STARTER
200 grams (11/4 c + 3 tbsp) medium whole wheat flour
0.8 gram (1/4 tsp) instant yeast
200 grams (3/4 c + 11/2 tbsp) water at about 60°F (15°C)
WHOLE WHEAT SOAKER
320 grams (21/4 c + 13/4 tsp) medium whole wheat flour
240 grams (1 c) water at about 60°F (15°C)
FARRO SOAKER
40 grams (1 tbsp + 2 tsp) farro or emmer berries (not sprouted)
24 grams (1 tbsp + 2 tsp) water at about 60°F (15°C)
DOUGH
80 grams (1/2 c + 1 tbsp) medium whole wheat flour
12 grams (2 tsp) fine sea salt
0.8 gram (1/4 tsp) instant yeast
80 grams (1/4 c + 11/2 tbsp) water at about 60°F (15°C)
20 grams (1 tbsp) unsulfured molasses
White flour, as needed for working with the dough
Dusting Mixture, for the lined proofing basket and the shaped loaf
FOR THE STARTER
1 Put the flour in a medium storage container. Sprinkle the yeast into the water, stir to mix, and pour over the flour. Mix with your fingers, pressing the mixture into the sides, bottom, and corners until all of the flour is wet and fully incorporated. Cover the container and let sit at room temperature for 10 to 14 hours. The starter will be at its peak at around 12 hours.
FOR THE WHEAT SOAKER
1 Put the flour in a large storage container and pour in the water. Mix with your fingers, pressing the mixture into the sides, bottom, and corners until all of the flour is wet and fully incorporated. Cover the container and let sit at room temperature for 10 to 14 hours. The soaker will be at its peak at around 12 hours.
FOR THE FARRO SOAKER
1 Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Spread the farro on a quarter sheet pan and bake until toasted, about 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
2 Put the farro in a medium storage container and pour in the water. Cover with the lid, and let sit at room temperature for 6 hours. (If need be, the farro can soak for up to 10 hours, but it will have a bit less of a firm bite in the final loaf.)
1 Stir together the flour, salt, and yeast in a small bowl.
2 Pour about one-third of the water around the edges of the starter to release it from the sides of the container. Transfer the starter and water into an extra-large bowl. If need be, use a little of the remaining water to loosen the whole wheat soaker from its container. Carefully pour the whole wheat soaker into the bowl; it’s dense and will splash if it goes in too quickly. Add the remaining water and the molasses. Using a wooden spoon, break the starter and soaker up as best you can to distribute them in the liquid. The mixture will be very thick.
3 Add the farro and its soaking water and all of the flour mixture; unlike most of the doughs in this book, where one-sixth of the flour is reserved at the side of the bowl, in this recipe it is all added at once. Mix with the spoon until all of the ingredients are evenly combined. Switch to a plastic bowl scraper and continue to mix until the farro is evenly distributed. At this point the dough will be very sticky to the touch.
4 Push the dough to one side of the bowl. With this dough, try to resist the urge to add too much white flour for dusting in the beginning; it will firm up considerably after the first 5 to 10 roll and tuck sequences. Roll and tuck the dough (see Rolling and Tucking), adding a small amount of white flour to the bowl and your hands as needed. Continue rolling and tucking until the dough feels stronger and begins to resist any further rolling, about 16 times. Then, with cupped hands, tuck the sides under toward the center. Place the dough, seam-side down, in a clean bowl, cover the top of the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
5 For the first stretch and fold (see Stretching and Folding), lightly dust the work surface and your hands with flour. Using the plastic bowl scraper, release the dough from the bowl and set it, seam-side down, on the work surface. Gently stretch it into a roughly rectangular shape. Fold the dough in thirds from top to bottom and then from left to right. With cupped hands, tuck the sides under toward the center. Place the dough in the bowl, seam-side down, cover the bowl with the towel, and let rest for 1 hour.
6 For the second stretch and fold, repeat the steps for the first stretch and fold, then return the dough to the bowl, cover with the towel, and let rest for 1 hour.
7 For the third and final stretch and fold, once again repeat the steps for the first stretch and fold, then return the dough to the bowl, cover with the towel, and let rest for 20 minutes.
8 Line a 9-inch (23 cm) proofing basket or bowl with a clean kitchen towel and dust the towel fairly generously with the dusting mixture.
9 Lightly dust the work surface and your hands with flour and shape the dough into a round (see Shaping a Round Loaf). Dust the sides and top of the dough with the dusting mixture, fold the edges of the towel over the top, and transfer the basket or bowl to the refrigerator and chill for 16 hours.
10 Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Place a covered 6-quart (5.7 L), 10-inch (25 cm) round cast-iron Dutch oven on the rack. Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Remove the basket of dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature while you allow the oven to preheat for about 1 hour.
11 Using heavy-duty oven mitts or potholders, remove the Dutch oven, place it on a heatproof surface, and remove the lid.
12 Using the kitchen towel, lift and gently ease the dough out of the basket and onto a baking peel, seam-side down. This dough is fairly delicate. Then carefully transfer it into the pot (the Dutch oven will be very hot). Score the top of the dough (see Scoring), cover the pot, and return it to the oven. Bake for 5 minutes.
13 Lower the oven temperature to 460°F (240°C) and bake for 15 minutes.
14 Rotate the Dutch oven, keeping the lid on, and bake for 10 minutes longer. Remove the lid. The loaf will already be a rich golden brown. Continue baking, uncovered, until the surface is a deep, rich brown, with some spots along the score being even slightly darker (bien cuit), about 5 minutes longer.
15 Loosen the edges of the loaf with a long handled spoon and then with the help of the spoon lift out of the pot onto a cooling rack. When the bottom of the loaf is tapped, it should sound hollow. If not, return it to the oven and bake directly on the rack for 5 minutes longer.
16 Let the bread cool completely before slicing and eating, at least 4 hours but preferably 8 to 24 hours.
SOAKERS
Soaking whole grains for a good long while before adding them to dough accomplishes a few things. First, the hard grains soften, so you won’t have little hard bits in your dough. But more importantly, soaking (and the extra hydration it contributes) activates enzymes in the grain, beginning the process of breaking down its starches into the sugars that provide food for the yeast. Then, when you incorporate the soaked grain into the dough, you will have already lined things up to jump-start the fermentation process. In the course of writing this book, I discovered that making soakers with flour or ground nuts, sometimes using milk for the liquid, allows these ingredients to contribute their own unique and tasty qualities during fermentation.