So…what is levain, you asked? Now, if you Google, too many different opinions and explanations. Some would say, it literally means “starter”, meanwhile for sourdough starter, some would call it as mother starter, mega starter, and also levain. Whichever it is, when I 1st tried a recipe for my very 1st sourdough baking, levain was a starter mixed with flour and water, which then rested overnight before adding it with other ingredients to make a sourdough bread dough. When I 1st dipped my toes on sourdough baking, after learning all the long hours for fermentation and baking, I thought…WTF did I get myself into 🤣 I am a lazy baker, I like simple bakes. Anyhoo. I did a little experiment. This time, I did not use levain and voila. Fruitful experiment it was. At least no longer 2 days in making a loaf for me now, yeepeeee 😉 Check out the vid if you like to save a bit of time in making sourdough bread!
Mix:
3/4 c sourdough starter
1 kg bread flour
700 g water
Let rest an H
Add in:
50 g water
25 g salt
Let rest an H
Do 3 sets of French fold every 30 mins
Rest for 4 H
Halve
Ferment in the fridge over night
Bake at 450 F covered 30mins, uncovered 25 mins
Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 3/4 c sourdough starter
- 1 kg bread flour
- 700 g water
- 50 g water
- 25 g salt
Instructions
- Mix starter, flour, water, then add in more water and salt
- Let rest an H
- Do 3 sets of French fold every 30 mins
- Rest for 4 H
- Halve
- Ferment in the fridge over night
- Bake at 450 F covered 30mins, uncovered 25 mins
