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Banbury Boule

Make the sponge first thing in the morning (8am)

Ingredients

650ml Room Temperature Filtered Tap Water

400g Shipton Mill Organic White Flour

100g Shipton Mill Organic Wholemeal Flour

A generous ladle full of active starter

Ingredients

Mix ingredients together and stir until you have a smooth sponge. Cover with a tea towel.

8 hours later (4pm)

Add the following ingredients to the sponge and combine:

500g Shipton Mill Organic White Flour

100g Shipton Mill Organic Wholemeal Flour

25g Salt

4:05pm

With the mixture still in the bowl knead for 10 minutes

After 10 minutes cover with the tea towel again and allow to prove for 3 hours with a turn on the hour for the first 2 hours. To perform the turns, remove the tea towel and stretch and fold 4 times working your way around the dough in a circular direction.

4:15pm

After 3 hours tip the dough out onto the counter and divide into 3 even pieces of dough. Shape each one into a round taught ball.

7:15pm

Flour 3 proving baskets and place each ball upside down in the basket. Flour the base (which is now at the top) generously to prevent sticking. Cover with cling film or a plastic bag and place in the fridge to cold prove

7:20pm

6:40am turn oven on (preheat to 250C) and place dutch oven in to warm up

Remove first dough ball and basket from the fridge and put to one side

7:20am remove dutch oven from oven

Remove lid from dutch oven and gently turn the proving basket upside down tossing the dough into the dutch oven.

Score the loaf with a lame or a sharp knife. Replace lid and return dutch oven to oven.

Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on.

After 20 minutes remove the lid and turn down the heat to 210C. Return dutch oven and bake for a further 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes remove from the oven and place loaf on to a cooling tray.

Repeat steps for next 2 loaves (they freeze great)