Tartine recipe

The original recipe is by Chad Roberstson 

Leaven:

The day before baking I prepare the leaven. I make a 100% mature (50% water and 50% flour) starter. When it increased enough I move it to the refrigerator for the night. Next morning I take it out. To have a lively leaven I add 20 grams of water and 20 grams of flour.

I check the leaven; in a small bowl with lukewarm water I drop 1 teaspoon of leaven. When it floats it’s ready, when it sinks I have to wait till it’s ready.

Dough: 

350 grams plus 25 grams lukewarm water
100 grams leaven
500 grams white all purpose flour *
10 grams salt


* the original recipe has 450 gr all purpose flour and 50 gr whole wheat flour

Mixing/kneading:

Weigh 350 grams of 26˚C water and pour it into a large mixing bowl.  Add 100 grams leaven and stir it to disperse. Add 500 grams of flour in the bowl and mix thoroughly by hand until you do not see any bits of dry flour. 

Autolyse:

Let the dough rest for 25 to 40 minutes.  Don’t skip the rest period.  It allows the protein and starch in the flour to absorb the water, swell, and then relax into a cohesive mass.

Salt: 

After the dough has rested, add the 10 grams of salt. Incorporate the salt into the dough by squeezing the dough between your fingers. I added the extra 25 grams of water in little bits at a time. After a bit was incorporated I added the next bit.

Folding and bulk fermentation:

Fold the dough on top of itself in a container. I made my hands wet with some water to prevent from sticking to the dough. Grab with your hands under the dough and lift it out of the container.  Carefully stretch the dough in the air. Be gently to avoid pressing gas out of the dough. Fold right side over left side and do the same with top and bottom. Place it back in the container and cover with plastic.

I folded 4 times each half hour. Let it rest for the last hours. It depends on the temperature in your kitchen how long you need.

Pre shaping:

Pull the dough out of the container onto a floured work surface. Stretch the dough to a square. Fold like an envelope; make sure the floured side stays on the outside.

Turn the dough with the seam side on the work surface. Shape into a ball. Cover the ball and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Final shaping:

For final shape, don’t use flour, the ball needs to get a bit of grip on the work surface and close the seam while you keep on turning it. Cup your hand. Gently shape it into a ball.

Proofing:

I placed the loaf in a banneton, floured with rye flour. Placed it in a plastic bag and let it proof for 1 hour.

Retard proofing:

I placed the bag in the refrigerator for the night. I take the bag out of the refrigerator and leave it to warm on the counter. Or I take the bag out and put it directly in the oven.

Steaming:

I can use a flowerpot to place over the loaf or place a cake form with lava rocks in water under the baking stone.

Baking stone:

I use a baking stone.

Next morning/bakingday:

I pre-heated the oven to 260˚C and prepared for steaming. I need a long time to pre heat my oven, it must be sizzling hot. Just before the oven was hot enough I took the bag out of the refrigerator. Placed the loaf on a lightly floured wooden peel and scored the loaf.

The tricky part was removing the hot flowerpot and placing the loaf a quick as possible back in the oven. Placed the flowerpot on top and closed the oven.

Baking:

The first 20 minutes I baked the loaf with steam in the flowerpot. The last 20 minutes without steam and without flowerpot and parchment. I leave the loaf in the oven until it is brown enough. Then I leave the loaf another 5 minutes with a cracked door and the oven off.

Cold oven:

Chad Robertson uses starting the first loaf in a cold oven.

Cool:

Let the loaf cool on a wire rack.