STARTER
50 grams (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) Sourdough Starter
100 grams (1/4 c + 3 tbsp) water at about 60°F (15°C)
100 grams (1/2 c + 31/2 tbsp) white flour
DOUGH
300 grams (2 c + 2 tbsp) white flour, plus additional as needed for working with the dough
75 grams (1/2 c + 11/2 tsp) medium whole wheat flour
75 grams (1/2 c + 2 tbsp) white rye flour
25 grams (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) dark rye flour
25 grams (2 tbsp + 21/4 tsp) buckwheat flour
15 grams (21/2 tsp) fine sea salt
350 grams (11/4 c + 31/2 tbsp) water at about 60°F (15°C)
Dusting Mixture, for the lined proofing basket and shaped loaf
FOR THE STARTER
1 Put the sourdough starter in a medium storage container and add the water. Break the starter into pieces with your fingers until it’s almost dissolved in the water; there will still be some small pieces. Stir in the flour until fully incorporated. Cover the container and let sit at room temperature for 10 to 14 hours. It will be at its peak at around 12 hours.
FOR THE DOUGH
1 Stir together the white, whole wheat, white rye, dark rye, and buckwheat flours and the salt in a medium 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 an extra-large bowl along with the remaining water. Using a wooden spoon, break the starter up to distribute it in the water.
3 Add the flour mixture, reserving about one-sixth of it along the edge of the bowl (see Mixing). Continue to mix with the spoon until most of the dry ingredients have been combined with the starter mixture. Switch to a plastic bowl scraper and continue to mix until incorporated. At this point the dough will be sticky to the touch.
4 Push the dough to one side of the bowl. Roll and tuck the dough (see Rolling and Tucking), adding the reserved flour mixture and a small amount of additional 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 14 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 30 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 let rest at room temperature for 11/2 hours.
10 Transfer the basket to the refrigerator and chill for 14 to 18 hours.
11 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.
12 Using heavy-duty oven mitts or potholders, remove the Dutch oven, place it on a heatproof surface, and remove the lid.
13 Using the kitchen towel, lift and gently ease the dough out of the basket and onto a baking peel, seam-side down. 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. Lower the oven temperature to 460°F (240°C) and bake for 30 minutes.
14 Rotate the Dutch oven and 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 25 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 6 hours but preferably 12 to 36 hours.
IS IT REALLY COUNTRY?
Breads like the 60-Hour Sourdough Loaf and the 30-Hour Sourdough Loaf are often called country breads (pains de campagne in French) because they are supposedly what the peasantry survived on. That sounds reasonable enough, but the problem with that romantic- sounding name is that white flour wasn’t widely available to poor country folk back in the old days. I think the name country bread can be explained by the fact these loaves look so gnarly and rustic. If they make you feel like a hearty peasant, bear in mind that you don’t need to spend a morning in the fields with a scythe in order to enjoy one any more than eating a ploughman’s lunch requires you to till a field walking behind a horse-drawn plow.