Behold! This is the result of developing a generalized bread recipe that tasted good, is easy to make and can be integrated into my busy schedule. I made a couple of successful bakes with this recipe and I consider the results decent. It’s rather easy, can be applied to various flour combinations and, most important, fits into my busy schedule, if a little bit of planning is applied.

This recipe is versatile - You can use only (dry) yeast, but in also includes the option to add sourdough, e.g. if you choose to make bread with a high amount of rye flour. I use Baker’s percentages for the recipe, which allows you to scale the recipe up and down according to your needs.

There are many variants and modifications possible. This is just my basis.

# Updates

• (2023-08-12) Update v1.1

I’m wondering if I should create a git repository for my bread formula …

# phoenix’ bread formula

90% of my bakes originate from the following base formula:

The water percentage can vary from 50-70%, according to your taste. 60% is already a rather liquid dough.

# Flour variants

Whole wheat absorbs more water and typically requires +10% water. It also typically requires only 2/3 of the yeast amount.

Spelt can be used just as the normal flour but knead the dough gentler. Spelt breads are softer and a bit more difficult to form compared to their wheat counterparts. The rest remains the same.

Rye flour can only be softened with sourdough. I tread it similar to whole wheat, so add +10% water.

# Poolish

A poolish is a simple pre-fermented dough part, that adds a lot of taste to the bread. Adding a Poolish will make a difference! While a Poolish is optional for my bread, I highly recommend it.

My Poolish typically ripes for 36+ hours in the fridge. You can do also 16+ hours at room temperature. The longer the tastier.

I typically don’t do breads without Poolish, because it’s so easy to make it, and it makes such a huge improvement. A Poolish is very high up on the cost/outcome consideration.

# Sourdough

Sourdough is completely optional for this recipe. I typically do rye breads with a rye flour amount of 30% or higher with sourdough.

I typically use up to 50% of the flour amount and ripen it for 24-36h at room temperature with 1% sour dough. Typically I only use the rye flour for the sourdough, and mix the other flours in later when proofing. I use sourdough almost exclusively for rye based breads and let it ripe for 24 or 36h, depending on what is easier to plan in my day.

Sourdough and Poolish can be combined.

Sourdough typically increases the planning, because I need to freshen up and ripe the sourdough started two days before. It makes it a bit more difficult to plan.

# Proofing

• Make the Poolish and the Sourdough in two individual containers and let them ripe
• Mix all ingredients and knead the dough until soft (3-5 minutes by hand)
• Proof the dough for 2h
• Do two strech-and-folds, the first one after 30 minutes and the second one after 60 minutes

# Baking

I highly recommend to use a Dutch oven, but this is optional. It makes your bread much better though.

• Preheat the oven to 250°C - do this 30 minutes before the dough is ready
• Bake the bread covered for 15 minutes and uncovered at 230°C for 40 minutes until brown and crusty