52 Loaves (38 page)

1. Feed the
levain
the night before or at least 2 hours ahead.

2. Set a large bowl on a kitchen scale and add each ingredient in turn, using the Tare button to zero out the scale between additions. Mix thoroughly, cover, and
autolyse
for about 25 minutes.

3. Remove the dough to an unfloured countertop and knead by hand for 7 to 9 minutes.

4. Clean out the bowl (no soap), mist with oil spray, replace the dough, and cover with oil-misted plastic wrap. If you are doing an overnight fermentation, place the dough immediately in the refrigerator. For same-day baking, ferment the dough at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, then ferment it in the refrigerator for an additional 4 hours.

5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and wait for the dough to reach room temperature, about 2 hours.

6. Place an old cast iron skillet on the bottom shelf of your oven and a pizza stone near the middle rack.

7. Preheat the oven to 500°F.

8. On a floured countertop, divide the dough into 4 equal parts of about 212 grams each (don’t go crazy trying to make them all exactly the same), gently shape into balls, and allow to rest, covered, for 15 minutes. (I sometimes omit this step if I’m in a hurry, but it does help to relax the dough for the next step.)

9. Press each ball into an approximately 3[H11003]5-inch rectangle, with the short side facing you. Fold the top third of the dough down toward you, press the edge to seal, flip the dough around 180 degrees to reverse the top and bottom, and fold the new top third down toward you, again sealing tightly, not unlike folding a letter for an envelope.

10. Fold once more, this time in half, in the same direction as before, as follows: Starting at one end of the loaf, make a deep indentation in the center of the dough with the side of your hand, using a tomahawk motion, while pulling the two sides up to meet, pinching them together, creating some surface tension. Continue moving down the loaf in this same manner, folding it in half, forming a nice, straight seam running the length of the dough. Pinch closed any gaps.

11. Now, starting with your hands together in the middle, start rolling the loaf back and forth, using a light touch, moving your hands outward as you roll. You should have nice little blisters or bubbles of gas in the dough—leave them!

12. Proof in a floured
couche
or between folds of parchment paper for 45 to 60 minutes.

13. With four baguettes to place into your oven, it’s sometimes
easier to use a wide baking sheet rather than your peel. Sprinkle the sheet liberally with cornmeal or rice flour (or cover with parchment paper), transfer the baguettes to it (I use a narrow piece of ¼-inch plywood as a flipping board, but you can transfer them by hand as well), and make several overlapping diagonal slashes on each baguette with your
lame
or a single-edged razor.

14. Transfer the baguettes to the stone with a clean jerk back of the baking sheet. Quickly add 1 cup water to the skillet and reduce the oven temperature to 480°F.

15. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is a rich brown and the center registers 210°F.

16. Cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before serving.

Pain de l’Abbaye Saint-Wandrille

This is the recipe I improvised at the abbey to fit baking into the monks’ day of prayer, contemplation, and study. As I write this, two years later, the abbey
fournil
continues to turn out
pain de l’abbaye
three times a week.

Makes 6
bâtards

The night before baking, prepare the
poolish:

1. Mix all the flours well, then make a
poolish
using:

1 kilogram of the flour mixture

1,300 grams water

30 grams of cake yeast (or 10 grams instant yeast)

2. Mix well and refrigerate, covered, overnight.

3. Feed the
levain
well, keeping in mind you will need half a kilo of it for the bread.

The next day, make the bread:

4. Remove the
poolish
and the
levain
from the refrigerator 2–3 hours before beginning.

5. Combine the rest of the flour mixture with the
poolish,
the
levain,
1,030 grams water, 40 grams fresh yeast (or 13 grams instant yeast), and the salt.

6. After a 25-minute
autolyse,
knead until the dough is supple and elastic, then cover and ferment 2–3 hours.

7. Divide the dough into six approximately 1,100-gram portions and form
bâtards
using the method described for making
baguette à l’ancienne
(steps 8–11), but making them stubbier, about 12 inches long. Preheat the over to 500°F.

8. Proof the loaves in a floured
couche
for 1–2 hours and follow the instructions for baguettes (steps 13–16), baking at 480°F for about 35 minutes, until the loaves are a deep golden brown and 210°F at the center.

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Further Information Online

For additional recipes, techniques, sources for materials and ingredients, photographs and videos of my year of bread making, a photographic tour of l’Abbaye Saint-Wandrille, and more, visit my Web site, williamalexander.com.

If one does not live by bread alone, one also does not make bread alone. I oft en needed help during my year of bread making, and I was astounded and gratified at how the mere mention of the word “bread” in any language opened doors and hearts. My deepest thanks to the following individuals for their invaluable assistance, advice, and support.