French Style Country Bread

Ingredients

• 227g water
• 2g instant yeast
• 150g bread flour
• 28g whole wheat flour

• The starter
• 227g water
• 2g instant yeast
• 14g sugar
• 390g bread flour
• 60-90g bread flour (added later as needed)
• 5g salt

Directions

1. Mix it all up and leave it overnight in a covered container

1. Mix the starter, initial flour (390g), sugar, yeast, salt, and water.
The dough will be a sticky weak mess at this point.

2. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes so it can soak up the water.
3. Knead the dough while adding flour as needed. This may take 10-15 minutes. It is okay if the dough is still a bit sticky after this step.
If kneading by hand, use plenty of flour on your hands and surface.

4. Let the dough rise in a covered container for 1-2 hours.
5. Take the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a boule, making sure to get a smooth top with some tension in it.
If the dough is still sticky, don't be afraid of flouring your hands and surface as needed to reduce the sticking while shaping. It should not be sticky by the time you are done shaping and have given it a smooth top.

6. Place the boule on a sheet tray with parchment paper.
Expect the dough to grow to about 9" (23cm) diameter if you shaped it into a circle. Use an oval shape if your sheet tray is not wide enough.

7. Cover and let rise for 45-90 minutes.
8. Preheat your oven to 475F (246C).
9. Slash the top of the bread a few times with a sharp knife.
10. Add some steam to the oven. One easy way of doing this squirting some water in using a spray bottle on the mist setting.
11. Reduce the heat to 425F (218C).
12. Bake for 25-30 minutes.