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I think I got the hang of this high hydration thing!
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I think I got the hang of this high hydration thing!


Been practicing since New Year’s on increasing my hydration, as a challenge to myself! I’ve been trying out Maurizio Leo’s “My Best Sourdough” from his book The Perfect Loaf (p. 257). I struggled for a while with some semi-flat loaves before realizing that perhaps my King Arthur AP flour isn’t as accommodating to hydration as whatever flour Maurizio Leo uses in most of his recipes, despite KA AP having a higher protein content than Leo’s 11.5% in his recipes. I modified his recipe to include some bread flour, and lowered the hydration from 85% to around 80%, feeling out the dough as I added the water. I think I might have overproofed it a hair, but let me know what y’all think! Recipe in comments below.

by Pristine_Ad_5456

7 Comments

  1. Pristine_Ad_5456

    (Adapted from “My best sourdough” from Maurizio Leo’s “The Perfect Loaf” p. 257)

    1. Prepare Levain (day of, 5hr): 30g AP flour, 30g whole wheat flour, 61g water, 30g starter

    2. Autolyse (1hr 30 min): 622g bread flour, 200g AP flour, 64g whole wheat flour, 650g water

    3. Mix: Set aside 95g water. Add the 151g levain, 17g salt, and a splash of water from what you measured. Mix, and add a splash of water at a time until the dough feels flexible but not overly extensible. Err on the side of caution, as you can hydrate as you build gluten in the next step.

    4. Strengthen: stretch and fold the dough in the bowl for about 5min. Wet hands from the remaining water as you do so, to prevent sticking and add hydration with control. By the end of the strengthening I had added about 40g of the 95g of water I had set aside.

    5. Bulk ferment: give 3 sets of stretch and folds with 15 min intervals, and 3 more sets with 30 min intervals. After wetting hands to stretch and fold, total water added was about 43g out of the 95g, bringing the dough to 80% hydration. Let the dough continue to ferment— for me in my 80F proofer I ended up bulk fermenting for about 6hr total, adjusting the proofer temp based on the temp of the dough. Signs I look for to finish bulk ferment are a puffed dough and domed edge.

    6. Preshape, rest 20 min, then shape into batards and cold rest in fridge for between 18-36 hour.

    7. Bake for 30 min with lid on, and 20 min with lid off at 450F in a preheated Dutch oven. Spritz with water before initial bake.

  5. Ok_Advisor_9873

    Nice looking loaf- I believe “sponge “ is key to a good tasting loaf that and good flour!

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