Pain au Levain Naturel
This is a simplified recipe for pain au levain, a white crusty French sourdough bread. The traditional method of making pain au levain is a long seven stage process. It begins with the sourdough starter saved from a previous batch of bread being set aside for 8 hours until it has developed an alcoholic odour. This is called the levain de chef (head-leaven). This is then mixed with flour and water and allowed to ferment another six hours. At this stage it is known as levain de première (first leaven). It is mixed with more flour and water and becomes levain de seconde (second leaven).
Ingredients
- 150 g (½ cup) flour
- Water, warmed
- 500 g (1 pound) flour
- 300 g (1 cup) water
- About 1.6 kg (10 cups) flour
- 800 g (3¼ cups) water
- 20 g (2 tsp) coarse salt (or 1½ tsp table salt)
Ingredients for 32 servings (3.4 kg) · the original recipe
Method
- 1
Starter culture: Mix the flour with a little warm water to obtain a dough that is neither too wet nor too dry.
- 2
Transfer to a covered glass or earthenware container, and let rest at a temperature above 20°C (68°F).
- 3
Allow the culture to stand for 3–4 days, stirring daily with a wooden spoon and adding a little warm water and flour each time.
- 4
First rise: Add flour and water to the yeast culture
- 5
Work the dough for 5–10 minutes with a wooden spatula.
- 6
Cover with a clean cloth and allow to stand overnight at a temperature of about 25°C (77°F).
- 7
Final assembly: If the dough has not risen sufficiently, let stand another 12 hours. When it is ready, save about 3 tablespoons of the dough in the refrigerator as a starter for the next time you make pain au levain.
- 8
Mix the flour, water, and salt into the dough. Don’t incorporate all of the flour—save some to knead the dough.
- 9
When the dough becomes difficult to manipulate in the bowl, work it on a flat surface, adding a little flour as necessary. Knead the dough well for about 20 minutes by pulling and folding but without pressing down on it.
- 10
Cover with a clean cloth and leave to proof for an hour at around 25°C (77°F).
- 11
Divide the dough into 3 balls.
- 12
Oil three baking pans and insert the balls of dough after shaping them to the size of the pan. They may also be baked without a pan—in this case, set them on a baking sheet.
Oven - 13
Cover with a clean cloth, and allow to rise for 2 hours or more at around 25°C (77°F) until the loaves have risen to 1½ to 2 times their original size.
- 14
When the loaves have risen, cut diagonal incisions along the length of the loaves with a razor blade.
- 15
Preheat the oven and bake at 260°C (500°F) for ½ hour. Lower the heat to 200°C (400°F) and bake for another ¼–½ hour. Two thirds of the way through baking, sprinkle the loaves with cold water and continue baking. This will give a shiny surface.
Oven - 16
Remove from the oven and let cool.
Oven
Recipe from Wikibooks Cookbook, written by Wikibooks contributors. Used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; the ingredient list and method on this page are taken from that page and edited (its notes, tips and variations are not reproduced), and are available under the same licence. The macros, equipment tags and scaling are Ma Kitchen’s own and are not the source’s figures. Ma Kitchen is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikibooks Cookbook. Copied on 2026-11-12.
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