If it takes 4ish hours for starter to be ready, then 8-12 hours for levain, then 3.5-4 hours of stretch and fold that's 15 -20 hours hours.

How on earth do you do the timing for this?
Can you feed the starter the night before and use it in the morning if its bubbly, but not domed?

Donna
  • Posted by: Donna
  • February 24, 2021
  • 1650 views
  • 1 Comment
Table Loaf
Recipe question for: Table Loaf

1 Comment

AntoniaJames June 21, 2021
Great question, Donna!

You can feed the starter more than four hours before starting the levain. When I was making bread like this from my wild yeast levain, I'd actually feed the starter and discard once a day for two or three days ahead of time. This gives the starter a lovely taste. If you can't plan that far in advance, don't worry; feed the starter early in the day, if you can, or at least 4 hours in advance,.

I'd make the dough in the evening, doing the bulk ferment overnight, and then I'd stretch and fold in the morning (Saturday or Sunday) and bake in the middle of the day. If something came up and I couldn't complete the stretch and fold process within 3-4 hours, I'd simply pop the dough, tightly covered, in the fridge.

Bread dough is patient - and wonderfully flexible - when not in a warm environment. Depending on how long it was in the fridge, I'd add a half an hour or more to the stretching period, while the dough returned to room temperature. ;o)
 
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