French Sourdough Boule with Overnight Cold Proof

4 ingredients

11 steps

What you need

200 g (7 oz) active sourdough starter, levain, fed and at its peak
600 g (4 3/4 cups) white bread flour, French T55 or T65; up to a tenth can be whole wheat flour, plus extra for shaping
400 g (1 2/3 cups) water, at room temperature
11 g (2 tsp) fine sea salt

Restated from the original video

1
Feed the starter 4-8 hours before mixing so it doubles in size and is bubbly on top. Use it at its peak, when the surface bubbles start to pop.
2
Put the flour, water, salt and 200 g of active starter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
3
Knead on low for 3-4 min until combined, then on medium until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl but still feels a little sticky, 8-12 min more.
4
Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave at room temperature until the dough has risen and looks airy, 4-5 hours.
5
Turn the dough onto a well-floured counter. With floured hands, fold the edges into the centre several times without pressing out the air, then flip it and tuck the sides underneath to form a smooth, taut ball.
6
Line a proofing basket or a large colander with a well-floured linen towel. Set the ball inside seam side up and fold the towel over it.
7
Refrigerate overnight, 12-14 hours.
8
Take the basket out of the fridge 30 min before baking.
9
Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment rated for high oven heat and lower it into a cast iron casserole that is much larger than the loaf. Score the top a few times with a sharp blade and put on the lid.
10
Put the casserole in a cold oven, set it to 240 °C (475 °F) and bake for 1 hour. For a darker crust, take off the lid for the last 15 min.
11
Lift the loaf out; it should sound hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Imported from danslacuisinedesophie.fr. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.