Pain aux Noix

Ingredients

• 700 g Type 65 wheat flour
• 300 g Type 80 semi-wholemeal wheat flour
• 650–680 ml water, at 65–68% hydration of total flour weight
• 200 g active levain, ripe and ready
• 20 g fine sea salt
• 20–30 g honey, at 2–3% of flour weight
• For the walnuts
• 250–300 g walnut halves and large pieces, not chopped fine; at 25–30% of flour weight

Method

1. 1
   Spread the walnut halves and large pieces on a baking tray. Toast in an oven pre-heated to 160 °C for 8–10 minutes. The walnuts are ready when they are fragrant and their volatile oils are visibly active, but the flesh has not darkened. Remove and spread on a cool surface; they must reach room temperature completely before use.
2. 2
   Combine the Type 65 and Type 80 flours, water, levain, honey, and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on a low speed until a cohesive dough forms, then increase speed and develop until the dough is smooth, elastic, and clears the sides of the bowl. The dough is ready when it passes a windowpane stretch without tearing.
3. 3
   This is the step on which the bread lives or dies. In the final minutes of mixing — or, if preferred, during the first fold of bulk fermentation — add the cooled toasted walnuts. Fold them in by hand or on the lowest mixer speed, working only until the pieces are distributed as evenly as possible through the dough. Stop the moment incorporation is achieved; overworking at this stage pulverises the nuts into the crumb, destroying both texture and visual integrity.
4. 4
   Transfer the dough to a lightly floured container. Allow to ferment in bulk at ambient temperature, performing a series of folds in the first hour. The dough is ready to divide when it is noticeably risen, aerated, and pulls away from the container wall with a slight resistance.
5. 5
   Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Shape each as a free-form boule or bâtard. Place seam-side up in floured bannetons. Proof for 60–90 minutes. The loaves are ready when they spring back slowly but not completely when pressed lightly with a floured finger.
6. 6
   Pre-heat the oven to 230 °C with a steam source in place (a tray of boiling water on the floor of the oven, or a covered Dutch oven). Turn the loaves onto a peel or tray. Score each with a single deep cross or a series of parallel cuts. Load into the oven with steam and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the steam source, reduce the oven to 210 °C, and continue baking for a further 25–30 minutes. The bread is done when the crust is dark and robust, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped firmly on its base.