cheddar pepper sourdough
like mac and cheese in sourdough bread, this loaf is speckled with black pepper and caves of melted cheddar cheese.
formula
levain build
- 15 g unfed levain
- 15 g king arthur whole wheat flour
- 60 g king arthur all purpose flour
- 60 g water @ 85°F
dough formula
- 240 g king arthur all purpose flour
- 80 g king arthur whole wheat flour
- 80 g king arthur bread flour
- 320 g water @ 90°F
- 10 g sea salt
- 88 g ripe levain
add-ins
- 120 g white sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
- 8 - 10 g black pepper, to taste
method
7 am: feed levain
- refresh your starter using levain build formula, and stiff starter method.
12 pm: autolyse
- in a large bowl, mix all flours together. slowly add the water, mixing with a rubber spatula, making sure to incorporate the water into the flour well, stopping when all the flour is hydrated. let sit, covered, for 60 minutes.
1 pm: bulk fermentation
- sprinkle salt evenly over autolysed dough. incorporate gently by folding dough over a 2-3 times. then, measure out ripe starter, and add to bowl.
- mix, alternating between using the rubaud and pincer method, for about 6-7 minutes.
- let dough rise at room temp until it doubles and appears gaseous, about 6.5 hours in the summertime (kitchen ~80°F)
- this dough needs 4 sets of coil folds, spaced 45 min apart, starting at the beginning. after the first coil fold, perform lamination to incorporate cheese and pepper.
- sample schedule:- 1:45 pm fold #1- 2:30 pm laminate in cubed cheese and ground pepper- 3:15 pm fold #2- 4 pm fold #3- 4:45 pm fold #4
7:30 pm: shape
- i like to shape these like a batard.
- on a generously floured surface, gently guide dough onto the table. first tug and fold the dough lightly on itself in each direction: top, left, right, bottom, like you're folding up paper.
- then, knit the left and right sides together like you're stitching up a seam.
- finish by taking the top end of the dough, and rolling it up like a scroll, perpendicular to the seam.
- flip dough over, seam side down on an unfloured surface. pinch ends shut.
7:35 pm: proof
- generously flour an unlined bannetone (for the swirl aesthetic). flip the dough over with a bench knife, and gently transfer the dough, seasm side up, into the bannetone.
- place bannetone inside of a plastic bag to cover, and place in fridge overnight for 12 - 16 hours.
[next morning] 9:30 am: preheat
- place dutch oven with lid on into the oven. pre-heat oven to 495°F for an hour.
10:30 am: bake
- dough is proofed when it passes the finger dent test. remove bannetone from fridge.
- very slowly, flip dough out of bannetone onto a cut piece of parchment paper.
- score your loaf with a lame. i like to score this with a single deep cut down the center with some optional lighter flourishes to each side.
- transfer scored dough to dutch oven. decrease temperature to 475°F. with the lid on, bake for 30 minutes. then, take the lid off. bake for another 12 - 15 minutes, or whenever the crust turns the color you like it (i go for a pretty deep brown).
12:30 pm: slice & enjoy
- let this loaf cool on a wire rack (or something else that allows the air to circulate) for at least 2 hours before slicing.