Recipe hydration
Country Loaf (Pain de Campagne) — Hydration Guide
Target 75%. Workable range 72–80%.
Why this hydration for Country Loaf (Pain de Campagne)?
The country loaf is the French archetype of rustic hearth sourdough — a lightly whole-grain boule with blistered crust, moderately open crumb, and balanced tangy-wheaty flavor. 75% hydration is the reliable sweet spot: open enough for character, not so wet it's unmanageable. The Tartine-style country loaf (Chad Robertson) uses 10% whole wheat; Hamelman's Pain de Campagne pushes to 15-20% whole wheat with 5% rye for depth. Overnight cold retard develops flavor and simplifies scheduling.
Flour mix: 5% rye medium · 80% bread flour · 15% whole wheat.
Technique at 75%
Autolyse 45 min with all flour and 90% of water at 78°F. Add levain (20% of flour weight, 100% hydration), salt, and remaining water. 4 sets of stretch-and-folds in first 2 hours of bulk. Total bulk 4h at 76°F. Preshape round, rest 20 min, final shape tight boule, place in floured banneton. Cold retard 12 hours at 38°F. Bake from cold in 500°F preheated dutch oven: 20 min lid on, 25 min lid off until internal temp 210°F.
Calculator pre-set to 75%
- Flour to add
- 450 g
- Water to add
- 325 g
- Salt
- 10 g
- Levain @ 100%
- 100 g
- Total dough
- 885 g
- Effective hydration
- 75%
How the math works
Total water = flour × hydration %. Your levain contributes 50 g flour + 50 g water — both count toward the totals. You add only the remainder as fresh flour and water.
Salt % is computed on total flour weight, not final-dough flour.