Sourdough bread versus sourdough

So, you've been cooking with a sourdough starter for a long time, but you're not quite used to some of the terminology that's being thrown around. A starter levain and sourdough may be similar, but they also have many differences that you should know. Some of these are described below.

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For the levain

• 60 g hard white bread flour
• 10 g active sourdough starter
• 40 gr of water

For the dough

• 310 g hard white bread flour
• 30 g of rye flour
• 7 g of salt
• 220 g of water

1. Make your levain by mixing water, sourdough starter and flour. Let this ferment for 10-12 hours. Levain should have doubled in size, with an elastic texture, it should not flow.
2. Mix the remaining flour with the remaining water. Pour salt over the dough, cover and let it hydrate for 30-60 minutes.
3. Add the levain to the dough and cook for 5-6 minutes. This should depend on the temperature of your dough. The fresher your dough, the longer it will take to be ready.
4. Let your dough ferment or rest for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
5. Then stretch and fold your dough 4 times at 30 minute intervals.
6. Shape your dough into a patty and place it in a lightly floured proofing basket.
7. Let it rest for 3 hours. Meanwhile, preheat your oven and Dutch oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Pour in your batter and bake in the Dutch oven with the lid on for 25 minutes.
9. Remove the lid and continue baking for 15 minutes.
10. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

endnoteS

• The dough is very low in hydration, making it very easy to handle.
• You can experiment with any type of flour you like to create the patty you want.

• Author: Natasha Krajnc
• Preparation time: 30 min
• Cooking time: 40 min
• Category: bread
• Kitchen: French/Italian

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 loaf of bread
• Calories: 500 calories
• Fat: 5 g
• Saturated fat: 1 g
• Carbohydrates: 85 g
• Protein: 20 g

Keywords: Sourdough Sourdough bread

What is the meaning of Au Levain pain?

phrases sourdough bread it translates to naturally leavened bread. It is a basic French style of sourdough with a slightly sweet taste compared to regular sourdough bread.

Although, like the sourdough starter, levain acts as a leavening agent, it is added to the dough and provides unique flavors and textures as well as a natural rise.

What does Pain Au Levain taste like?

Baking with a pain au levain produces wonderful bread with a rich taste and distinctive sharp taste. This is very similar if not quite equal to the results you will get when baking sourdough bread.

And like sourdough bread, it pairs well with soups, especially with its extra-wide crumb.

What is the difference between a beginner and a levain?

While both levain and sourdough starters are made with the same ingredients, there are some subtle differences that are described below.

function

The primary purpose or function of the sourdough starter is to maintain a live culture of wild yeasts and bacteria, which permeate the leaven with these healthy microbes, which then expand and strengthen the leaven.

This is then used to dry any sourdough bread recipe.

Weight

A sourdough starter is often kept alive in a small jar of fermented microbes for use in baking sourdough bread. Often bakers tend to keep sourdough starters in smaller quantities to avoid the rising yeast starter from expanding too much and becoming more difficult to store. This is why a small portion of the starter is discarded or kept in a separate jar to accommodate more food.

Additionally, once you're ready to bake, you'll need to feed the sourdough starter a certain amount of times to make sure it's ready and has reached the right weight to bake. This part of the beginning of the sourdough is also known as yeast.

FITNESS

A sourdough starter is constantly kept for future use, while a levain is used once. Basically, the starter dough is alive and has a continuous culture, growing and maintaining a healthy population of fermenting microbes.

It is extremely important for sourdough bakers to save the starter of sourdough so that it is available for baking sourdough at all times. If not, you'll have to start over and it could take a few weeks before it's ready!

The sourdough starter can live as long as it is fed flour and water. The small portion that is separated and used for baking is what helps the bread rise.

However, the levain is almost an extension of the sourdough starter, which can only be used once. Levain is mixed into the dough to dry out the bread.

How Much Levain Is in Sourdough Bread?

The amount of levain used in sourdough bread may vary from recipe to recipe.

Typically, a sourdough recipe calls for 6-30% levain in the dough, but this can be adjusted according to your particular recipe.

Can I use sourdough starter instead of Levain?

The short answer is yes.

The main difference between a sourdough starter and a levain is weight. A starter and levain of equal weight will contain the same strength and number of germs, meaning they will have equal drying abilities. Consequently, both types of yeast can be used to bake a sourdough bread and are likely to produce identical, if not similar, results.

The main thing to pay attention to in all sourdough or bread baking recipes is the percentage of flour in the beginning of the sourdough or levain, as this plays an important role in the drying of the bread.

This translates to vaccination rate. For example, a standard inoculation of 5% for a dough containing 500 g of flour will mean that the weight of flour in the levain or the beginning of the sourdough should be 50 g and an additional 450 g of flour will be included in the levan or beginner. after it is ready for the big roast.

Can you use a different flour for your starter?

You certainly can! You may want to bake a sourdough bread with whole wheat flour or rye flour, and that's perfectly fine, even if the beginning of your dough is fed with all-purpose flour or bread flour.

Before baking, feed your levain with 40g of whole wheat or rye flour depending on what you plan to bake, and 80g of water, to create a levain specific to your recipe.

Customizing your Levain

The best thing about having a levain is that you can customize its taste to suit your preference. Especially if you plan to bake a sweet or savory sourdough bread.

For example, you can create a sweet levain by incorporating sugar or honey into the flour and water fed to your starter.

This sweet levain is perfect for sweet breads like croissants, quick bread or banana bread.

Key Differences Between a Levain and Sourdough Starter – Summarized

While we've outlined the main differences between your levain and sourdough starter, some of the main ones are detailed in the table below:

Regardless of the size of your levain, it is almost always used for a bake, as opposed to a sourdough starter which is constantly fed and kept indefinitely, as long as it is stored and kept alive.

Another distinct difference we can mention is the taste of levain. A sourdough starter has a more pronounced sour flavor, while a levain has a milder version of this flavor. Levain can also be made with any kind of flour you want to use in your recipe, as opposed to starting sourdough it is better to feed with the same flour to maintain the consistency.

Sourdough bread recipe

A simple pain au levain makes the perfect sourdough recipe for first-time bakers. The dough is very low in hydration, making it very easy to handle. You can experiment with any type of flour you like to create the patty you want. And here's how to do it!

• Business: Bread
• kitchen: French/Italian
• Recipe yield: 1 loaf of bread
• Calories: 500 kcal
• Preparation time: 30 minutes
• COOKING TIME: 40 minutes
• Total time: 6H10M

Ingredients

For the levain

• 60 g of strong white bread flour
• 10 g active sourdough starter
• 40 g of water

For the dough

• 310 g of hard white bread flour
• 30 g of rye flour
• 7 g of salt
• 220 g of water

GUIDELINES

1. Make your levain by mixing water, sourdough starter and flour. Let this ferment for 10-12 hours. Levain should have doubled in size, with an elastic texture, it should not flow.
2. Mix the remaining flour with the remaining water. Pour salt over the dough, cover and let it hydrate for 30-60 minutes.
3. Add the levain to the dough and cook for 5-6 minutes. This should depend on the temperature of your dough. The fresher your dough, the longer it will take to be ready.
4. Let your dough ferment or rest for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
5. Then stretch and fold your dough 4 times at 30 minute intervals.
6. Shape your dough into a patty and place it in a lightly floured proofing basket.
7. Let it rest for 3 hours. Meanwhile, preheat your oven and Dutch oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Pour in your batter and bake in the Dutch oven with the lid on for 25 minutes.
9. Remove the lid and continue baking for 15 minutes.
10. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Nutrition

• Calories: 500 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 85 g
• Protein: 20 g
• Fat: 5 g
• Saturated fat: 1 g

Pain Au Levain is a sourdough starter!

Your levain is also a sourdough starter, but a version that will only be used once, while your sourdough starter is expected to live and thrive forever!

Frequently asked questions