Pain au Levain is the French 'sourdough bread' — a lean hearth loaf with traditional French flour proportions (mostly white, small whole-grain addition). Slightly lower hydration than Country Loaf and slightly longer bulk for more structural development. Touch of rye in the blend for flavor boost without changing handling. Classical French bakery daily loaf.
- Hydration
- 72%
- Salt
- 2.00%
- Levain
- 15–20%
- Bulk @ 76°F
- 4.50h
- Proof @ 76°F
- 12.00h
- Bake temp
- 480°F
- Bake time
- 45m
- Vessel
- dutch oven
Flour mix
- rye medium — 2%
- bread flour — 88%
- whole wheat — 10%
Technique
Autolyse 60 min. Add levain (100% hydration, 15-20% of flour weight) and salt. 3 sets of stretch-and-folds. Total bulk 4.5h at 76°F. Shape tight boule, cold retard 12h. Bake in 480°F dutch oven: 22 min lid on, 22 min lid off.
Calculator pre-set to Pain au Levain's target (72%)
Adjust the slider for personal preference within the workable 68–76% range.
- Flour to add
- 450 g
- Water to add
- 310 g
- Salt
- 10 g
- Levain @ 100%
- 100 g
- Total dough
- 870 g
- Effective hydration
- 72%
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.
Related references on this site
- 72% hydration reference page — crumb structure, technique notes, other recipes at this hydration
- Flour spec: rye medium — protein, ash, absorption — 2% of this recipe's mix
- Flour spec: bread flour — protein, ash, absorption — 88% of this recipe's mix
- Hydration deep-dive for this recipe — workable range 68–76%
- Timing by kitchen temperature — bulk + proof times at 60-90°F using Modernist Bread multipliers
- Guide: baker's percentage explained — the math underlying every formula on this page
- All 25 recipes — grouped by category (lean, enriched, hearth, pan)
The gear that makes the math work
A short, honest baking kit. The scale matters most — every weight on this page is in grams. The Dutch oven is what turns a good crumb into a great crust.
- Digital kitchen scale (0.1 g)View on Amazon →
- Dutch oven / combo cookerView on Amazon →
- Banneton proofing basketView on Amazon →
- Bread lame + bench scraperView on Amazon →
- High-protein bread flourView on Amazon →
- Danish dough whiskView on Amazon →
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