ALTAMURA STYLE SOURDOUGH BREAD

Altamura Style Sourdough Bread image

Provided by Melissa Johnson

Categories Recipes

Time 1h35m

Number Of Ingredients 15

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.