Yield: 1 large miche or 2 medium boules
TOTAL FORMULA
PREFERMENTED FLOUR: 25%
| INGREDIENTS | METRIC (GRAMS) | VOLUMETRIC (APPROXIMATE) | BAKER’S % |
| Whole wheat flour | 304 | 2½ cups | 50% |
| All-purpose flour | 304 | 2½ cups | 50% |
| Kvass | 439 | 1¾ cups + 3 tablespoons | 72.50% |
| Water | 106 | ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons | 17.50% |
| Salt, fine | 15 | 2½ teaspoons | 2.40% |
| Yeast, dry instant | 2 | ¾ teaspoon | 0.25% |
| Sourdough culture | 30 | 2 tablespoons | 5% |
| Total Weight | 1,200 | All | 197.65% |
STIFF LEVAIN
| INGREDIENTS | METRIC (GRAMS) | VOLUMETRIC (APPROXIMATE) | BAKER’S % |
| Whole wheat flour | 152 | 1¼ cups | 100% |
| Water | 106 | ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons | 70% |
| Sourdough culture | 30 | 2 tablespoons | 20% |
| Salt, fine | 3 | ½ teaspoon | 2% |
| Total Weight | 291 | All | 192% |
KVASS
| INGREDIENTS | METRIC (GRAMS) | VOLUMETRIC (APPROXIMATE) |
| Water, 115° F to 125° F | 992 | 4 cups |
| Sugar | 64 | ⅓ cup |
| Apples, sliced | 79 | ½ cup |
| Bread, after deeply toasting | 99 | about ¼ of a loaf |
| Sourdough culture | 20 | heaping 1 tablespoon |
| Ginger, fresh | 10 | 2 teaspoons |
| Sassafras root, dried | 3 | 1 tablespoon |
| Vanilla bean (or 1 to 2 teaspoons of extract) | 1 | 1 bean |
| Star anise | 2 | 2 intact “stars” |
| Total Weight | 1,270 |
FINAL DOUGH
| INGREDIENTS | METRIC (GRAMS) | VOLUMETRIC (APPROXIMATE) |
| Kvass | 439 | 1¾ cups + 3 tablespoons |
| Stiff levain | 291 | All |
| All-purpose flour | 304 | 2½ cups |
| Whole wheat flour | 152 | 1¼ cups |
| Salt, fine | 12 | 2 teaspoons |
| Yeast, dry instant | 2 | ¾ teaspoon |
| Total Weight | 1,200 | All |
TWO DAYS BEFORE BAKING
KVASS
Make the kvass (instructions follow) and allow it to ferment overnight before straining and reserving; chill for up to 4 days.
PREPARE THE KVASS
Slice any good loaf of bread (old and stale is fine) and toast in the oven until deep, deep brown, almost black. The bread will lose significant weight during toasting. You will need to begin with roughly half of a medium loaf, or about one-third of a full-size baguette.
Slice the apples, grate the ginger, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and reserve the pod, and crush the star anise.
MAKE THE KVASS
Put into a large mixing bowl, plastic container, or pitcher the water (115°F to 125°F), sugar, and sourdough culture. Stir to combine.
Add the toasted bread, sliced apples, ginger, sassafras, vanilla bean (both the pod and the scraped seeds), and star anise. Mix well to saturate the toasted bread and distribute the ingredients.
Cover and place at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. The kvass is ready when small bubbles are evident at the edges where the liquid meets the sides of the container.
Strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve and reserve until use. The flavor should be slightly effervescent and complex with gentle sweetness. I enjoy chilling the liquid, then sipping any amount that I don’t use in the bread.
DAY ONE
STIFF LEVAIN
In a medium bowl, combine the tepid water (75°F to 80°F) and sourdough culture. Mix with your hands and fingers until the culture is broken up and well distributed in the water, then add the flour and salt.
Mix briefly, then knead until smooth.
Cover and set at room temperature for 12 to 16 hours.
DAY TWO
PREPARE
Set the kvass at room temperature 1 to 2 hours before the final mix. It should be room temperature (70°F to 75°F) when used.
MIX
Calculate temperatures. See Setting Temperatures for instructions. Desired dough temperature: 78°F
In a large mixing bowl, combine the kvass and stiff levain. Mix with your hands until the preferment is broken up in the kvass, then add the final dough flours, salt, and yeast. Stir with the handle end of a wooden spoon until the dough forms a cohesive mass. If you find it easier, after some stirring, scrape the dough out of the bowl with a plastic scraper onto your work surface and knead briefly with your hands just until the dough comes together. Resist the urge to add more flour. Scrape the dough off the work surface and return it to the bowl for bulk fermentation.
BULK FERMENTATION
Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and allow the dough to rise, covered, for 3 hours at room temperature, folding as directed below.
FOLD
Fold after 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes, then leave untouched for the final hour. See Folding for instructions.
As you perform each series of folds, you’ll begin to notice that the dough becomes smoother, stronger, and more cohesive.
DIVIDE AND PRESHAPE
If making a single large loaf, preshape as a round. See Preshaping for instructions. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
For 2 loaves, divide the dough into 2 pieces weighing about 600 grams each. See Dividing for instructions.
Preshape as rounds. See Preshaping for instructions. Cover and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
SHAPE
Shape as boules. See Shaping for instructions.
Place the large miche, seam side, up in a banneton or towel-lined bowl, approximately 10 inches wide and 4 inches deep and dusted with whole wheat flour.
Place the two medium boules, seam side up, in bannetons or towel-lined bowls, approximately 9 inches wide and 3½ inches deep and dusted with whole wheat flour.
PROOF
Cover and proof for 60 to 75 minutes at room temperature.
BAKE
During the proof, preheat the oven to 450°F with a baking stone and steaming system in place. See Baking for instructions.
Transfer the loaves to parchment paper or a baker’s peel, gently inverting them so that the side that was against the dusted tea towel or banneton becomes the top.
Score the bread prior to loading. See Scoring for ideas and tips.
Bake with steam for 40 to 45 minutes. After 20 minutes, lower the oven to 425°F, and carefully remove any steaming devices, lids, parchment paper, or bowls. Rotate the loaves on the stone.
At 40 to 45 minutes the loaves should be well colored. If making a single large loaf, bake 10 minutes longer than the two medium loaves.
Turn off the oven, prop open the door a few inches, and allow the loaves to dry for an additional 10 minutes.
NOTE: During testing I sometimes wanted to make this bread but didn’t have time to brew the kvass. Thinking of the flavors I wanted and options for substitutes, I tried several liquid combinations that worked quite well. My favorite was a blend of unsweetened black tea and ginger beer. Kombucha is also an option, although I’ve found many store varieties quite bitter.
