Mixed Starter Breads - Baguette, Pain Fendu or Couronne

By norsegal8

Ingredients

• The First-Stage, Old-Dough, Starter
• A walnut-sized (1/2-ounce) piece of fully risen dough
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• Makes about 2 1/2 pounds dough
• The Second-Stage Starter
• The first-stage starter (above)
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• The Final Dough
• 1 1/4 cups cool water (about 78°F)
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• The second-stage starter (above)
• 3 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Preparation

Step 1

FIRST-STAGE STARTER
Cut the dough into small bits, drop them into a bowl with the warm water, and let soften for 5 minutes. Using a sturdy wooden spoon, mix in flour. Working by machine, beat on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Put the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 8 hours.

SECOND-STAGE STARTER

Scrape the fully developed first-stage starter onto a cutting board and cut into 4 pieces. Put pieces into a bowl, add water, and allow to soften 5 minutes. Mix in flour and stir until dough comes together. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest 4 hours -- it will more than double. Chill the risen sponge for at least 1 hour, but no more than 8 hours, before proceeding.

FINAL-STAGE
Put the water into the mixer bowl, sprinkle in yeast, and stir by hand to mix. Deflate the second-stage starter, break it into pieces, add it to the bowl, and allow to soften 5 minutes. Attach dough hook to mixer, add flour and pulse machine on and off a few times to start mixing in the flour. Mix on low speed until flour is incorporated, then let the dough rest for 10 minutes. With the machine running on low, sprinkle the salt onto the dough; increase mixer to medium-high for 5 to 8 minutes. If dough rides up the hook, push it down with a rubber spatula as necessary. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest for 1 1/2 hours. Fold the risen dough down on itself a few times to deflate it and to redistribute the yeast, then cover again and let rise for 45 minutes. After this last rise, you must shape and bake the dough. If you refrigerate the dough now, you will have a sourdough bread, which is not what this dough is meant to be. Choose the shapes you want and follow the instructions for forming and baking each type of loaf.

To shape the breads: Cover a baking sheet with a linen towel, rub it well with rice flour, and set aside. Each shape starts like a baguette. Divide the dough into the number of pieces you need, and pat each piece into a rough rectangle. Working with one piece at a time, starting at the top of the rectangle, fold down about a third of the dough and press it gingerly into the middle of the dough with your fingertips, then fold down to the bottom and gingerly press the dough into place, creating a seam where the dough meets. Roll the dough, seam side up, back and forth under your palms to form a short sausage. Cover dough with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.


To Make a Baguette or a Wheat Stalk (called an Èpi in French), roll each piece of the rested dough gently under your palms to make a 15-inch-long baguette with slightly tapered ends. Place the loaves seam side up on the floured towel, lifting a bit of the towel up to form a pleat between each loaf.

To Form a Pain Fendu, make a smaller baguette shape from the piece of dough. Handling the dough gently, dredge it in rice flour, covering both sides. Make a pile of rice flour on the work surface and put the dough seam side up on the flour. Press a dowel or a broomstick along the seam to divide the dough in half the long way. Rock the dowel back and forth into the dough, but do not cut through the dough. The piece of dough between the two almost-separated mini-baguettes should be very thin. Grasp a mini-baguette in each hand, thumbs in the center, and fold the dough under itself so that the mini-baguettes are on the underside and the side of the dough facing up is smooth. Lay the loaf split side down on the towel-lined baking sheet. Cover with another towel and let rise 1 1/2 hours.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, line it with quarry tiles or a baking stone, and preheat to 450°F. Put a cast-iron skillet on the floor of the oven if it is gas, or directly on the heating element if it is electric. About 2 minutes before the loaf goes into the oven, open the oven door, stand back, and pour 1 cup of warm water into the hot skillet. Immediately close the oven door to trap the steam.

Flip the baguettes and/or pain fendu onto the peel so that the seam of the baguettes, or the flat side of the pain fendu, is against the peel. The baguettes need to be slashed: Hold a razor almost parallel to each and make 3 cuts diagonally across the width of the bread; the pain fendu can go into the oven without further fuss. For the wheat stalks, dust the loaves with rice flour, flip them over onto the peel, and, using small sharp scissors, make cuts every 2 inches, snipping along the center and cutting on a diagonal about three quarters of the way into the loaf. Lift up a snipped piece and move it to the right, turning it so that the cut portion is face up, move the next piece to the left, turn it, and continue until you've worked your way down the loaf and have created the stalk. Slide the loaves onto the hot tiles. Bake about 20 minutes, or until deep brown. Plunge an instant-read thermometer into the center of the bread—it should read 200°F when the bread is fully baked. Transfer breads to a rack to cool completely before cutting.

Couronne
The couronne uses 2 pounds 5 ounces of dough (leftover 3 ounces of dough can be used for your next batch of starter bread). Cut off a 5 ounce piece of dough and pat into a rectangle. Fold a third of the dough down to the center of the rectangle and then fold that portion of dough down to the bottom; repeat the patting and folding three times more, giving the dough a quarter turn each time. The last time, pinch the dough so that you make a seam where the folds meet. Roll the dough into a rope and let it rest, covered, while you shape the couronne. To make the couronne, rotate the 2-pound piece of dough against the work surface and between your hands to form a ball. Roll up your sleeves and plunge one of your elbows into the center of the dough, wiggling it around a bit to make a hole. Flour the fingers of one hand and stick them into the hole. Set the dough spinning around your fingers until the center hole expands. Cover and let dough rest 15 minutes. To make the string of pearls, roll the rope under your palms until it is about 1/2 inch thick and measures 2 to 2 1/2 feet long, depending on the size of your banneton or mold. Position your hand, pinky perpendicular to the dough, about 1/2 inch from one end of the rope. Slide your finger back and forth very gently across the dough to form a pearl; continue making pearls at 1/2-inch intervals, each connected by a little twist of dough, the result of your pinky's sawing motion. Carefully lift the string of pearls up and into the floured basket, placing it slightly off center, closer to the outer edge. Again using floured fingers, widen the center hole of the couronne, keeping the dough round and opening it up so that the outer circumference is about the same size as the rising basket. Turn the dough over into the basket, on top of the pearls. Cover the basket and allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the couronne over onto the peel. Slide the bread onto the hot tiles and quickly close the oven door. Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 425°F. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, or until very brown and the internal temperature measures 200°F on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before cutting.