Honey and wheat and yeast— it doesn’t get much more Earthy than that. Happy Earth Day.
Pane Integrale con Miele
Adapted from The Italian Baker
Starter
½ cup sourdough starter
2/3 cup warm water
1 ½ cups unbleached bread flour
Stir starter into water, add flour and mix into a fine paste. Let rise, covered, 6 to 24 hours.
Dough
1 cup sourdough starter
1 tbsp and 2 tsp honey
1 cup warm water
3 ¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp salt
Stir honey into the overnight starter and the sourdough starter. Pour the water over the top, and mix in the flour and salt mixture one cup at a time until the dough comes together. Knead on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and not so sticky, about 10 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl to rise, covered tightly with saran, until doubled, about 2-3 hours.
Shaping and Second Rise. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and shape into a round loaf without punching down (because this is 100% whole wheat—we need all the air and lift we can get, right?) Place on a peel lined with parchment. Lightly oil the top and cover with saran to rise until doubled again, 1 hr.
Heat the oven to 450, with a baking stone, preferably. Bake 10 minutes at this temp, spraying with water three times. Reduce the heat to 400 and bake 25 minutes longer. Cool on a rack.
Happy Belated Earth Day to you! That bread looks and sounds so good – I love things with a touch of honey – and does indeed seem to be the bread form of Earth Day, given its very pure and beautiful ingredients.