There are breads that make you pause, take a breath, and give it a thought.
For a long time, I’ve been baking this Parmesan sourdough based on the formula in my "bread_calculations.xls" spreadsheet (the kind of thing every techie baker uses I guess, with measurements that are updated automatically depending on the quantities and the type of flour you are using, or ambient temperature). My spreadsheet is all it takes and I never took time to sit down and write a proper recipe. But I recently posted the pictures of this bread on my Instagram page and several folks have reached out and asked for instructions. So, I guess the time has come. Here we go and I hope that you will come to enjoy this bread as much as I do.
Total formula:
260 g (80%) King Arthur unbleached organic bread flour
65 g (20%) Central Milling organic Type 70 malted flour
260 g (80%) water
65 g (23%) levain at 100% hydration
7 g (2%) kosher salt
124 g (38%) Parmigiano Reggiano, cut into 1/8- and 1/4-inch dice
final hydration: 82%
Baking schedule:
7:15 am prepare levain
11:15 am autolyse
12:15 pm add levain
1:00 pm add salt
1:45 pm 1st stretch and fold
2:30 pm 2nd stretch and fold
3:15 pm 3rd stretch and fold
4:00 pm laminate and add cheese
4:30 pm coil fold
5:45 pm shape
6:00 pm cold fermentation
-- next day –
9:00 am bake
My kitchen temperature: 78°F - 80°F
My dough temperature: 79°F
My location: NYC (low altitude)
If your kitchen is at different temperature or elevation, you will have to adjust the schedule and/or hydration accordingly.
#1 Prepare levain (7.15 am)
Make
sure that your starter is fed well and bursting with strength before
making the levain. I usually feed my starter, Elizabeth Bennet, twice a
day, at 8 am and 8pm, for three days in a row. (I feed Elizabeth Bennet
twice a day no matter what, but if you are keeping your starter in the
fridge, make sure to take it out and feed it regularly three days before
making the bread. The happiness of your starter makes a difference.) In
a small bowl, mix 15g ripe starter, 27 g white bread flour, 3 g whole rye
flour, and 30 g water. (I typically make a tiny bit more of levain
than what the recipe calls for because there is a small amount of waste
in transferring it from one mixing bowl into another.) Transfer the
levain to a clean glass container and cover loosely with a lid or
plastic wrap. Wait until the levain has almost tripled in volume. In my kitchen it takes about 4 to 6 hours at 76°F - 78°F.
#2 Autolyse (11:15 am)
I like to use the combination of King Arthur bread flour for strength
and Central Milling malted Type 70, which really gets the dough active
and very elastic. If you don't have access to Central Milling, King Arthur white whole wheat is a good substitute. (Whole wheat will do too, but you may have to increase hydration a tiny bit.) In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flours and water. Mix until no dry bits remain. Cover the bowl and leave for one hour.
#3 Add levain (12:15 pm)
Add
the of levain to the autolyse. Using your fingers, pinch in the levain
at first, then keep gently stretching and folding the dough over itself
for about 4 to 5 minutes. If the dough resists, pinch it some more, and
then continue stretching and folding -- this will help build the
strength in the dough right from the beginning. Gather the dough into a
ball, cover and leave to rest for 45 minutes.
#4 Add salt (1:00 pm)
Sprinkle
the salt over the dough. Pinch in the salt, then again apply gentle
stretches and folds for about 4 minutes. If the dough resists, pinch it a
little all over to relax, and then continue stretching and folding.
Gather the dough into a square packet. Transfer to a bulk fermentation
container, cover, and leave for 45 minutes. I recommend using a square
container with flat bottom for the bulk fermentation (anything from
Pyrex dish to Emile Henry baking dish will do). Square shape and flat
bottom help keep the dough organized and this will result in more
regular structure compared to the dough that rested in a bowl. Try it,
you will be amazed with the difference.
#5 1st stretch and fold (1:45 pm)
By
now the dough would have relaxed significantly. With wet hands, release
the dough from the bottom of the bulk container on all sides. Perform
one set of stretch and folds. This is extremely extensible dough, and it
will stretch a lot. If the dough allows you, do another set of
stretches and folds. When done, arrange the dough neatly in a square
packet at the center of the container, cover, and leave for 45 minutes.
#6 2nd stretch and fold (2:30 pm)
Perform another set of stretches and folds. Cover, and leave for 45 minutes.
#7 3rd stretch and fold (3:15 pm)
Perform another set of stretches and folds. Cover, and leave for 45 minutes.
#8 Laminate and add cheese (4:00 pm)
While
the dough is resting, prepare the cheese. Cut the cheese into a very
small dice, something like 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. This bread is not
meant to have large and visible chunks of cheese. Instead, the tiny dice
will melt away, and the crumb will be literally glazed with Parmesan.
Another important point -- because you are probably wondering --
lamination does not always have to come first. For quite some time I was
religiously doing it at the beginning of the bulk fermentation, but I
am finding that for breads with added ingredients, performing lamination
towards the end is giving me better structure and control of how
ingredients are dispersed through the dough. It is also minimizing tears
in the dough that may occur when the dough is manipulated with lots of
heavy or sharp-edge ingredients in it. Lightly wet the work surface.
With wet hands, release the dough from the bottom of the bulk container
on all sides and place it onto the work surface. By pulling the dough
from the middle and not the sides, stretch it into a large square as
much as the dough allows you without being too aggressive and tearing
the dough. Spread 3/4 of the cheese over the dough, fold it halfway
through, spread the rest, and then complete the folding until you have a
neat packet of the dough. Place the dough into the bulk fermentation
container, cover and rest for 30 minutes.
#9 Coil fold (4:30 pm)
This
is optional, but you may find that this dough likes to be worked on, so
complete one neat coil fold, and then let the dough rest until the end
of the bulk fermentation. By now the dough will have developed a lot of
strength, and this last coil fold is essentially acting as a gentle
preshape.
#10 Shape (5:45 pm)
Lightly flour the
work surface and the top of the dough. Gently release the dough onto the
work surface, so that the dusted top is now facing the surface. Shape
the dough into a batard -- batard is my go-to shape these days, but oval
is OK too -- then place the dough into a banneton. (Everyone has their
favorite shaping method, here is one from Breadtopia I typically do.)
#11 Cold fermentation (6:00 pm)
Leave the bread in the banneton for 15 minutes. Put the banneton into a
plastic bag or cover it with plastic wrap, and transfer to the fridge. I
keep my fridge at 35°F, to inhibit any further rise of the dough.
#12 Bake (9:00 am)
One
hour before baking, place your baking vessel in the oven (I use Emile
Henry cloche) and preheat the oven to 500°F. When ready to bake, remove
the banneton from the fridge, flip the bread with parchment paper, score the bread, and transfer it to the
baking surface. Spray a little bit of water around the bread and cover.
Bake for 25 minutes, covered. Remove the lid, reduce oven temperature to
435°F and continue to bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer. Remove the
bread from the oven and coool on a wire rack for at least one hour
before slicing. (This us usually the most difficult part, because who
can resist that warm, crispy, cheesy crust.)