White and Spelt Sourdough

Uses Untreated Organic White Flour - No.4 (105) and Organic Spelt Wholemeal Flour (407) and a large banneton (or two smaller ones)

Day 1, 7pm

• 80g starter
• 80g water
• 90g Untreated Organic White Flour - No.4 (105)
• 30g Organic Spelt Wholemeal Flour (407)

Make the leaven

Mix the starter and the water until there are no lumps. Mix in the two flours. Cover and leave for ~12 hours.

Day 2, 7am (ish!)

This step requires two bowls. One to build up the leaven and one to hydrate the bulk of the flour.

• 280g leaven (see day 1)
• 200g water (room temperature)
• 300g white flour
• 80g wholemeal spelt flour

Mix the leaven with the water until no lumps remain. Mix in the two flours until all the flour is wet. Put 720g into a bowl, cover and leave. Put the remaining 160g(ish) into a jar with lid to use as starter for your next loaf. If you aren't going to bake for a few days this can go in the fridge.

• 600g water (room temperature)
• 600g white flour
• 120g wholemeal spelt flour

Mix the water and flours until all the flour is wet. Cover and leave

Day 2, 4:30pm

Thoroughly mix the leaven with the flour water mix. 

Day 2: 5pm

• 22g salt
• 50g water

Add the salt and water and thoroughly mix. I do about of minute of stretch and folding* here. Then cover and leave.

Then do a set of stretch and folds every fifteen minutes three times, followed by another set of stretch and folds every half an hour three times.

Day 2: 9pm

Turn out the dough onto the work surface and shape for your banneton. Place into the banneton, cover and leave somewhere warm ish for an hour. If you are using two bannetons just cut the dough in half and shape for each.

Day 2: 10pm

Put the banneton into the fridge.

Day 3: 8am

Preheat the oven to 250 C conventional and put some trays of water in the oven. Once the oven is heated turn out the dough and score the top. Put into the oven and turn the temperature down to 230C. Bake for 50-60 minutes with steam (40 minutes if you are using the smaller bannetons). Then remove the trays of water, turn the oven down to 215C and bake for an additional 25 minutes (15-20 for the smaller loaves).

*stretching and folding (my way anyway)

with slightly wet hands with the dough in the bowl, grab the far edge of the dough, stretch it up and fold it back over to the near edge. Turn the bowl 90 degrees, repeat the stretch and fold. Do this another two times and that is a set of stretch and folds.

Added by: Peter Fearn