How to make the basic sourdough batard?

Sourdough batard is a lean bread made with the sourdough starter, that is shaped like an oval or oblong. Batard or Bâtard has a thick crispy crust with a light and soft interior. This post deal with all that you need to know to make a delicious sourdough batard at your home.

Why would you love this sourdough batard?

• It has a delicious flavor due to its long fermentation.
• It has a thick crust that is delicious not just in terms of its crispiness but the deep flavor of the caramelized starches makes it very appetizing. Just look at the crispy tiny bubbles on the crust!
• The interior is soft, chewy, and delicious.
• The crumb is light and open, which makes this bread super fluffy.

A basic sourdough batard and beyond.

This recipe is of a basic sourdough batard that is just simply bread flour, starter, salt, and water. Other than the ingredients it takes some skill and patience to make a delicious sourdough batard.

Once you can master this basic sourdough batard, you can go ahead and start to make it your own. Add your favorite herbs and spices to elevate their taste. You can make them as a sweet batard or a savory batard. You can either add them as a topping or to the bread.

A few of the flavors that I have made this recipe with are:

Olives, pistachios, thyme, dried tomatoes, candied orange peels, sunflower seeds,  caper, rosemary, cheese, mint, dill, flaxseeds, sesame seeds, sprouted grains, etc.  Garlic batard is a family favorite.

 Add the flavorings while you fold the dough for the final coil and folding.

It stays somewhere between a boule and a baguette. In my opinion, it is the perfect shape of sourdough bread. It yields maximum slices for a sandwich with very little wastage when compared to a sourdough boule.

Sourdough bread is mainly shaped in two ways. The first being a boule and the second is the sourdough batard.

Boule we all know is the round bread and the other oblong ones are batard. To learn more about how to shape a sourdough boule read, the rustic sourdough bread recipe. Batard shape can be described as a prolate spheroid. In simple terms, it is like a football.

I am using a stand mixer to combine the dough in this recipe. But, you do not need to use it. Just use the standard stretching and folding or use the Pincer method to combine the ingredients.

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Ingredients

1. Sourdough starter and levain

We need an active and mature starter for making this sourdough batard.  It simply means the starter that is at its peak or about to reach its peak and has been around for 4-5 months or more.

 The microbiota inside such a starter is much stable, predictable, and resistant to various foreign contamination and unfavorable conditions.

Now, that we have a mature starter at its peak, we will make a levain from that.

For that we will need :

• 5 g starter
• 15g bread flour
• 15g whole wheat flour
• 30g water
  
  

2. Flour

For keeping this sourdough batard recipe simple I have used only bread flour. You can add 5 percent of whole wheat flour if you want, but do not add anything beyond that, coz in that case the hydration level of the dough will change considerably and the overall texture of the loaf will differ.

Also, if you will use regular all-purpose flour for making this bread, the results might differ. Bread flour has higher protein content than all-purpose flour. Hence the bread made with bread flour will be lighter.

 If you are interested in knowing what else makes their bread dense, do read this post on what causes dense sourdough bread.

3. Water

Use filtered water to make the levain. You can use tap water if you are sure that it is chlorine and fluoride-free.

Read in detail about water in the quick sourdough starter.

Use colder or warmer water to make the dough depending on your ambient environment.

Since we are targeting a bulk rise of 3.5 – 4 hours, it is advisable to aim for the Final Levain temp. of around 79-80 ⁰F.

Baking with sourdough is all about enjoying the process of baking and giving it all it takes. And it does take a lot of patience and time. Time is a key ingredient for making the best sourdough bread. After all, long fermentation makes a sourdough batard, what it is.

Step by step process

1. Preparing the levain

We need a ripe starter to make levain. The levain should ferment for at least 7-8 hours before reaching its peak. So, I like to prepare my levain in a 1:6:6 ratio.

You can always reduce the feeding ratio to suit the duration of fermentation you are looking for.

But if you keep your starter refrigerated, I recommend that you stick to the ratio of 1:6:6 or even go to 1:7:7.

Take 5 g of the starter, and add 30 g of water and mix well. Now add 15g of bread flour and 15 g of whole flour. Mix them well and clean the edges and level the levain. Choose a transparent jar to prepare the levain so that we can monitor its growth and know when it is ready. It is a good idea to mark the level of the levain in the jar with a rubber band so that you would know when it has doubled and is near its peak.

You can do a float test to see if the levain is ready.

Take a drop of levain, without deflating it or stirring it, and put it in a bowl of cold water. If the levain is ready, it will float on the surface.

2. Preparing the dough/ Autolyse

To follow a bread recipe to perfection, it is crucial to measure each ingredient in weight and not in volume. So, do use a weighing scale to measure the ingredients precisely.

In a large bowl add the flour and then add the water. Retain about 10 g of water to add later with the salt.

Mix well to combine the flour and water properly so that no dry flour patches are left. I will be using my stand mixer for the initial mixing and combining. You can use the back of a wooden ladle to do so. It is crucial to ensure that the dough is well hydrated throughout. If needed, go in with your hands.

Please note that from the surface you might feel that the dough is very dry and you might feel tempted to add more water. But as you will go in with your hands and start to combine the flour with water, you will observe that the dough will become fully hydrated without any need for further water. I suggest you use the Pincer method, which means just going in with your hands grabbing the dough in your hand, and just squeezing it. Then, leave it and grab some more. Your hand will act as a pincer in this method. This way we keep on moving and work with our dough for a good 1-2 minutes, till everything is well combined.

Now transfer the dough into a wider container and let it autolyze for 1 hour.

 Autolyse initiates the gluten formation in the dough. There are two key proteins in the flour. Glutenin and gliadin. On coming in contact with water, there happens a chemical reaction.

Glutenin and gliadin combine to form Gluten. The most important ingredient to achieve a light and open crumb sourdough bread.

 Please do not add salt or starter at this stage. Salt and yeast fermentation are known to stretch the gluten. The gluten formed at this stage is not strong enough. The sole purpose of the autolyse stage is to obtain maximum gluten formation.

Measuring the temperature of all the ingredients and use warmer or cooler water to achieve the pre-defined final dough temperature( FDT).

 It helps us to standardize your sourdough bread-making process and will give consistent results every time.

3. Adding starter and salt in stages

After the dough has got enough time to autolyze, we will add the levain. I like to spread the levain on the dough surface. Then, place the bowl back on the stand mixer and knead for 40-50 seconds till the starter is well combined into the dough.

If mixing with hands, go in with the tips of your fingers and poke the starter into the dough. Consider doing this for good 30 seconds or so before starting to coil fold the dough, with the purpose to incorporate the levain.  Take as much as time you need, but you need to ensure that there is no batter-like unincorporated levain left in the dough. If required, flip the dough and use the pincer method to combine. Once you are satisfied, cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add the salt. Sprinkle the salt on the dough surface. Now add the reserved water. Knead at the low-speed settings for 2 minutes.

 Adding water at the later stages of gluten development is called bassinage. In Bassinage, we try to work water into the dough, after autolyze stage. It is known to open up the crumb structure of the sourdough batard.

 If doing it with hands,  use the same technique that you used for combining the levain. First, poke the dough and then use the pincer method or stretching and folding.

 When, you feel that the salt and water are well combined, clean the edges of the bowl and cover it. Let it rest for 30 minutes before you start to stretch and fold or coil fold it further.

4. Bulk rise and building gluten strength and structure

The dough has already been in the bulk rise stage, for 30 minutes. Now we will do our first coil fold to further build the strength and structure of the gluten molecules in the dough.

Wet your hands slightly, and grab the dough by putting your both hands under and lift it upwards. Swing and fold the dough ends over each other and put it back in the container. This will create folds of dough.

 Lift it again and repeat. Now, turn the container ninety degrees around and fold the dough and place it back into the container. Cover and let the dough rest for 45 minutes, before doing the second round of coil folds. Repeat the process and do 2 more rounds of coil folds similarly, spaced about 45 minutes apart.

You can always do a windowpane test to confirm that the dough is ready.

How to know that bulk fermentation is complete?

• The feel of the dough will change. It will feel fuller and lighter.

• The dough would have increased in volume. Not doubled up, but somewhere about 70 percent increase in volume. If you are new to sourdough baking, use a glass bowl, or a square transparent container. This will help to visually estimate the increase in the volume. You would also see big gaps at the sides of the container caused by the air bubbles in the dough.
• The dough would be smooth and elastic. Not at all sticky.
• The dough would retain its dome structure from the last coil fold.
• There would be visible bubbles under the skin of the dough
  

5. Pre-shaping and shaping the sourdough batard.

For pre-shaping this sourdough batard, I invert the bowl on a lightly flour-dusted workstation and let the dough fall onto the surface.

Using the flour-dusted fingers make the dough into a square. Then, Stretch the right side and bring it to the center, and seal. Now, stretch the left side and seal it while bringing it to the center. Similarly, stretch the bottom side, and while sealing it roll the entire dough so that all the seams face down and the top of the batard will be facing you.

Allow the dough to relax for 30 minutes.

For final shaping: Once the dough has relaxed, flip the dough, such that the seam side is facing you.

Then, flip the dough on a dusted surface. Stretch the right side and bring it to the center and seal. Similarly, bring the left side to the center and seal. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, such that the central seam is parallel to you. Now place your hands under the dough and bring it forward and seal it with your palms.

Then, roll the dough between your cupped hands to build tension and give desired length and shape to the batard.

Then, transfer the shaped sourdough batard to a flour-dusted oval banneton.

Proofing basket:

I use an oval rattan basket, without the lining cloth. You can use it with the cloth if you want.

Dust the baskets generously with rice flour. Rice flour can prevent the dough from sticking to the sides of the banneton.

If you do not have a proofing basket, just DIY a proofing basket. Use any oval bowl and line it with a naturally breathable cotton cloth. Dust the cloth generously with rice flour and transfer the shaped sourdough batard into it with the seam side facing upwards.

6. Proofing the shaped sourdough batard

Before putting the sourdough batard for the cold retard, let it proof at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Then, place the banneton in a plastic bag and fluff it up with air and seal it with a rubber band.

Let this sourdough batard slow ferment in the fridge. Slow fermentation helps to further strengthen the gluten structure, helps in flavor development, and also makes sourdough bread easy to digest.

Let the batard cold retard for at least 10 -12 hours before baking. You can increase the retard up to 24 hours if you want, but do check in between to ensure that the dough is not over-proofed. The ideal retard temp. is anywhere between 40-50 ⁰F, depending on how long you want to proof.

If you have replenished your groceries the same day, your fridge temp. might be higher and your bread will proof much faster.

The most crucial factor in sourdough is to understand when the dough is ready to bake. I struggled with it for a long time. Later I realized that I have been baking over-proofed dough. Keeping track of the temperatures and fixing the time frames accordingly has helped me in getting consistent results over time. I like to do this poke test to check if my dough is ready to bake.

Finger Poke Test

*Poke a finger into the dough and see if it bounces back slowly, leaving an indentation. The dough is perfectly proofed and is ready to bake.

*If on poking, the dough bounces back quickly and leaves no evident indentation: Dough is under-proofed and needs more time to proof.

* If on poking, the dough does not merely bounce back: It indicated that the dough has been over-proofed.

7. Scoring and baking sourdough bread in a Dutch oven

You could do multiple decorative scores or a simple slash like me.

Gently flip the dough on parchment paper. Place the lame at 45 degrees and make a half an inch deep slash across the batard.

The Sourdough batard should be baked at 500 ⁰F in a Dutch oven or something similar.

So, preheat the oven to 500 ⁰F with Dutch oven heating inside. But there is one more thing that we have to keep in mind. The temp. of the Dutch oven is more consequential and should also be about 500 ⁰F. The oven air might reach 500 ⁰F in 30 minutes, but the Dutch oven will take much longer to heat up to that temperature. So, I always preheat the Dutch oven for at least an hour at 500 ⁰F before putting the bread into it. This is very important to get a perfect oven spring on your sourdough loaf.

Also, you can place an ice cube under the parchment paper, before closing the lid of the Dutch oven. It buys more time for the bread to spring.

Now, once the temperature is reached, remove the bread on parchment paper. Make a simple straight score or a cross like me, using a sharp scoring blade. Carefully lift the dough and transfer it to a Dutch oven.

After baking at 500 ⁰F for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 450 ⁰F and remove the lid of the Dutch oven. Let the rustic sourdough bread brown for 20-22 minutes depending on your liking. Some people prefer their sourdough dark, some like them lighter. Bake as you like.

Let it cool for 30-40 minutes before slicing. The bread is still baking from the inside and slicing the hot bread will cease the process. The bread might turn doughy as a result.

 So, show some patience. You have worked so hard to reach this stage.

Storage of sourdough batard

The sourdough bread has a longer shelf life than commercial yeast bread because it is more acidic. Hence, the food spoiling bacteria and molds do not develop that easily.

Also, it has a thicker crust that prevents sourdough bread from getting dry.

Freshly baked sourdough batard can last for 4-6 days at room temperature without any chemical preservatives if stored properly.

 It is best stored wrapped in a cotton cloth or a cotton bread bag. Place it in a cool corner of your kitchen.

It is not advisable to refrigerate the sourdough batard. Though you can freeze it if you baked in bulk and want to store the sourdough bread for longer. Place the entire loaf or slices in a freezer-safe bag, with air removed. Now warp it with a double layer of foil, mark the date and place it in the freezer.

Quick Tips:

• Add the herbs and topping at the time of final stretch and fold or coil fold. If you add the herbs and topping earlier, it does hamper the development and strengthening of gluten structure.
• You can add 5 percent of whole wheat flour if you want, but do not add anything beyond that. The hydration level of the dough will change considerably and the overall texture of the loaf will differ.
  
  Also, if you will use regular all-purpose flour for making this bread, the results might differ.

• Water: Use filtered water to make the levain. You can use tap water if you are sure that it is chlorine and fluoride-free.
  
  Use cold or warm water to make the dough depending on your ambient environment.

• Levain: We need a ripe starter to make levain. The levain should ferment for at least 7-8 hours before reaching its peak. So, I like to prepare my levain in a 1:6:6 ratio.
  You can always reduce the feeding ratio to suit the duration of fermentation you desire.

• To see if the levain is ready: It is a good idea to mark the level of the levain in the jar with a rubber band so that you would know when it has doubled and is near its peak.
  You can do a float test to see if the levain is ready.

• Preparing the dough without a stand mixer: Please note that while combining flour and water, you might feel that the dough is very dry and you might feel tempted to add more water. But as you will go in with your hands and start to combine the flour with water, you will observe that the dough will become fully hydrated without any need for further water.  I like to use the Pincer method, which means just going in with your hands and grabbing the dough in your hand, and just squeezing it. Then, leave it and grab some more. Your hands will act as a pincer in this method. We keep on moving and work with our dough for a good 1-2 minutes, or till everything is well combined.
• Coil folding: The dough might not be ready after the final session of coil folds. In such a case, give the rest of 30 minutes and do another round. You can always do a windowpane test to confirm that the dough is ready for pre-shape.

• Bulk rise: If you want to increase the bulk rise period for 4.5-5 hours aim for the Final Dough Temp. (FDT) of 76 ⁰F and determine the temperature of the water using the formula:
  
  Water temp.= FDTx4 - ( kitchen temp+ flour temp.+ levain temp. +friction factor)

• Try to keep a fair idea of your fridge temperature. It will help you in understanding, how much time does your dough needs to proof. Knowing the right time to bake is very crucial to get the oven spring in the sourdough batard. If you restocked your fridge on the day of proofing the bread, it might proof much faster.
• The score should be at least half an inch deep.
• You can brown your sourdough bread according to your liking, just increase or reduce the final bake time.

• Bake it right! Check the temperature of the baking stone or Dutch oven as well. The oven air reaches 500 ⁰ F much earlier than the baking steel, or Dutch oven.
  
  An optional step: Note the temperature of the Dutch oven and baking stone using an instant-read thermometer. Work out a safe time limit that it usually takes to reach 500 ⁰ F for future baking.
  
  It is a general suggestion to let the Dutch oven preheat for about an hour before putting the sourdough bread into it.

• If you bake on a baking stone or baking steel, do not forget to arrange the steam in the oven by placing a tray on the lower shelf with water just enough for the first half of the baking time.
  
  Dutch oven does not need any extra arrangement for steam as the moisture from the bread gets trapped inside it and acts as steam. But I still recommend adding a cube of ice under the parchment paper.

Frequently asked questions

A few sourdough resources that are very popular on the site:

• Everything you need to know about making dehydrated sourdough starter and easily reviving it
  
• How to make yeast water with fruits?
  
• No-knead wild yeast bread: It’s a Yeast water bread recipe
  
• Why is your sourdough bread too dense? Ways for making bread less dense.
  
• Making a quick sourdough starter with minimum discard: A Comprehensive guide

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Happy baking!

Sourdough Batard recipe card