Apple Cider Levain Loaf
Tart and tangy with apple cider and dried cranberries, this flavorful, naturally leavened white bread can also be made without those ingredients; simply substitute the same amount of water for the apple cider and omit the cranberries. This recipe first appeared in our May 2012 issue along with William Alexander's story American Bread.
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Credit: Todd Coleman
INGREDIENTS
6 ½ cups plus ⅓ cup (3 lb. 6 ⅔ oz.) tap water, heated to 115°¼ tsp. active dry yeast
4 ¾ cups plus ⅔ cup and 2 tbsp. (1 lb. 9 ⅓ oz.) all-purpose flour
4 cups (1 lb. 4 oz.) bread flour
1 cup (8 oz.) apple cider, at room temperature
½ cup (2 oz.) dried cranberries
2 tsp. (½ oz.) kosher salt Canola oil, for greasing
½ cup ice cubes
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large bowl, stir together ⅔ cup water, ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour, and yeast until a smooth paste forms; cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 24 hours. Repeat this process for the next eight days, adding ⅓ cup each water and flour the second and third days and ¾ cup the remaining days, to make the starter (which you can keep alive, in the fridge, by adding the same amounts once weekly.)
3. Uncover culture and add remaining ⅔ cup water, 3 ¼ cups bread flour, ¾ cup cider, along with cranberries and salt (Figure B). Stir until dough forms (Figure C); let dough sit to let flour hydrate, about 20 minutes. Transfer dough to a floured surface, and knead, using a bench scraper to help remove dough from surface, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap, and place in a cold oven. Let rest until slightly inflated, about 1 hour. Transfer dough to a floured surface and flatten slightly. Fold top and bottom edges toward middle. Return dough, seam side down, to bowl (Figure D); cover. Let sit until doubled in size, about 3 hours.
4. Repeat folding procedure, and place dough, seam side down, into a greased 8″ x 5″ x 2 ½″ loaf pan, cover with plastic again, and return to oven. Let sit until dough reaches top of the loaf pan, about 3 hours. One hour before baking, place a cast–iron skillet on bottom rack of oven; position another rack above skillet; place a baking stone on top of it. Heat oven to 475°.
5. Using a razor, slash top of loaf at a 30° angle in four spots. Place loaf on baking stone; place ice in skillet. Bake until brown, about 50 minutes; let cool before serving.
I actually made it but what an ordeal!
Admittedly I kept forgetting about the starter so in reality I was building it for about 15 days. Then the day before I made the second "starter" which I now think you could eliminate. I also omitted the apple cider vinegar and used raisins instead of cranberries.
On like the 700th day, I added more flour, water and salt to the starter,a added raisins and then let it rise. Yes, it had a batter consistency. The recipe called for the flour to hydrate so I figured it would thicken up, but it didn't really. So then I took it out of the bowl and kneaded it with more flour then I put it in a loaf pan and into the cold oven per the recipe.
Then because it called for an another rise in addition to the already 3 hour and 400 days of this recipe, I forgot sbout it until the next afternoon.
It looked like it had risen a little and I just figured I'd bake it and have an ugly loaf. But to my surprise it rose quite a bit and was very moist and tasty ( although the loaf itself is like five pounds).
I will not, however, make this recipe again. I'm moving onto the Filone.
You can see a photo of the loaf here
http://instagr.am/p/K3HAMLF3R0/
Here is a definition:
A French word for a natural leaven mixed to a dough-like consistency. A levain is made by adding flour and water or just flour to a "chef". This process is referred to as "building" or "elaborating" the next stage of the leaven.
A levain or levain bread dough is generally fermented at cool temperatures. The firmer consistency and cool temperature fermentation of a levain promotes the development of lactic rather than acidic acids, and a bread leavened with a levain (Pain au Levain) has a rich, complex flavor and is generally not sour. (http://www.angelfire.com/ab/bethsbread/sdDefinitions.html)
http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/recipe-basic-sourdough-starter/
Sandor Katz has just written a new book w/a forward by Michael Pollan