Recipe hydration
Pain au Levain — Hydration Guide
Target 72%. Workable range 68–76%.
Why this hydration for Pain au Levain?
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.
Flour mix: 2% rye medium · 88% bread flour · 10% whole wheat.
Technique at 72%
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 72%
- 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.