from ChainBaker ( Home – ChainBaker )
For the pre-ferment –
- 250g (8.8oz) rye flour
- 250g (8.8oz) water at around 20C (68F)
- 0.5g (0.02oz) dry yeast or 1.5g (0.06oz) fresh yeast
For the main dough –
- 250g (8.8oz) white rye flour
- 120g (4.2oz) toasted seeds *optional
- 1 tablespoon (0.5oz) black treacle
- 5g (0.2oz) dry yeast or 15g (0.6oz) fresh yeast
- 10g (0.3oz) sea salt
- 175g (6.2oz) water at 27C (80F)
The day before baking mix all the pre-ferment ingredients. Cover and leave for around 12h.
You want the preferment to be full of bubbles. Place the mix in a glass jar for a better view. If your kitchen is quite warm, then use cooler water to prevent it from over fermenting.
The following day mix the water, yeast, black treacle, salt, seeds, pre-ferment and the remaining flour. I would advise mixing all but the flour first to disperse the ingredients evenly before adding the remaining flour as the flour will make the dough sticky and hard to mix.
Shape and place in bread basket or a cloth-lined cake tin dusted generously with flour.
Final proof for around 2h (you will see it puffing up and cracking on the surface). If it has not cracked, then you will know to leave it to ferment for longer.
Halfway through proofing pre-heat your oven and cast-iron pot or thick bottom tray to 200C (390F) without fan or 180C (350F) with fan.
Scoring and bake covered (if you have a lid) for 30min.
Remove lid and continue baking for another 30min. If you are not sure if your bread is fully baked, you can stick your temperature probe into the centre of your loaf. If it reads 94C (200F) or more it means it is fully baked. This works with every bread. Not that I encourage it! You will in time learn to tell the readiness of bread by feel. My oven is quite weak, so yours might bake your bread more quickly. Keep an eye on it.
Let it cool down for up to a whole day and enjoy.