Olive Sourdough Bread with Thyme & Lemon

Make the Levain:
In a clean jar, stir the levain ingredients together until the flour is hydrated.
Cover and set in a warm location (between 75-80ºF) for 4-5 hours until doubled and bubbly.
Alternatively, skip making a levain and use 90 grams of active sourdough starter.
30 g Sourdough Starter, 30 g Bread Flour, 30 g Water
Autolyse:
About an hour before the levain is ready, mix together the bread flour, whole wheat flour, and warm water in a mixing bowl.
Use a dough whisk or your hands to mix together the flour and water just until it comes together, cover, and rest for an hour.
320 g Bread Flour, 80 g Whole Wheat Flour, 317 g Warm Water
Add Levain, Salt, Olive Oil, and Mix:
Add all of the levain into the bowl and dimple it into the dough. Then, stretch and fold the dough for a few minutes to incorporate.
Cover and rest in a warm location for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle the salt on top followed by the olive oil. Stretch and fold the dough for about 5 minutes until thoroughly mixed and the salt dissolves.
Cover and rest in a warm location for 30 minutes.
Levain, 9 g Sea Salt, 12 g Olive Oil
Bulk Fermentation, Add Inclusions, & Folds:
After 30 minutes, add ¼ of the olives, ¼ of the lemon zest, and ¼ of the fresh thyme to the top of the dough, and stretch and fold it down upon itself. Repeat with three more folds, adding the remaining inclusions in between each fold so they're evenly distributed. Rest for about 45 minutes.
Separated by 45 minutes or so, perform at least three more sets of gentle stretch and folds on the dough during bulk fermentation. Rest for the remainder of time.
At the end of bulk fermentation, the dough should be smooth, feel full of air, have visible bubbles, and wobble if shaken. The dough should almost double.
80 g Castelvetrano Olives, 1 TBS Lemon Zest, 2 TBS Fresh Thyme
Shape:
Lightly flour the top of the dough and the counter. Gently loosen the dough from the sides of the mixing bowl and turn the dough out onto the counter.
With the help of a bench scraper, shape the dough into a batard (oval) or boule (round). If an olive falls out, just insert it back into the dough (or have a little snack!).
Lift it up, flip upside down, and place it into a floured banneton. Stitch the dough with a seam down the middle if the dough still seems loose.
Cold Overnight Proof:
Cover and place the banneton into a refrigerator to proof overnight and for up to two days.
Bake:
Place the empty Dutch oven with lid in the oven and preheat for an hour at 500°F (260ºC).
Once preheated, remove the banneton from the refrigerator and turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper.
Score the dough with a sharp bread lame about ¼-½" deep.
Transfer the scored dough to the Dutch oven and cover it with the lid.
Bake at 500°F (260ºC) for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, lower the oven temperature to 450ºF (232ºC) and bake for about 15 minutes with the lid off.
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing.

Olive Sourdough Bread with Thyme & Lemon

Equipment

Ingredients

Levain

Olive Sourdough Bread

Instructions

Notes