In a small bowl, mix together starter, rye flour, all purpose flour and water. Keep the levain around 78-80 degrees F. Cover and let rise about 10-12 hours or overnight until bubbly, peaked and ready to use.

Mix the levain, water, rye flour, whole wheat flour, bread flour, salt and caraway seeds with your hands or a dough whisk (affiliate link).

Perform a series of stretches and folds every 30 minutes for 2 hours, a total of four times. To do this, pick up the underside of the dough and fold it on top of itself, turning the bowl after each fold and picking up a different section of the dough to fold and turn. An example of this folding technique is found here (halfway through the video).

After two hours, cover the dough and leave it on the counter for about 2-3 hours until puffed up and risen. The dough temperature should be around 78-80 degrees F. If you are baking in the summer or in a warm kitchen, the dough will rise faster (about 2 hours). If baking in a cold kitchen, the dough will take longer (3-4 hours).

Once the dough is puffed up, cut the dough in half and shape into two loaves. To shape: Gather the edges of the dough and pull them up to the center, creating a circle as you go. Once the dough forms a ball, turn it over and lightly drag on the countertop while using a circular motion to create tension.

Place the bread dough in a floured bread banneton (affiliate link) or a floured mixing bowl, circular/taut side down. Cover and let rise again for 2-4 hours (depending on the warmth of your kitchen). See recipe note for refrigerating the dough overnight.

Place a baking stone (affiliate link) in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Alternatively, you can use a dutch oven or bread pot (affiliate link) and preheat the oven with the pot to 500 degrees. Turn the oven on to preheat at least 20 minutes before baking the bread.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a piece of parchment paper. Score the dough using a bread lame or a sharp knife. Place a pan with a handful of ice cubes into the preheated oven on the bottom rack and transfer the scored loaves onto the baking stone. Turn the heat down to 450 degrees to bake. If you use a bread pot, there is no need for the ice cubes. Place the bread into the pot, cover it and put it back in the oven to bake. Take the cover off the pot after 25 minutes of baking and bake for another 20 minutes. Repeat with the second loaf.

After 45 minutes, remove the loaves from the oven and let cool before slicing and eating. Enjoy!