MIX THE MULTIGRAIN SOURDOUGH LEVAIN – 10:00 PM

1. Mix all the ingredients until well combined. Cover with a lid. I like to place an elastic band around the top of the levain at the beginning of the feed so I can monitor its growth. This build should take about 10-12 hours at 22.2°C/72°F.

Note: This yields an extra 50g of levain to act as a buffer. The buffer is used to preserve your starter and helpful so you don’t have to scrape every little bit of of your starter jar.

MAKE THE MULTIGRAIN SOAKER – 10:00 PM.

Get creative and try different mixes for your grains. You can use a home mill to coarsely crack the gains or buy them. If you want to learn more about milling flour at home you can check out my guide to milling at home.

1. Mix the grains together with the salt (optional) and place them into a non-reactive bowl or container.
2. Bring the water to a boil and pour it over the grains.
3. Stir the grains to make sure all the grains are exposed to the water. Cover with a loose-fitting lid and leave for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes stir the grains again to make sure all the water and grains are evenly mixed. Place the lid back on the grains and leave them at room temperature for 8-12 hours. The grains can also be refrigerated and used later if desired, but I prefer to use them right away.

NOTE: The grains should look dry and like a thick paste and not watery or wet.

AUTOLYSE – 8:00 AM

1. Mix all water and flour until well combined and there are no dry bits of flour. Cover with a towel and allow to rest for 1 hour.

Please note: that this autolyse is WITHOUT the levain and WITHOUT the salt.

MIX THE DOUGH – 9:00 AM

MACHINE MIXING:

1. Add the levain and mix the dough until fully incorporated about 5-6 minutes on low speed.
2. Add the salt and continue to mix the dough until the salt is fully incorporated about 4-5 minutes on medium speed.
3. Add the water 2 in 3-4 additions on medium until fully absorbed about 4-5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic with a good strength to it.
4. Add the soaker in chunks and continue to mix until fully incorporated about 4-5 minutes on medium speed.

HAND MIXING:

1. Add the levain and half of the water 2; mix, either by hand or in a mixer until combined.
2. Mix the dough for 4-6 minutes before adding in the salt. Add the salt and the remaining half of the water 2. Mix until the salt is fully incorporated. The dough should be strong and elastic. Add the soaker and mix until fully combined.

NOTE: Make sure the dough is well mixed before adding the soaker. The soaker will weaken the gluten and you want to have a strong dough that can hold all the soaker grains and still have good strength so you get a good rise and volume. You can see a more detailed look at the stages of dough development by watching the YouTube video linked above.

Desired Dough Temperature – 27°-28C/80-82°F

BULK FERMENTATION 9:30 AM

Bulk ferment the dough for 3 hours.

1. Bulk ferment at room temperature for 3 hours, folding the dough once after 30 minutes and for a second time after 60 minutes. 
2. If the dough feels slack give it another fold. I like to give at least 90 minutes after the last fold before preshaping the dough.

DIVIDE AND PRESHAPE 12:30 PM

1. Divide the dough into two 900-gram pieces. Using a bench knife, round each portion. The bottom should stay flush with the table, helping create the tension needed to form a taut ball. Rest, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes.

FINAL SHAPE 1:00 PM

1. Lightly flour the top of the dough, then flip it over. Bring the bottom up about one-third of the way and seal. Stretch the sides out, then bring them to the centre, making a tight package. Bring the top down about one-third of the way, then pull the corners in, stitching them over each other. Gently roll the dough, giving it an oval shape. Rest on the table for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a basket, seam-side up.

This sourdough also works really well as a tin loaf.

FINAL FERMENTATION – 1:15 PM

1. Transfer to the fridge to cold-proof for 12-18 hours.

While I prefer a final cold ferment for this (and most) of my doughs, it can be ambient-proofed as well. A cold dough tends to bake better, has better flavour and is easier to handle. That said if you leave this dough at room temperature (depending on your environment) it should take about 2.5-3 hours for the final fermentation.

BAKING – 9:00 AM

1. Preheat the oven to 260°C/500°F for a home oven or 246°C/475°F for a deck oven.
2. Score the loaves before baking. For a boule, you can check out these creative ways to score and for a batard, I prefer 1 or two slashes down the middle of the dough.
3. Bake the multigrain sourdough loaves for 16-20 minutes with steam and 16-20 minutes without.
4. When fully cooked, remove the sourdough multigrain loaves from the oven and slide the bread onto a cooling rack.
5. Let the sourdough loaves cool completely before slicing.