basic buckwheat loaf

This bread is made with ingredients that are gluten free.  

This recipe makes slowly fermented bread. 

First you prepare a ‘preferment’, then mix the unleavened dough, then mix the preferment with the unleavened dough.
Allow at least 40 hours from the time you start until the bread is ready to eat.

The formula assumes the room temperature is in the range 18degC to 22degC.

Ingredients

Leaven  
20g buckwheat starter
Preferment  
20g leaven
100g buckwheat flour
100g water
Dough  
220g preferment
300g buckwheat flour
12g psyllium husks
6g salt
300g water
preparing to preferment (8 hours)

Scald a medium bowl with boiling water then allow the bowl to cool.
Weigh 100g water into the scalded bowl.
Mix the starter with the water and allow it to stand for a few minutes,
Mix 100g buckwheat flour into the water.
Add 20g buckwheat starter into the mixture and mix thoroughly.

Cover the preferment and set aside in a draft-free place to ferment for about 8 hours

building the dough

Do this as soon as the preferment is covered and set aside to ferment.

In a large bowl, mix 300g buckwheat flour, 12g psyllium husk and 6g salt – ensure the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Mix 300g water with the dry ingredients and mix well in the bowl.
Cover the unleavened dough and allow it to stand until the preferment is ready (approximately 8 hours).

When the preferment is ready, mix it into the dough thoroughly.

fermenting the dough (26 1/2 hours)

Cover the dough and allow to stand for about 1 hour.

Place the covered dough in a refrigerator for about 24 hours.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to stand at room temperature for about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

shaping the dough (<5 minutes)

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured bench (buckwheat flour).

Work the dough gently for about 1 minute by spreading and folding it.

Roll the dough gently into a ball, then gently flatten it to a disk.

Shape as a rough batard by rolling the disk, then place the batard in a proving basket, with the seam facing up.

proving the dough (1 hour)

Prove the dough for about 1 hour.

Set the oven to 220degC to preheat for at least 30 minutes (if you are using a baking stone, allow 1 hour to preheat).

baking the dough (1 hour)

When the oven ready, dust a peel with a little buckwheat flour.

Turn the dough out of the proving basket onto a peel.

Slash the top of the loaf with a sharp blade to allow the loaf to expand in the oven.

Place a metal dish with boiling water into the oven on a shelf below the shelf on which the loaf will be baked.

Bake in a hot oven, 220degC, with steam for 15 minutes.

Vent the oven, allowing the steam to escape, reduce the oven temperature to 210degC and continue to bake the loaf for a further 50 minutes.

cooling the bread (~ 4 hours minimum)

Take the loaf from the oven and place it on a rack to cool.