Recipe: Direct Farmer’s Bread
from 'Modernist Bread at Home'
Direct Farmer’s Bread
Using commercial yeast is not only easier than relying on a preferment for the leavener but also a speedier option since the proofing time is significantly reduced. What you miss out on—what only time can contribute—is the depth and complexity of flavor that levain and prolonged proofing time offer. But to have a rustic loaf with this much character in a fraction of the original time is not a bad compromise.
Makes 1 large boule
Time: Active 15–20 minutes / Inactive 6 1/4 hours
Notes
We recommend using Pure White Rye from Bay State Milling or Light Rye flour from Bob’s Red Mill.
We do not recommend cold-proofing this dough because it has commercial yeast. If you’d like to warm-proof your dough, you can proof it at 27°C / 80°F for 1–1 1/2 hours.
Baking times can vary. The best way to make sure the bread is baked is to check its core temperature, which should read between 90–93°C / 195–200°F. Once baked, allow the bread to rest for 5 minutes to help it retain its shape, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
470 g (2 cups) water
3g (1 teaspoon) instant dry yeast
450g (3 cups) high-gluten flour
165g (1 2/3 cups) light rye flour
12.5g (2 1/4 teaspoons) fine salt
Combine the water and yeast in the mixer’s bowl, and stir to dissolve yeast.
Add the high-gluten flour, rye flour, and salt, and mix on low speed to a shaggy mass.
Mix on medium speed to medium gluten development, 4–5 minutes.
Transfer to a lightly oiled tub or bowl, and cover well with a lid or plastic wrap.
Bulk ferment, covered, for 2 1/2 hours at 21°C / 70°F. Perform 4 four-edge folds (1 fold every 30 minutes after the first 30 minutes). To perform a four-edge fold, pull each edge of the square of dough to the opposite edge.
Rest the dough, covered, for 30 minutes after the final fold.
Perform the windowpane test to assess gluten development. Take a portion of dough in your hands and stretch it: the dough will hold the window for at least 8–10 seconds and can be stretched to the point that it is nearly see-through when it has reached full gluten development.
Pick the dough up with your hands so that it’s not touching the worktable; tuck the edges in and under to form a rudimentary ball shape. Place the ball on the worktable with the seam side down.
Allow the dough to bench rest 20 minutes, covered.
Mentally divide the boule into six equal parts, like a pizza cut into six slices. Take the edge of one of the visualized slices, and pull it out, then fold it toward the center of the dough.
Repeat this step with the remaining pieces. Overlap the last one to form a tight seal; this will create the farmer’s boule.
Proof for 1 1/2–2 hours at 21°C / 70°F, well covered.
Preheat the oven and combination cooker in a 260°C / 500°F oven for at least 1 hour before the dough is fully proofed.
Test for proof using the fingertip test. Gently press the exposed surface of the dough for 2 seconds; the pressure should leave a small dent in the dough; it will slowly spring back, but the indentation should remain clearly visible after 1–2 seconds.
Once the dough is proofed, turn it over onto a peel, cookie sheet, or an upside-down half sheet pan lined with a piece of parchment paper.
Remove the combination cooker from the oven, and close the door. Take the lid off and set it aside.
Slide the parchment paper onto the base of the preheated combination cooker.
Cover the dough immediately with the preheated lid, and bake.
Place the pan into a 260°C / 500°F oven. Drop the temperature to 245°C / 470°F, and bake for 45 minutes with the lid on.
Remove the lid, and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Crack the oven door during the last 5 minutes of the bake.
Store for up to 1 day at room temperature or up to 2 months frozen.
Excerpted from Modernist Bread at Home by Nathan Myhrvold & Francisco Migoya. © 2024 Modernist Cuisine.