Visual Tutorial - Farro, Sesame, Hemp Hearts Sourdough

I decided to document in pictures all the steps I use in making sourdough boules for future posters or even lurkers that might be wondering how does one go from a recipe to the actual loaf of bread. I am no expert having only been baking just under a year but I thought it would be fun to do.

I believe that the only part I missed was toasting and soaking the seeds. So to toast: I put the seeds in a frying pan on medium high heat and keep tossing and stirring until they are coloured a golden brown and have a wonderful toasted fragrance. Then I soaked the farro in water overnight and drained before using in the recipe.

So here goes (be aware that there are a million pictures...):

The rough plan.

The recipe plus 24 g vital wheat gluten. I forgot to write it down in this picture.

The new toy.

Using the new toy. I put the drained farro, the toasted seeds, the water and the flours as well as the vital wheat gluten in the bucket.

The dough ready for the autolyse (I let it rest for one hour.)

Mixing in by hand (pinching and folding) salt, levain and crème fraîche, then let rest for one half hour in a warm place (oven with light on and door cracked open) for bulk fermentation.

Next the stretch...

... the fold.

After going all around the dough.

Back into warm place.

After a half hour, a second set of stretches and folds.

Third set of stretches and folds after another 30 minutes.

Last set of stretches and folds after 30 minutes. Now it sits till nice and bubbly.

After about 2 hours, it is ready to be divided.

Scraped out onto floured surface. Use a bit of flour along the planned cut to prevent sticking of the dough scraper.

Divided and ready to preshape using the envelope fold method. Flip top down 2/3 of the way, flip bottom up over top and repeat for sides. See below for pictures of this process.

Preshaped and resting for 15-20 minutes.

Flipped over after resting.

First part of envelope fold.

Second part of envelope fold. Don't be afraid to pull on dough to get it to fold over.

Flipped over and pulled to tighten skin.

Seam side down in rice/all purpose floured basket.

All four loaves.

Ready for proofing in plastic ziplock bags to conserve moisture in the fridge.

Next morning after being in fridge for about 15 hours.

Out of the bags.

Cornmeal on counter.

Screaming hot Dutch ovens. Oven has been heated to 500 F for at least 45 minutes with pots inside the oven.

Recycled parchment paper circles. This helps prevent the bread from sticking to the pot.

Cold dough tipped out on counter.

Slashed with razor blade.

Carefully placed/dropped into pot.

Pots in 500 F degree oven.

Bake at 500 F for 20 Minutes.

Drop temp to 450 F and bake another 10 minutes.

Take the lid off and have a peak at your bread. Continue baking at 450 F with lid off till loaf is nice and dark (15-20 minutes depending on dough and oven).

Loaves ready to come out of pots.

And voilà! Farro, sesame, hemp hearts, multi grain sourdough!

And finally (if you made it this far), the p... uh, crumb shot!