ALTAMURA STYLE SOURDOUGH BREAD

Altamura Style Sourdough Bread image

Provided by Melissa Johnson

Categories Recipes

Time 1h35m

Number Of Ingredients 15

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Stiff Levain
55g sourdough starter
65g whole grain durum flour OR semolina rimacinata flour
40g water
Durum Version
240g fresh-milled durum wheat berries OR whole grain durum flour (1 3/4 cups + 1 Tbsp flour)
160g bread flour (1 1/4 cups)
330g water (1 1/3 cups + 1 Tbsp)
160g stiff levain (all that was built above, ~1 cup compressed)
9g salt (1 1/2 tsp)
Semolina Version
400g semolina rimacinata flour (3 cups + 1 Tbsp flour)
300g water (1 1/4 cups)
160g stiff levain (all that was built above, ~1 cup compressed)
9g salt (1 1/2 tsp)

Steps:

Build the stiff levain and let it double-to-triple in size.
Mix all of the dough ingredients, including the ripe stiff levain, until they're incorporated.
Scrape the dough out onto a clean surface, and slap and fold the dough for about 7 minutes to develop the gluten. See this video for reference.
Transfer the dough to a clean container, cover, and let it double in size over the next 4-6 hours. You can continue to develop the gluten with coil folding or a lamination if you wish.
Scrape out the dough onto a floured surface and prehape it into a ball. Cover and let it rest and have a final proof for about 1 hour.
Thirty minutes before the end of the final proof, begin preheating your oven to 500F with a round baking vessel inside. You can also bake the bread on a stone with a steam system or an upside-down roaster pan as a lid.
Shape your dough in the high form as in this video, or the low form, which is like a boule.
Load the dough into your baking vessel and drop the temperature to 480F.
Bake 25 minutes at 480F covered and another 10-15 minutes at 450F uncovered.
The internal temperature of the bread should be over 205F when finished baking.