Whole-Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Directions

1. Make the levain (9:00 p.m. the night before baking)
   
   In the evening, when your sourdough starter is ripe (when you’d typically give it a refreshment), make the levain. In a medium jar, combine 53 grams all-purpose flour, 53 grams water, and 5 grams ripe sourdough starter (yes, it’s a small amount, but trust me, it’ll be fine). Cover the jar loosely and let the levain ripen overnight at warm room temperature (I keep mine around 74°F to 76°F/23°F to 24°C).
2. Mix the dough (9:00 a.m. the next day)
   
   To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the 227 grams all-purpose flour, 274 grams whole-wheat flour, 336 grams water, 27 grams olive oil, 25 grams honey, 10 grams salt, and the ripe levain. Set the mixer to low speed and mix until all the ingredients are combined and no dry bits of flour remain. Turn the mixer up to medium-low and mix for 5 to 6 minutes, until the dough clumps around the dough hook.
   
   Transfer the dough to another large bowl or container for bulk fermentation.
3. Bulk ferment the dough (9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)
   
   Cover the dough with a reusable airtight cover or plastic wrap and let it rise at warm room temperature (76°F/24°C) for a total of 3 hours. Set a timer for 30 minutes and let the dough rest, covered. After 30 minutes, give the dough its first set of stretches and folds. During this time, you’ll give the dough two sets of “stretches and folds” (see next step for explanation) to give it additional strength. The first set is performed 30 minutes after the start of bulk fermentation, and subsequent sets at 30-minute intervals, then the dough will rest for the remaining time.
   
   For each set of stretches and folds: With wet hands, grab the north side (the side farthest from you) of the dough and stretch it up and over to the south side. Then, in the same way, fold the south side up to the north. Then, perform two more folds, one from east to west, and one west to east.
   
   After performing the two sets of stretches and folds, let the dough rest, covered with the same airtight cover, in the bulk fermentation container for the remainder of bulk fermentation.
4. Preshape the dough (12:30 p.m.)
   
   At the end of bulk fermentation, the dough should have risen in the container, look puffy, and perhaps have a bubble or two on the surface. If the dough still feels tight or dense, give it another 15 minutes to rest and check again. Once the dough is ready, gently scrape it out to a clean work surface using a bowl scraper. Then, using a bench scraper in one hand and the other wet or floured, gently form the dough into a loose round. This preshaping will help set the stage for final shaping. Let the dough rest, uncovered, for 35 minutes.
5. Shape the dough (1:05 p.m.)
   
   I use a 9x4x4-inch Pullman pan that has a natural nonstick liner, but even so, I like to lightly butter my pan (or grease with olive oil) to ensure my loaf cleanly removes. If you don’t have a Pullman pan, a typical loaf pan (8½x4½x2½ inches) will also work.
   
   Lightly flour the top of the preshaped dough and your shaping space. Using a bench scraper, flip the preshaped dough over to the floured work area. Fold the sides in toward the middle to form a long rectangle in front of you—the width of the rectangle should be just short of the width of your baking pan. Then, starting from the top, roll the rectangle down toward your body, pushing lightly at each revolution to form a tight tube of dough.
   
   Using both hands, pick up the ends of the dough and drop the tube right into the prepared baking pan. If the sides, top, or bottom need a little tuck, gently push it down into the pan to ensure the top of the dough is smooth. If you wish to top the dough with oats, sprinkle a thin layer of them on top of the dough in the pan.
   
6. Proof the shaped dough (1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
   
   Cover the baking pan with a large reusable piece of plastic or bag and seal shut. Proof the dough at a warm temperature (74°F to 76°F/23°C to 24°C is ideal) for about 1½ hours. The dough is ready to bake when it has puffed up, feels light and airy, and a gentle poke springs back very slowly. If there is any resistance felt in the dough when poked, let it proof another 15 minutes and check again.
   
7. Bake the loaf (3:00 p.m.)
   
   It’s necessary to steam your oven when baking this loaf. I like to use a small baking pan filled with culinary lava rocks, but any pan placed at the bottom of your oven to heat along with the oven will work. Once you place your dough into the oven to bake, carefully throw 1 cup of ice into the heated pan and shut the oven door to steam the oven.
   
   Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
   
   When the oven is heated, slide the loaf pan into the oven and steam the oven as directed above. Bake for 20 minutes with steam. Then, remove the steaming pan, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C), and bake for an additional 20 minutes until the internal temperature of the loaf is 200°F (93°C), and the top is deeply colored.
   
   Remove the pan from the oven and tip the dough out to a cooling rack to cool for at least 1 to 2 hours, until cool to the touch. If this bread is cut too early, the interior could be gummy.