Flavorful, Airy Sourdough using Italian-Style Pizza Flour

Did you know that Janie's Mill Italian-Style Pizza Flour is also a great sourdough bread flour! Its combination of heirloom Turkey Red Wheat and high-protein Hard Red Spring Wheat, plus its fine sifting (70% extraction) gives your loaves a fine, airy texture with rich, hearty flavor. What's not to love about that!

This recipe is adapted from Maurizio Leo's wonderful Beginner's Sourdough Bread recipe, on his Perfect Loaf website. We also carry Leo's book The Perfect Loaf in our bookstore, and highly recommend it!

Yield:  2 medium-sized loaves, or one larger and one smaller one. 

Ingredients

For the Levain:

• 38 grams (1/3 cup) Janie's Mill Red Fife or another 100% extraction flour 
  
• 38 grams (1/3 cup) Janie's Mill Italian-Style Pizza Flour or High-Protein Bread Flour
• 76 grams (1/3 cup) water
• 38 grams (1/8 cup) ripe sourdough starter
  

Remaining ingredients:

• 773 grams (6 1/2 cups) Janie's Mill Italian Style Pizza Flour
  
• 114 grams (1 cup) Janie's Mill Red Fife or another 100% extraction wheat flour
• 51 grams (1/2 cup) Janie's Mill Rye flour (Janie's Mill Light or Dark Rye work equally well)
• 653 grams (2 2/3 cups) water
• 18 grams (1 Tablespoon) fine sea salt
• Sesame or other seeds to coat the loaf, if desired

Equipment

• Jar for Levain
• Medium mixing bowl
• Larger mixing bowl for bulk fermentation
• Bench Scraper
• Lame or scoring knife or razor
• Dutch Oven or other heavy closable container for baking the bread

Instructions

• Make the Levain --  In a glass jar or similar container, mix the levain ingredients. Make sure the container is large enough to accommodate the levain expanding to 3 or 4 times its original volume. If you keep the jar at about 75°F, it will take 5 or 6 hours to reach its peak volume. (A lower temperature means a slower rise, and a higher temperature a faster rise.)
  

Make the Dough

• Autolyse --  In a medium to large bowl, gently mix the 3 types of flour with 603 grams of water until all the dry flour is moistened. (NOTE: 50 grams of water from the 653 grams in the ingredient list are reserved for the next step.) Cover and let rest for an hour. 
  
• Mix all ingredients --  Add the ripe levain, reserved 50g water, and salt to the bowl with the autolysed flour.  Use your fingers to dimple in the levain, water, and salt. Mix gently by hand until all ingredients are incorporated.  Transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover. (You may keep the dough in the bowl or transfer it to another container for bulk fermentation.)
• Bulk Fermentation - Let the dough rest for 30 minutes at the beginning of the bulk fermentation. Then do a set of stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes for a total of 3 sets.
• Divide and Pre-shape -- Lightly flour your work surface and scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured counter or other work surface.  Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a roughly rounded shape. Let the rounds rest for 25 minutes.
• Shape -- Shape the dough into your desired shape -- usually either a round (boule) or oval (batard). Place each in a proofing basket.
• Rest and Proof -- Cover the proofing baskets and let them sit on the counter for 20 minutes, then place the baskets in the refrigerator for an overnight proof. If your house is cool, you may also proof the dough on the counter or on a porch or in the basement, but keep a close eye on it so as not to over-proof. 
  
• Bake - With the Dutch Oven inside your oven, preheat the oven to 450°F. When the oven is preheated, remove your dough from the refrigerator, score it, and transfer to the preheated Dutch oven. Cover with the lid and place in the oven to bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake for 30 minutes. When done, the internal temperature should be around 208°F (97°C).
• Cool and cut and enjoy! Let the loaves cool for 1 to 2 hours on a wire rack before slicing.