Basic White Maple Boule/Batard

Now don't get confused, Maple refers to my 6 year old Natural Leaven Starter (wild yeast - some people refer to it incorrectly as a sour dough starter), not to some flavor or sweetener.  This is the basic thing baby:  flour, salt, water and wild yeast.  Before the 20th century and industrialization, this was the only way bread was leavened.  It's been this way for 6000 years, since the dawn of  human society.  Then came the modern age with all of its demands for efficiency, reliability and instant gratification.  Thus commercial yeast was born, basically yeast on steroids and about as appealing.

So Here is my recipe and methodology for the Basic White Maple Batard.

 I suggest that you read the recipe then watch the slide show at the end.

Pedro Pan’s Basic White Maple Batard Recipe for a 2.5 (+-) lb loaf or 2 1.25 lb loaves

Timing

12-36 hours to invigorate a refrigerated starter or a vigorous starter that was refreshed 8 -16 hours previously

14-16 hours (overnight) to no –knead raise the bread dough

3 minutes fold/ shaping

20 minutes resting

1-2 hour 2^nd rise

45 minutes baking

Actual hands on timing:  about 20 minutes including clean up

Do the timing math:  when do you expect to bake?  Back out 17 +_ hrs, that’s when you start your initial mixing of the dough.

Equipment

Mixing bowl large enough to accommodate a tripling of the initial bread ingredients.

Flexible plastic bench scraper and a very robust one piece rubber spatula.

Shaping vessels: bowls, plates, colanders that are similarly shaped but slightly smaller in size/diameter than the baking vessel you will be using.  Preferably with gently sloping sides to contain the soft dough.  Colanders are ideal for round loaves; oval plastic baskets like you get in fast food outlets for 1.25 lb oval loaves or large oval serving platters for 2.5 lb oval loaves.

Baking vessels: cast iron casserole, stainless steel pot, ceramic bakers etc, must have lids. For the 2.5 lb loaf: if round they will have to be at least 10 inches diameter, if oval 11-12 inches long, must be tall enough to accommodate the bread growing while baking --  min  6 inches deep.  For the 1.25 lb loaves: round 7 inch diameter if oval 9-9.5 inches long,  4 inches deep.  Baking vessel must be able to withstand very high temp (500 degrees).

Tightly woven dish towels or other cloth (pros use canvas) no terrycloth.

Cooling rack

Ingredients

1+ cup stirred down Vigorous Starter (90% of the last refresh)

2 Cups purified, spring or de-chlorinated water

4 +- cups bread flour plus extra for surface dusting and shaping vessels.

2 teaspoons salt

1-2 T Corn meal for the shaping vessel

1. In a large ceramic or plastic bowl add water and 90% of your starter. Take the remaining 10% starter, refresh it and set it aside for cold storage and the next bread you bake. In a separate bowl whisk the 4 cups flour with the 2 t salt.  Now whisk the starter and the water together until blended.   Add the flour then using a robust rubber spatula begin mixing the dough in the bowl. Your goal is to distribute and evenly moisten the flour making sure there are no dry spots or pockets of flour.  Start at the edges incorporating the flour and liquid, then begin reaching the spatula down and folding and turning the dough over, if the dough becomes impossible to work, add a little water (1 teaspoon at a time), if it is too wet add a little flour (1 teaspoon at a time) and after about 2 minutes of mixing you should have a shaggy, moist, evenly mixed dough.  You have not and will not knead this dough; your goal is to achieve a consistent even distribution of the flour and water.  It should be dry enough to hold form (not so wet it puddles out) but still glisten with moisture.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set on a counter top for 14-16 hr.
2. The next day, 14-16 hours later it will have almost tripled in size and the surface will be smooth and lumpy with bubbles.  The mass itself will be very soft, pillowy and wobbly.   Flour a surface area and with a flexible plastic dough scraper, start at one edge of the bowl and gently scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the flour being careful not to deflate the dough. No punching down of the dough here.    Dust your hands with flour and very gently extend the oval mass into to a rough rectangle, using your scraper (here it is useful to have a steel bench knife), one side at a time slide the bench knife under the smaller ends of the rectangle and fold them over the center of the dough.  Picture folding an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper prior to inserting it into an envelope. Always being careful not to deflate the dough.  Dust hands with flour again and gingerly pick the whole mass up and turn it over seam side down.
3. Place a dish towel in your Shaping vessel and generously coat the surface that will contact the dough with a 50/50 blend of flour and corn meal, accommodating for the dough to rise.   It is very important to generously coat every part of the cloth that will come into contact with the dough as otherwise the wet dough may stick to the cloth, causing a big problem later when try to invert the dough into your baking vessel—err on the side of too much!
4. Using just enough flour to prevent dough from sticking to your hands gently and quickly shape dough into a ball or oval  (depending on the shape of your shaping vessel) tucking the dough under so any seams are on the bottom.  Place the dough seam side down in the prepared Shaping vessel.  Cover loosely with another dish towel set aside to rise for 1-2 hours (in this second rise you are looking for about a 25%-35% increase).   .
5. Preheat oven and baking vessel. Put the baking vessel and lid into the oven and turn it on to 500 deg.  Give yourself at least 30 minutes to thoroughly pre-heat both oven and baking vessel before baking the bread.
6. When ready to bake (one way to determine a dough’s readiness is to poke a finger into it to a depth of ¼ inch, if it springs back it is not ready, if the indent remains, it is ready to be baked) and the dough has risen more or less 30%, carefully remove super hot baking vessel from oven and place it on top of the stove.  Lift your Shaping vessel with risen dough and gathering the kitchen towel tight with your fingers place it very close to the edge of the baking vessel and tip it over the baking vessel allowing the bread dough to plop gently down into the baking vessel, seam side up. Taking care not to burn yourself on the hot edges.  Do not slash the top of the dough, the seams will open to allow gas to vent and create a very dramatic and unique finished loaf, place the hot lid on top and return it to the oven.
7. Bake time:  If 12.5 lb loaf, bake covered 30 minutes, reduce temp to 450, remove the cover, bake uncovered 10 minutes, remove loaf from vessel place on oven rack and bake 10- 15 minutes  more.  If 2 1.5 lb loaves, bake covered 20 minutes, reduce temp to 450, remove the cover, bake uncovered 5 minutes, remove loaf from vessel place on oven rack and bake 10-15 minutes more. The reason for baking covered is that the steam escaping from bread creates a moist environment inside the covered vessel and this is vital for initial oven spring and crust development.  The reason for uncovering and eventual removal from the baking vessel is to allow the steam to dissipate and for the crust to brown uniformly.
8. When bread is done it should have a nice brown crust, will register between 208 and 215 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Remove from the oven immediately and set on a rack to cool.