In between all the other things that I am baking — whoo hoo Cookie Madness! — I need to keep my sourdough starter in tip top shape, so I made a new variation on the weekly sourdough experiment: Sourdough Maple Pecan Harvest Bread. A little nutty, a little maple-y and definitely a good choice for breakfast and bread pudding. Very New England autumn inspired.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup (120 grams) active sourdough starter
1 cup water, between 100-115F
1 cup chopped pecans
Directions
In a large work bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, or large measuring cup, combine sourdough starter, maple syrup and water. Combine until all the flour is incorporated, and turn onto a floured bench, to knead into a cohesive dough. Place in a bowl to rise for 20 minutes. Then flatten slightly, place pecans in the middle and using the stretch and fold technique, fold the nuts in. Let rest 30 minutes, then repeat the folding technique, 4 more times, for a total of 2 hours. Then, cover the bowl tightly and place in the refrigerator overnight.
On the following day, up to 24 hours later, remove the dough from the fridge and let come to temperature, about 2 hours.
Place the large dutch oven, with lid inside the oven and preheat to 450F.
While the oven is preheating, shape your bread. Lightly sprinkle a working surface with flour. Using a spatula, gently scrape the bread dough out onto your floured surface. Flour your hands and gently shape the dough into a round loaf (boule). Minimal handling is optimal!
Once you’ve shaped the dough, set it into a well-floured proofing basket (banneton) and cover loosely with a clean dishtowel. Just before baking, invert the formed bread onto a piece of parchment paper. Once the oven and the dutch oven are heated, carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, carefully remove the lid (it will be screaming hot!) and using the parchment paper, lift the bread into the dutch oven. Score the bread, and spritz lightly with water and sprinkle on a few additional sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Place lid on pot, place pot in oven.
Bake your bread for 35-40 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for an additional 10 minutes with the lid off, until the top is quite browned.
Remove the bread from the oven and let cool completely before slicing.
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