This is possibly one of my most favorite loaf in terms of texture and the nutty flavor that the rye flour adds to it.

Levain

60 g Water 21°C

75 g Whole Wheat Baker's Flour

15 g Rye Flour

30 g Starter (ripe)

Final Dough

340 g 80.9% White Baker's Flour

60 g 14.2% Whole Wheat Baker's Flour

20 g 4.8% Rye Flour

340 g 81% Water (Reserve 20 g of the water for later)

8.5 g 2% Fine Salt

105 g 25% Levain (Ripe)

*76% Hydration

The night before

The night before making your sourdough, prepare the Levain and place in to a jar with a loose lid with the estimated 12 hours ripening time at room temperature.

If you prepared it too soon, simply leave it at room temperature for 2 hours then leave it in the fridge overnight to slow the ripening process. If you are retarding the Levain in the fridge, you will need to bring it back to room temperature until it is airy again before using.

10 hours later

2 hours before the Levain is estimated to be ready for use, mix all the flours and 320 g of the water (reserving 20 g of the water for later) until there are no dry nits of flour. At this point the mix should be quite slack and lumpy.

Cover with a tea towel and let it autolyze until the Levain is ready.

If after 2 hours your Levain is not ready, it is perfectly fine to leave the dough and water to autolyze further. Do not use Levain that is inactive.

To check if the Levain is ready for use, it should have at least doubled in volume. To test, simply gently scoop a small amount of the Levain and drop it into a jug of water. If the Levain starts to float to the surface, it means it is ready. If it sinks down to the bottom, you will need to leave it to ripen further.

2 hours later after autolyze

Add the Levain until it is well incorporated into the dough.

Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes

30 minutes after mixing in the Levain

Sprinkle the fine salt on top of the dough, rubbing in some of the reserved 20 g water to help it dissolve, start mixing the salt into the dough until there are no grainy bits.

Cover the dough and leave to rest for 1 hour.

1 hour later after salt are added

Perform the first stretch and Fold. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

30 minutes later

Perform the second stretch and Fold. Cover and Rest for 30 minutes

30 minutes later

Perform the third and final stretch and fold. Cover and rest for 1 hour.

Note: if after an hour the dough looks like it is quite slack, you can do another stretch and fold and let it rest for another 30 minutes.

Dust the work bench with some baker's flour, then tilt the dough over from the bowl to release it onto the floured bench.

Pre shape the dough by slightly tightening it. Cover with a tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes the dough should not lose too much of its form. If the dough starts to spread out over the bench too much, this means that you have not developed enough strength. You will need to do a coil fold and let the dough rest covered for another 30 minutes.

Lightly dust your banneton. Final shape the dough in to a semi tight ball. Tilt the dough gently upside down so that the seam side is facing out and place the dough into the banneton.

Cover and let it sit at room temperature for approximately 2 hours before placing it into the fridge to retard proof overnight.

At this point, my kitchen ambient temperature was sitting at 21°C. If your kitchen is warmer, you may need to shorten the time that the final shaped loaf sit at room temperature. The dough should feel quite airy and have risen a little and start to dome on the top before you put it into the fridge.

2:40 - 5 pm Leave at room temperature to bulk proof

5 pm - Place dough in the fridge to retard overnight

The next morning - 13 hours later after retarding

Pre heat oven with the cast iron pot and lid in the oven and leave for one hour.

14 hours after retarding

Remove the dough from the fridge, place a piece of parchment paper over the base. Tilt the dough gently over on a board to release. Dust the top with equal bakers flour and rice flour. Score.

Place the scored sourdough into the hot cast iron pot. Holding the lid close to the opening of the pot with one hand, and with the other hand, spray a generous amount of water over the top to create an initial steam. Close the lid to to trap the steam.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the lid then bake for a further 40 minutes or until it reaches a desired crust color.

20 minutes before the finished baking time, open the oven door slightly to release the steam, then close the door for the crust to bake. By doing this, it allows the extra moisture to escape the oven which then allows the crust to crisp up during baking. If you do not do this step the bread can have a soft crust.