (about 70 degree) place for 24 hours.
• Day 2 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 ounces) 20 percent bran wheat flour 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) spring water
• The chef should have almost doubled in volume.
• You will see tiny bubbles on the surface, and you might notice a slight musty smell.
• Add the flour and water to the mixture and stir vigorously to distribute the fresh ingredients and add fresh oxygen to the chef.
• The texture will still be like a soft dough.
• You may add a little more flour or water to make this texture, if necessary.
• Scrape down the sides, cover and place in a moderate (70 degree) draft-free place for 24 hours.
• Day 3 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 ounces) 20 percent bran wheat flour 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) spring water
• It will have almost doubled in volume and be quite bubbly.
• Add the flour and water, and stir well to make a thick batter.
• (You may have to add a little more water if your flour's absorption level is high).
• With a marker pen, mark the level of the chef on the side of the container.
• Scrape down the sides, cover tightly, and let stand in a moderate (70 degree) draft-free place for 24 hours.
• It should now be loose in texture, like a pancake batter.
• It will have doubled in volume from the last addition of flour and water.
• The chef may rise and fall, but as long as it doubles at some point during this last period, it's fine.
• You now have a fully ripe chef ready to transform into a levain.
• If you don't want to make the levain immediately, the chef can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.