Ingredients (1 round loaf)

For the preferment (to be prepared the night before baking)

• 60 ml water at 80 F / 27 C
• 1/8 teaspoon / 0.4 g instant yeast
• 65 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour (this is the flour I always use to make bread)

For the saffron-infused milk (to be prepared the night before baking)

• 150 ml milk
• A pinch of saffron threads

For the dough

• 65 g whole-wheat flour (I use locally grown and milled Hollis wheat)
• 200 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon / 3 g dry milk (powder)
• 1/16 teaspoon turmeric, optional, for color
• 2.3 g instant yeast
• 20 g fluid honey
• 1 ounce / 28 g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 g sea salt

For the egg wash

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons / 10 ml water

Instructions

Prepare the preferment

Pour water in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast on the water then whisk lightly to blend. Add the flour and stir until a soft dough forms. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. The morning after it will be bubbly.

Prepare the milk

Warm up the milk to 115 F / 46 C. Sprinkle saffron on it and stir. Cover and let sit for an hour or so, then place in the refrigerator. The morning after, take it out of the refrigerator.

Prepare the dough

Weigh the flours and place in a bowl. Add the dry milk and turmeric, if using and stir in.

Warm up the milk to 85 F / 30 C. Pour onto the preferment, sprinkle yeast on surface and stir to form a batter. Add the honey and stir, then pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients.

Stir briefly with a dough whisk, spatula or wooden spoon. Add the butter and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Sprinkle salt on the surface, cover the bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Stir some more until a cohesive dough forms. Empty the bowl onto your working surface and knead briefly until the dough is homogeneous.

Clean and oil the bowl. With wet hands, letter-fold the dough, then flip it and place it into the bowl. Cover and let rest for half an hour.

Stretch and fold the dough in the bowl, rotate 90 degrees then stretch and letter-fold again. Flip the dough so it is seam side down. Cover and let rest until well risen (doubled in bulk) and the gluten is well developed.

This very nice video on The SF Baking Institute website describes and shows a couple of important techniques I apply to bread dough: 1) Stretching and folding and 2) Pre-shaping and shaping rounds (useful for later)

The video is not long, but if you don’t have time to watch it in its entirety, you can start at 4′:30″ and watch about 8 minutes until Mac shows how to shape a boule.

Shape the bread

Lightly flour your working surface and transfer the dough onto it (top side down).

Gently pat the dough to flatten it into a thick square and degas. Fold corners of dough towards the center, flip (so it is seam side down) and pre-shape into a boule on an unfloured section of your working surface, which offers some resistance (see video at 8′). Move the round towards you, then back with a slight rotation, all the while tucking dough underneath. Bring a bit of tension to the dough, but not as much as you will later, during shaping.

Let the pre-shaped round rest for 20 minutes, covered.

Flip the dough (so it is seam side up) and flatten lightly, then fold corners of dough towards the center. Flip (so it is seam side down) and shape into a boule on an unfloured section of your working surface, which offers some resistance (see video at 12′). Move the round towards you then back with a slight rotation, all the while tucking dough underneath. Bring tension to the dough, but do not overdo or the surface will tear.

Gently transfer the dough, seam side down, to a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Cover and let the dough rest until well risen: a dimple made on the dough with your fingertip persists. How long it takes depends on the room temperature.

Prepare for baking

Preheat the oven to 350 F /177 C.

In a small bowl, whisk water into the egg yolk.

Bake the bread

When the dough is ready to be baked, score the surface with a shallow grid pattern using a sharp blade. With a pastry brush, paint the surface with the egg wash.

Place baking sheet in the oven and bake until the internal temperature reaches 200 F / 93 C. In my case it takes 35 minutes for the bread to bake.

Transfer bread to a rack to cool. Restrain your desire to go at the bread with your knife: let it cool completely, at least two hours, then slice and enjoy.

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Go to the full post on cuchaule (Swiss saffron bread) / pane svizzero allo zafferano