4 times fed - for the last feeding (to build your levain) apply a ratio of 1:2:2 (Starter: Flour : Water). The calculation is easy – you just need to end up with the total levain amount, as needed in the recipe (in this case 58g – so you need approximately 12g starter, 24g flour and 24g water; Makes sense, right?) Use your levain at peak at an age of 4 to 5 hours (let it rise at an ambient temperature of 25-27 degrees Celsius). This time frame is just an indication and depending of the activity of your sourdough culture. I highly recommend using the same flour for building the levain, as you are using it for your usual sourdough feeding. Check out my sample feeding-schedule below in the recipe notes or in the recipes "Lime story" or "Moulin Ruch".

230g Breadflour 30g Italian Tipo 2 flour (Primitiva) 30g Spelt berries, roasted and freshly milled 233g Water (cold)

Mix all flour types and the indicated amount of water and let the dough rest well covered for 2-3 hours at room-temperature (Autolyse).

45g Pear, chopped into cubes 25g Pecan nuts, roasted and coarsely chopped 10-15g butter 15g Maple syrup Some cinnamon

Fry the pear cubes with some butter in a pan until golden brown. In a bowl, mix the roasted and chopped pecan nuts with the pear cubes, maple syrup and a pinch of cinnamon. Now let the stuffing rest until you use it during the lamination step (see bulk fermentation).

Autolyse 58g Levain 6,5g Salt

Add your levain to the autolyse dough and mix it by hand for 5-10 minutes (follow the instruction-video in the basics-section: Basics | Open Crumb - Sourdough Series | Kneading). Cover the dough and let it rest for 20-30 minutes. Now add the salt and knead another 2-3 minutes. Put the dough into a greased container and let it rest well covered for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Pear stuffing

Moisten your working surface with water, release the dough onto the surface and give the dough a light round of stretch and folds. Return the dough into the greased container and let it rest for 45 minutes.

Now laminate (follow the instruction-video in the basics-section: Basics | Open Crumb - Sourdough Series | Lamination) and sprinkle the pear stuffing onto the dough. Return the dough again into the greased container and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Perform now 2-3 rounds of coil folds with 30-60 minutes in between (judge the right moment of folding always depending on how much your dough is spreading in the container). After the last round of folds, let the dough ferment untouched until it achieves a volume increase of approximately 40-50%.

Release the dough gently onto your working surface and shape it, following the instruction-video (Basics | Open Crumb - Sourdough Series | Shaping). Let the dough rest for 5 minutes (sealed side down).

Let the dough rest (sealed side up) in a floured banetton for 10 minutes at room temperature. After that, retard it well covered (cover it after 15 minutes in order to let the dough cool down all over) for 12-14 hours in your fridge (5 degrees Celsius).

Preheat your Challenger Bread Pan (or DO, including the cover) in the oven for 45-60 minutes at 250-270 degrees Celsius. Load your bread (after cutting it with a razorblade at an angle of 45 degrees) directly out of the fridge and cover the pan After 20 minutes baking time at 250 degrees Celsius remove the cover and reduce temperature to 230 degrees Celsius. Now bake your loaf for another 20 minutes (total baking time: around 40 minutes) until you achieve your desired crust. Let your bread cool down for at least 2 hours before slicing it.