Sourdough French Bread Shaped Four Ways

March 31, 2022

This classic white sourdough has three ingredients, flour, water, and salt. We suggest using Premium Whole-Wheat White Flour. However, any white bread flour will work, but you can also find white whole-wheat flour from King Arthur and Prairie Gold Flour–Montana Wheat. The recipe is so versatile you can use the dough for Classic French Country Loaves known as boules, Bâtards shaped like footballs or elongated into a torpedo shape, Baguettes, and my favorite, the Épi de Blé.

The Basic White Whole Wheat Recipe

Stir down your mature starter before measuring 1 cup (240g) into a mixer’s large bowl. And remember to feed the remaining start for next time.
In a mixing bowl, add the water (3 1⁄2 cups/ 840 g/mls) and flour and mix until there is no dry flour left. Let this rest for 30 minutes. This rest, known as the autolyse, is important in releasing the full flavor in the wheat and in developing the gluten.
After the autolyse, add the tablespoon of salt, water (1⁄4 cup/60 g/mls), and starter. Knead the dough in a mixer with the dough hook on until the dough comes clean from the side of the bowl while mixing. Or if mixing by hand, knead until the dough develops a smooth and satiny surface.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled container.
Cover and let rise until almost doubled in bulk, preferably overnight. If you use a cold ferment, pull it out of the fridge when it is fully risen or close to fully risen and just give it a few more hours at room temperature.
Towards the end of the rise time, preheat your oven to 465°F (240°C).
Then select a shaping method from the selections below:

Classic French Country Loaf (Boule)	Bâtard (Torpedo Shape)
Divide the dough in half, and pre-shape each half loosely into a ball. Let the dough balls bench rest on a lightly floured surface, covered, to relax the dough for 20 minutes. To shape the dough, press it gently into a rectangle, then roll it up jelly-roll fashion. Turn and roll it up again. This will tighten it into a ball. Then using the side of your hand, cup the bread and draw it toward you to create surface tension on the outer skin of the loaf as you pull it toward yourself. Once it has been shaped and tensioned, you can place the dough in a proofing basket (brotform) or bowl lined with a floured cloth to rise for several hours. (You may also refrigerate the dough for 8-18 hours before baking.) Preheat your oven with your stone, cloches, or 10-inch cast-iron Dutch ovens inside to 450°F (232°C). If you’re planning to bake on a stone with steam, preheat the stone and a cast-iron frying pan on the shelf below the stone for 60 minutes for the boiling water you will add when you place the bread in the oven to bake. Place the dough on parchment paper, score the surface, and bake it covered in a dutch oven or on stone in a steamed oven or for 25 minutes at 465°F (240°C). After 10 minutes removed the lid or vent any additional steam, and lower the oven temperature to 400°F (205°C). Bake 15 more minutes. Then turn the oven off, and let the loaves cool in the oven for another 25 minutes, until the interior temperature reaches 203°F (95°C) and is the color of your liking.	Divide the dough into quarters Shape each into a circle. Give it a 15–30-minute bench rest. Then pat each into a thick rectangle. Fold the bottom half to the center and press with your fingertips to hold in place and create a seam. Rock and roll the dough, making it a tight loaf. Taper each end slightly with increasing hand pressure to extend the loaf to 8–10 inches, creating a torpedo shape. Pan the loaf, score it and bake it in a steamed oven for 20 minutes at 465°F (240°C). After 20 minutes vent any additional steam, turn the oven off, and let the loaves cool in the oven for another 25 minutes, until the interior reaches 203°F (95°C) and is to the color of your liking.
Baguettes (The longest shape)	Épi de Blé
Start by making a bâtard and then let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Repeat the folding process: top to center, bottom to center, and pinch to create a seam. Seal the new seam with your fingers, thumbs, or the heel of your hand. It should create a tight surface tension. With the seam side under, gently rock and roll the loaf from the center with each hand moving out toward the ends, increasing the pressure to slightly taper the loaf. It should be the length of the baking pan or baking stone, but more than two feet long. Transfer the shaped loaf to a pan or proofing cloth (couche), cover, and proof. When the dough is ready to bake, score it, and place it in the oven for 20 minutes at 465°F (240°C). After 20 minutes vent any additional steam, turn the oven off, and let the loaves cool in the oven for another 25 minutes, until the interior reaches 203°F (95°C) and is to the color of your liking.	Shape and pan any hearth bread dough as for a baguette. Just prior to baking, use scissors to make the cuts as shown here. Start about 2½ inches from one of the ends, cutting down through the dough at a 45-degree angle, and then draping leaflets on alternating sides (turn the inside portion of the cut piece [the pointed end] to either the right or left, facing the point away from the loaf). Move down another 2½ inches and repeat, turning the next piece in the opposite direction, until you reach the end of the loaf. Bake as you would a baguette. When the dough is ready to bake, score it, and place it in the oven for 20 minutes at 465°F (240°C). After 20 minutes vent any additional steam, turn the oven off, and let the loaves cool in the oven for another 25 minutes, until the interior reaches 203°F (95°C) and is to the color of your liking.