Directions

• Make leaven by mixing the sourdough starter with the water. Add the flour and mix to combine. Rest at room temperature 8-12 hours, or overnight.
• Make dough when the leaven is ready. Place the leaven in a large bowl with the water and mix well with a Danish Dough Whisk. Add the bread flour and the whole wheat flour and mix until the dough is combined and all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Rest for 20 minutes.
• Add salt to the dough. Mix to combine. Divide the dough into 750-gm balls and place into three 2-quart cambro containers (or bowls) to rest, covered, for 30-45 minutes.
• This is the bulk fermentation stage, which will last 3 1/2-4 hours. Every 30-45 minutes open the containers, wet your hands and grab the edge of the dough. Stretch it up into the air and return the end to the center of the ball. Rotate the container and continue the stretch and fold 5-6 times around the ball.
• After the bulk fermentation stage is complete, place the dough balls on a lightly floured surface. This is the initial shaping stage. Grab the dough ball at twelve-o’clock and stretch it upwards, and fold it down to the center. Continue at six-o’clock, then three-o’clock and then nin-o’clock. Cup the ball with your hands and gently form the dough into a ball. Continue with the other balls and rest on the bench, seam side down, for 30 minutes.
• For the final shaping, turn the ball over so the seam is facing upwards. Grab the dough at twelve-o’clock and stretch it upwards. This time you are only folding it down about 2-inches. Continue this stretch and stitching down each side, grabbing the dough a little lower each time, stretching it, and folding it back onto itself. When you reach the bottom, grab the bottom and stretch it towards you. With tension, roll the dough forward, keeping a good amount of tension on the roll and tucking it in with your finger tips as you roll.
• Lightly dust the Bannetons with rice flour, and coat the top (non-seam side) with a light coating of the rice flour. Place seam-side up in the bannetons, top with a small piece of cotton towel and cover with an elastic food storage cover. Place the covered bannetons in the refrigerator to slowly proof for 8-24 hours.
• Pull the bread from the refrigerator and uncover. Invert each loaf onto a square of parchment paper. Brush off excess flour if any large accumulations are present and cut decorative reliefs in the dough with a bread lame. Place 3 enameled cast-iron dutch ovens on the center rack of your oven with the lids, and preheat the oven to 480-degrees F.
• Once the loaves have been out of the refrigerator for 1-hour, they can go into the heated dutch ovens, lowering them with the parchment paper and covering them with the lids. Bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the lids from the bread, close the door and reduce the heat to 465-degrees F. and continue to bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the dutch ovens from the oven and place on the stovetop. Gently grab two opposite corners of the parchment paper and lift the loaves from the dutch ovens. Place each loaf on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.