A Classic French-style Light Sweeter Boule
Learning Objective
You will learn how to make a 20% wholemeal classic French style sourdough boule using an ambient method – perfect for beginners. and for connecting to the process of making sourdough part of your lifestyle.
Makes: | 2 x 1kg |
---|---|
Level: | Beginner |
Created Over: | 2 days |
Kind of Bake: | Ambient day – French style – mixed in the morning and baked in the evening |
Diversity Score: | 14 (Botanical Blend No. 2) if you us our Botanical Blend Flour. |
---|---|
Recommended For: |
|
Avoid if: |
|
![Sourdough bread close up](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/banner9-1040x520.jpg)
This is a really special way to make a sourdough boule because you stay connected to the process at every step. It is about using your head, to think through the process. The timings, the temperature, the flour and the way you approach your basic ingredients are part of the process. So finding the flour and connecting to the ingredients is part of the magic. I highly recommend that you find a stone ground wholegrain or spelt flour for the 20%. Each flour is slightly different and you will be surprised as you learn to recognise the nuances of different flours just how even 20% can make a difference to the texture and flavour and structure of your bread.
Making bread is about falling in love and that feeling of connecting to the process is magical. It is also an artisan product. The wild yeast is wild and even as the season changes you will find that the bread changes too. So it is about feeling and sensing. The first time you bake it will just feel like a small miracle that you have even managed to transform flour and water into bread. But each time you practice you will find your hands begin to recognise the moments in the same way a piano player who practices the same piece over and over does.
To go with this recipe we have developed an Ambient Boule Daily Planner & Tasks PDF that you can download and print.
Equipment
- Medium bowl for mixing leaven
- Clean t-towel or wax cloth
- Large mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Dough scraper
- 2 x 1kg banneton
- Lame
- Baking cloche
Tin Size
- No Tin
Suggested Starter
White
Status of Starter
bubbly, lively second-build starter
Hydration
73%
DDT
27°C (80°F)
Flours
- Marriages organic (13% protein) white roller milled
- Botanical Blend No. 2 - Meadow Blend
- OR
- Gilchesters Organic Wholewheat
To Ferment Your Dough
- 25g white sourdough starter
- 100g strong white bread flour
- 90g water at 25C
For The Dough
Baking Time
1 hour in a Cloche or Dutch Oven plus 5 - 10 minutes uncovered depending on your preferences
Oven Position
bottom shelf
Preheat Oven To
240°C/220°C fan/475°F/gas mark 9
Bake At
200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6
Baking Tips - During/After Baking
- At the end of the baking time, remove the cloche lid and bake for another 10 minutes before removing the loaf from the oven and leaving on a wire rack to cool.
- For a really crusty loaf, turn off the oven at the end of the baking time and leave the bread in there with the door open as it cools.
- For soft crusts, remove the bread from the oven at the end of the baking time and place on a wire rack. After about 5–6 minutes, wrap the loaf in a clean tea towel (or a sheet of greaseproof paper followed by a tea towel if you have added butter).
- Everyone's oven is slightly different. Use the timings given here as a guide and always check your loaf towards the end of the baking time to see how much longer it needs.
Tutorials
Step | Timings |
---|---|
Refresh starter 1st Refreshment | 11pm Day 1 |
Refresh starter 2nd Refreshment | 11am Day 2 |
Download sourdough schedule & plan your bake | 9pm Day 2 |
Make leaven | 10-11pm Day 2 |
Mix 700g of the water & leaven into dough | 8am Day 3 |
Autolyse with leaven | 8.15am Day 3 |
Bassinage add the remaining water in incrementally | 8:40am Day 3 |
Add salt - Start bulk | 11am Day 3 |
Stretch & fold | 11am-2pm Day 3 |
Bulk ends - Now shape | 2pm Day 3 |
Final prove | 2.30pm Day 3 |
Score & bake | 4.30-6pm Day 3 |
Analyse & Recalibrate | On eating |
Guidance, tips & techniques
This way of making sourdough is based on one I first learned as a little girl baking in a small bakery in south-west France. In France, we often use a small percentage of yeast in the loaf, but this one is pure sourdough.
It’s a two-day process and a nice introduction to the rhythm of sourdough baking. Beginners are often tempted to jump straight in and try to make a high hydration retarded loaf, but this French style is a far more beautiful way to ground yourself in the process. You become familiar with the techniques and handling the dough and this method is one you can rely on to make classic lighter beautiful bread time and time again.
Flour tips
If you are using a lower protein flour than 12% then I’d recommend using 720g of water. Your flour wants to be around about 11½-12% protein. If you can’t find a white flour at this level of protein, I suggest that you use a higher protein flour (this is usually the kind of flour in the USA) but for the wholemeal use a spelt flour. This will help balance out the levels of protein and reduce the strength slightly.
So the flour I have recommended above has 13% and the Botanical Blend is not as strong, so by BLENDING them you get about 12% protein. The Botanical Blend No. 2 gives you flavour and nutrition. You can also use Wholegrain Spelt in place of the Blend.
Tips on Temperature
Remember that your desired dough temperature needs to take into account the ambient temperature of where you’re baking. If you are in a very warm environment, your DDT might need to come down a couple of degrees. Conversely, if you’re baking in a very cold environment or at a higher altitude, you might need to lift that DDT by a couple of degrees. It’s really a matter of keeping to the schedule and you can once you get used to making this bread, then you can recalibration to fit your environment
Tips on adjusting the amount of water
When you first make this loaf please just follow the recipe. Once you have made it a few times you can start to adjust the amount of water to change the openers of the crumb structure. More advanced bakers can, of course, increase the hydration, but if you are a beginner I strongly suggest that you master this with the amount of water I have suggested before increasing the hydration.
A final tip – although an ambient loaf doesn’t go in the fridge to prove, I generally pop the shaped dough in for about ½ an hour just before I score and bake it. This helps to firm up the dough and makes it easier to score.
Success essentials
- A lively, bubbly starter is key to getting a good rise.
- Keeping to the timings.
- Use a thermometer to measure your water temperature to get the dough temperature right. It is very important to maintain the desired dough temperature (DDT) – cold dough won’t rise, and if your dough is too hot it will be very sticky and hard to handle.
- If your kitchen is cold then put the oven light on and check that this makes your oven a little warmer (but be careful not to accidentally turn your oven on!)
How to Store
Always let your bread cool before wrapping in a tea towel. I tend to use this bread as sandwiches for two days and then toast and any left I turn into croutons. It does freeze beautifully, and sometimes I slice it and wrap in a tea towel and then in a plastic bag so that I can just take a single slice out at a time and toast from frozen.
- Your 2nd loaf we encourage you to give away. Baking is about that connection to others. I once just gave my bread to the man who served me in the local garage and his wife burst into tears as she'd never seen anyone show any notable appreciation for him. It was a wonderful moment.
![](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/France-330x495.jpg)
![](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Morris-Nadaillac-330x495.jpg)
![](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2106SourdoughSchool-8881-330x495.jpg)
![](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/20-09-Sourdough-School-041-330x413.jpg)
![](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/19-04-SOURDOUGH-SCHOOL-562-330x413.jpg)
![](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/21-06-Sourdough-School-0669-330x413.jpg)
![](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/21-06-Sourdough-School-0698-330x413.jpg)
![mental health sourdough](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/21-06-Sourdough-School-0575-330x413.jpg)
![Doctor Alexandra Davidson](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/21-06-Sourdough-School-8750-330x413.jpg)
Learning Outcome
You will understand how to make this classic french style sourdough boule and have confidence to continue with your sourdough baking journey.