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The BEST fresh milled flour Artisan Loaf Recipe

Create whole grain loaves that are tall with soft interior and crunchy crust!
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Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Bulk Fermentation 5 hours
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g fed and bubbly sourdough starter I feed mine in the ratio 1:5:5
  • 375 g Filtered water cold
  • 500 g Whole wheat berries I prefer to do 250g Hard White and 250g Hard Red wheat
  • 12 g Salt Redmond's Real Salt is the GOAT
  • Rice flour for dusting on your loaf

Equipment

  • 1 Wheat mill
  • 1 Stand mixer optional - I like to use this instead of doing stretch and folds!
  • 1 Stainless steel bowl
  • 1 Danish whisk
  • 1 9x5 Sandwich pan OR Banneton for proofing
  • Kitchen scale
  • Cookie sheet
  • Unbleached parchment paper
  • Lame razor for scoring
  • Digital thermometer

Method
 

  1. Feed your sourdough starter 9-10 hours before bake. This time will vary based on your home's temperature, but I like to feed mine before I go to bed, around 10pm. When I wake up my starter is nearly ready to use and hasn't started falling yet. See recipe notes for starter feeding info.
  2. Weigh your wheat and mill it.
  3. In a large bowl (or in your mixer) add your water to your wheat. This will make a shaggy dough. Let your dough autolyse for 45mins-1 hour so the water can absorb into the flour.
  4. After autolysing, add in your starter and salt. If you are using your mixer, mix on level 2 until you reach windowpane. In my mixer, this takes 5-7 minutes.
    If you're doing stretch and folds:
    - Mix salt and starter in well so they're fully mixed in.
    - Do a stretch and fold every 30 minutes for a total of 3 S&F.
  5. Let your dough bulk ferment. The time for bulk fermentation can vary widely depending on the temperature of your home. With fresh milled flour, you do not want to go by the 'let the dough double in size' rule of thumb. I have found observing the dough and it's feel is a better indicator if the dough is ready. This usually looks like +25-50% of the original dough size. FMF easily overproofs and cause a sticky, messy dough that is hard to keep shape. This will result in flat loaves.
  6. After your dough is bulk fermented, you have two options for the second ferment.
    1. Sandwich loaf: Line your sandwich pan with parchment paper. Shape your dough into a sandwich loaf by stretching into a rectangle, folding in the sides, and rolling gently into a loaf. Gently place into your lined pan and let rise on the counter. I let mine rise to about 1" above the pan before baking. You can either pop it in the fridge for a cold proof overnight (this will result in a deeper richer 'sourdough' flavor).
    2. Banneton: Line your banneton with a tea towel. Using a round or oval (batard) banneton, shape your loaf for the shape you're using. (there are a ton of tutorials for shaping on youtube!). After shaping, put into the fridge to cold proof. I always cold proof my banneton loaves because they're likely to keep their shape better when it's time to bake. I cold proof for at least 4 hours - this tends to be enough time to bring down the dough temperature enough to bake.
  7. Preheat your oven to 430 degrees. Fill a stainless pan (I use one of my sandwich loaf pans) with very hot or boiling water. Put the water at the bottom of your oven to create a steamy oven.
  8. Once your oven is preheated, do the following with your loaf:
    - Sandwich loaf: put straight in the oven. I have found when the loaf is proofed well (why we let it rise on the counter!), it does not need to be scored. Also in my experience, if the loaf is nice and tall in the pan, it probably has bubbles at the top and will cause the trapped air to release and make the loaf fall.
    - Round or oval loaf: Gently plop your loaf on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Dust with rice flour and score your loaf.
  9. Bake at 430 degrees for 20 minutes.
  10. Next change your oven temp to 400 degrees and bake for another 15-20 minutes. I like to rotate my loaf (loaves) so everything is evenly baked.
  11. Bake until your bread reaches 205 degrees in the center.
  12. Take out of the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Let fully cool to avoid gumminess in the center.
  13. Enjoy!

Notes

Sourdough starter tip: I like to feed mine at a 1:5:5 ratio. FMF needs a STRONG, thick starter, and this ratio seems to be the most effective for tall rise.