Einkorn Sourdough Bread Timing

So, you want to bake einkorn sourdough bread but you don't think you have the time? With teenage children, a business to run, and an endless amount of interests, I rarely sit down if it's not at my desk or at the dinner table. Every second of my day is filled, and yet I have managed to fit freshly baked sourdough bread into my family's life for over a decade. In fact, I made this beautiful Einkorn Sourdough Boule this morning with minimal effort. Here's how I timed it:

• At 5pm when I got home from work, I mixed up a batch of sourdough levain in a large mixing bowl. Mixing time by hand: less than 1 minute
• At 11pm just before going to bed, I mixed up the dough for a Classic French Boule. I added 30g of extra flour because I was not going to wait up to turn the dough. I used an einkorn kneading tool so I didn't touch the loaf or knead it on the counter. No mess to clean before going to bed. Mixing time by hand: less than 1 minute
• I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the kitchen cabinet until I woke up at 6:30am. First rise time: 7 hours
• I placed a linen couche in a colander, dusted it with flour, transferred the dough to a dusted work surface with a bowl scraper, shaped my loaf and placed the bread in the linen. I cleaned up the counter with a bread scraper and set the bowl to soak in the sink for easy clean up later. Shaping time: less than 1 minute
• I placed a Dutch Oven in the oven at 500ºF for one hour while I let the dough rise. Second rise time: 1 hour
• I inverted the loaf in the Dutch Oven, slashed the top with a bread lame and baked the loaf for 40 minutes. Bake time: 40 minutes
• I lifted out the bread and put in on a wire rack to cool. I let the Dutch Oven cool, then rinsed it out before storing. I shook the excess flour out of the linen couche, hung it up to let the moisture dry, then I folded it and put it back in the drawer. Clean up time: 5 minutes

So you see, sourdough can fit anyone's schedule because it is so forgiving! A few more things:

• If the dough rises more than 3 to 5 hours, that’s fine. It might be a tiny bit more sour, but you might find you like that better. And, if you have a new starter, it will be better to let your bread rise longer.
• If you can’t bake when the dough has finished the first rise, you can refrigerate it for 6 to 8 hours, then shape and bake.
• When I make pizza dough, I usually cook half of the dough and then refrigerate the rest for up to 2 days. I think the pizza I make on the third day tastes even better!
• By the way, if you have the cookbook, you might have noticed that I am baking the bread at a higher temperature. I like my bread with an extra crispy crust!