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Roasted Peppers and Parmesan Sourdough Bread

Roasted Peppers and Parmesan Sourdough Bread

1413kcal
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Prep 40 minutes
Cook 35 minutes
Rise & Rest Time 19 hours
Total 20 hours 15 minutes
What an absolutely winning combination! This rustic artisan loaf utilizes a brilliant technique: the dough is split into two halves. One half remains a strong, plain white flour base that acts as a structural carcass, while the second half is heavily infused with a vibrant roasted pepper purée. The two are laminated together along with a generous scattering of shredded Parmesan cheese for a gorgeous, marbled look and savory depth.
Cuisine Savory Sourdough

Ingredients

The Sourdough Starter Levain (Night Before)
  • 5 g Sourdough starter culture
  • 35 g Water
  • 30 g All-purpose flour or bread flour
  • 5 g Rye flour
The Base Artisan Dough
  • 270 g High-gluten flour (90%)
  • 30 g Whole grain whole wheat flour (10%)
  • 218 g Water (73%)
  • 60 g Active liquid levain (20% - From the stage above)
  • 6 g Salt (2%)
The Savory Lamination Inclusions
  • 60 g Smooth purée (Made from roasted sweet baby red bell peppers, thoroughly cooled)
  • 40 g Finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Equipment

  • Large Mixing Bowl (Or a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook)
  • Blender or Food Processor (For puréeing the peppers)
  • Proofing Basket (Banneton)
  • Cast Iron Pan with Lid (Or a heavy Dutch oven)
  • Sharp Bread Lame or razor blade
  • Parchment Paper
  • Kitchen Scale

Method

Night Before – Levain Setup & Pepper Roasting
  1. 10:00 PM: In a clean glass jar, dissolve your 5g of starter culture into 35g of water. Stir in 30g of all-purpose flour and 5g of rye flour. Mix thoroughly, cover loosely, and let it ferment at room temperature 74–78°F (23–26°C) overnight for 10 to 12 hours until it triples in size.
  2. Roast your baby red bell peppers in the oven until blackened and tender. Peel away the charred skins, remove the seeds, blend into a completely smooth purée, and let it cool completely in the fridge overnight.
Next Morning – The Split-Dough System & Cheese Lamination
  1. 7:00 AM – The Autolyse: In your large mixing bowl, combine the 270g of high-gluten flour, 30g of whole wheat flour, and 218g of water. Mix with a spoon until a shaggy mass forms with no dry streaks remaining. Cover and let autolyse undisturbed for 1 hour.
  2. 8:00 AM: Add 60g of your active overnight starter to the bowl. Mix on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes (or on a KitchenAid mixer on speed 3 for 3 to 4 minutes) until cohesive. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
  3. 8:30 AM: Add the 6g of salt and mix on medium-low speed for another 2 to 3 minutes until the salt fully dissolves.
  4. The Division Split: Immediately use a bench knife to divide the dough cleanly into 2 equal pieces. Leave the first piece entirely plain. Add the 60g of cooled roasted pepper purée directly to the second dough piece, mixing and squeezing it with your fingers until the wet purée is completely incorporated (it will look sticky, but structural folds will tighten it up!). Cover both dough containers and let rest for 30 minutes.
  5. 9:00 AM – Structural Dual-Lamination: Spray your workspace generously with water and wet your hands. Tip out your plain white dough piece and gently stretch it from the center outward into a wide, thin rectangle. Repeat this stretching process with the orange pepper dough on a separate part of the counter, then carefully lift and layer the pepper dough right on top of the plain dough.
  6. Scatter your 40g of shredded Parmesan cheese evenly over the top layer. Fold the stacked dough up into a compact, layered square package. Place it back into a clean, greased container and let rest for 30 minutes.
Bulk Fermentation Folds & Cold Retard
  1. 9:30 AM: Perform your 1st stretch and fold. Pull the outer edges of the dough up high and fold them cleanly over the center to build structural strength. Rest 45 minutes.
  2. 10:15 AM: Perform your 2nd stretch and fold. Rest 45 minutes.
  3. 11:00 AM: Perform your 3rd stretch and fold. Let the dough rest undisturbed for 40 minutes at a warm 76–80°F (24–26°C). Monitor closely: you should see distinct air bubbles forming on the skin surface and a clean 40% to 50% rise in total volume.
  4. 11:40 AM – Preshaping: Turn the light, airy dough out onto a floured counter. Flip it over, fold the outer sides onto themselves so the raw flour stays strictly on the outside, and round it into a loose ball. Let rest uncovered on the counter for 30 minutes.
  5. 12:10 PM – Final Shaping: Flip the dough ball over onto its floured side. Pull the corners inward toward the center to stitch the structure together, then roll it tightly down away from you into a taut, smooth boule or oval.
  6. Transfer the shaped loaf seam-side up into a well-floured proofing basket. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, let sit on your counter for 15 minutes, then slide it into the refrigerator for a long 14 to 24-hour cold fermentation retard.
Day 3 – Blazing Steam Bake
  1. Preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C). Place your cast iron pan and lid inside to heat up thoroughly for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  2. Remove the cold loaf from the fridge and gently turn it out onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use a sharp lame or razor blade to score a long, deep cut across the top crown.
  3. Transfer the dough carefully onto the smoking hot iron base, drop the heavy lid down tightly to lock in the steam, and bake at 500°F (260°C) with the lid on for exactly 15 minutes.
  4. Carefully remove the lid to expose the loaf, lower the oven temperature to 450°F (232°C), and continue baking bare for an additional 20 minutes until the cheese blisters and the crust turns an incredibly deep golden brown. Let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting to marvel at the vibrant orange marbled interior!

Nutrition

Calories1413kcalCarbohydrates243gProtein62gFat12gSaturated Fat7gPolyunsaturated Fat1gMonounsaturated Fat3gCholesterol36mgSodium1079mgPotassium411mgFiber15gSugar3gVitamin A2202IUVitamin C77mgCalcium511mgIron7mg

Notes

  • Why the Dual-Dough Method is a Lifesaver: Roasted pepper purée introduces a massive amount of liquid sugar and water back into a dough network. If you tried to mix that purée straight into your entire batch of flour from day one, the enzymes would break down your gluten, leaving you with a sticky, sloppy batter that collapses in the oven. Keeping half of the dough completely plain creates a strong structural "carcass" that securely bottles up the heavy, high-hydration pepper dough when they are laminated together.
  • Never Skip the Purée Cooling Phase: When making your pepper reduction, ensure it chills completely in the refrigerator before adding it to your split dough during step 6. Pouring warm or hot purée into your delicate dough mass will instantly cook the flour starches and kill the wild yeasts in your sourdough starter, flatlining your bulk fermentation.
  • High-Gluten Flour Security: This savory formula uses 90% high-gluten flour (flour with an elevated protein content of roughly 13–14%). Because the roasted peppers and melting cheese continuously work to soften and loosen your gluten strands, utilizing a high-protein base flour provides the baseline insurance policy needed to keep your loaf standing tall and proud with a magnificent oven ear.
  • Adjusting Folds for Warm Kitchens: Keep a close eye on the volume of your dough during steps 9 through 11. If your kitchen runs unusually warm and you notice the dough expanding too rapidly, do not hesitate to compress the rest intervals between your structural folds down to 35 or 40 minutes to keep the fermentation process from outrunning your structural strength.

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