Ingredients
- 300 g Ripe sourdough starter (refreshed approx. 8 hours before mixing the dough)
- 500 g Swiss Dark Flour
- 500 g Strong white flour
- 700 g Water
- 20 g Salt
- 250 g Peeled walnuts + water for soaking
Method
The night before mixing the dough:
- Refresh the sourdough starter (I used a starter at 100% hydration with equal amounts of rye and bread flour).
- Toast the walnuts in an oven heated to 200°C for a few minutes. Then cool the walnuts and leave to soak in cold water overnight.
Next morning:
- Mix the flours and water and let them stand in the mixing bowl for 1 hour. This autolyse step hydrates the flours and gives gluten forming proteins a good start at building the gluten network.
- After the autolyse period, add the sourdough starter. Mix the dough until the starter is evenly distributed.
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes on the table. Then add salt and knead for a further 5 minutes.
- Place the dough back into the (lightly floured) bowl and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
- Drain the walnuts.
- Take the dough out of the bowl, stretch it out on the table and sprinkle the walnuts on top. Fold carefully a few times to distribute the walnuts evenly in the dough. Shape the dough into a ball and put it back in the lightly floured bowl.
- When the dough has roughly doubled in size (about 2-3 hours later depending on temperature and the activity of your starter), divide the dough in three pieces.
- Shape each piece into a round loaf and place in a proving basket.
- Leave the breads on the kitchen counter for a final proof, or do as I did and place them in the refrigerator to slow down to fermentation and build a sweeter and more interesting flavour.
- Pre-heat the oven to 250°C.
- Bake the breads in a dutch oven or on a baking stone at 230°C for 45-50 minutes. If you use a dutch oven, remove the lid after 25 minutes in order to get a good, dark crust.
- Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!