RU EN
☰

Recipe · v1.16

Lean wheat baseline (direct dough)

Wheat · hearth · lean

Lean wheat bread made from flour, water, salt, and fresh yeast — a clean baseline loaf without tangzhong, milk, butter, sugar, or sourdough.

7 h 35 min Until bake ends
7 h 10 min Until bake starts
25 min Bake time
1 hearth loaf (~580–620 g) Yield
Lean wheat baseline (direct dough)
Open worksheet
When to bake~7 h to bake

Live timing needs JavaScript enabled.

Calculated for the current time; the worksheet lets you set any start.

Recipe

Current recipe

For baking now: the final working formula, ingredients, steps, and baking worksheet.

Taste & texture

Thin, crisp crust that crackles on the first bite and softens to a paper-thin shell by the next day. The crumb is moderately open with irregular pores — chewy but not tough, with a clean, straightforward wheat flavour and no tang or sweetness. Aroma is mild: a light baked-grain note, nothing sharp. This is the honest baseline of a lean direct dough — flavour comes almost entirely from the flour and fermentation, without any enrichment or preferment to deepen it. Best eaten the same day while the crust holds.

Baking worksheet

Formula 400 g flour, 260 g water, 8 g salt, 3 g fresh yeast; dough about 671 g
Mixing Kenwood KVC85.004SI: water + yeast 1 min, flour 1–2 min on Min, 15 min rest, then salt and speed 1 for 4–5 min
Dough temperature target 24–25 °C, upper limit 26 °C; doneness checked with a probe
Bulk fermentation no mandatory folds; end by sample jar +60–80%, dough rounded, small bubbles on the sides
Final proof linen-lined basket; 90–140 min at about 23 °C; do not force it at 35 °C
Bake on the lower stone (30×25): 230 °C with built-in steam at loading and again 2–3 min later, then 210 °C dry after 8 min to 96–98 °C internal. Stone layout under Equipment

Good to know

Why is the recipe not improved with additions after the 2/10 score?

S1-C1 is required as a clean learning formula. Flavor through fermentation is studied in S1-C2, while softness, milk, sugar, butter, and tangzhong are moved into a separate soft wheat track S2.

Why not just wait exactly until the scheduled time?

Dough and kitchen temperature change fermentation speed. Time is a frame, but the decision is made by the jar, dough shape, bubbles, and the poke test.

Lean wheat bread is the plainest loaf there is: strong flour, water, salt, and a little fresh yeast, mixed the same day and baked on a hot stone. There is no fat, sugar, milk, preferment, or cold retard to lean on. Everything you taste and see — the crust, the open crumb, the chew — comes from the flour, the fermentation, and the bake, which is exactly why a lean direct dough is the cleanest baseline a baker can keep.

How it’s baked around the world and why

The lean wheat loaf is the backbone of European baking, and every country shapes the same four ingredients to its own taste.

In France this is pain ordinaire — the everyday counterpart of the baguette. The baguette, ficelle, bâtard, and boule are all the same lean dough (flour, water, salt, yeast) given different shapes and scores; what marks the French version is a long, gentle fermentation and a steamed, blistered crust. French law even defines pain de tradition by what it may not contain: no additives, no freezing, nothing beyond flour, water, salt, and leaven.

In Italy the lean dough turns into the filone and the rustic pane comune, often at higher hydration and with a slacker crumb; Italian bakers frequently build flavor with a biga (a stiff preferment), but the base loaf is still lean. In Austria and Germany the wheat side of the bakery — Semmel, Weißbrot, Wiener rolls — runs on the same formula with a touch more dough strength and a crisp, steam-set crust.

Why so lean, everywhere? Because bread meant to be eaten with a meal has to stay neutral: it must carry cheese, soup, oil, or butter without competing. Fat and sugar would soften the crust and mute that clean wheat flavor. Steam at the start lets the loaf spring and the crust stay thin and glassy; a hot stone or hearth gives the bottom heat that pushes the loaf up. The shape (long batard, round boule, thin baguette) only changes crust-to-crumb ratio — the dough is the same honest mix.

Theory of a lean direct dough

In a direct dough, all the flour, water, salt, and yeast come together on the same day. That is convenient and repeatable, but flavor stays modest: there is no poolish, sourdough, cold fermentation, or whole-grain portion to deepen it. So the loaf rewards baseline craft instead — baker’s percentages, dough temperature, gluten development, the difference between bulk and proof, steam, internal temperature, and weight loss.

| Process | What happens | What to watch | | --- | --- | --- | | Hydration | Flour absorbs water; the dough goes from a coarse mass to a cohesive one | Dry pockets; how stickiness changes after the rest | | Gluten | Wheat proteins link into a net that holds gas | Does the dough stretch, hold shape, tear | | Yeast | Makes CO2, alcohol, and some aroma — but in a direct dough there is little time | Dough temperature, control-jar growth speed | | Enzymes | Slowly free sugars for the yeast and the future crust | Crust color and aroma after baking | | Salt | Tightens gluten, sharpens flavor, slows fermentation | Whether the salt reads on its own, without a bread background | | Bake | Gas expands, structure sets, crust darkens | Internal temperature, mass before/after, score opening |

The key point: if the loaf rose and baked through but flavor is plain, that is not a yeast error — it is the honest result of a lean white dough with no extra flavor sources. More flavor comes from fermentation, crust, or flour, never from simply adding yeast.

Bulk fermentation and the final proof are not the same “risen”. Bulk builds gas and structure in the whole mass; end it when the control jar is up +60–80%, the dough is rounded, and small bubbles show on the sides — not by dragging to +100% while the dough weakens. The final proof readies the shaped piece for the oven; it is done when the poke test returns slowly and the surface still holds a dome. For a lean dough the control jar is especially useful: it separates real growth from the feeling that “a lot of time has passed”.

Temperature sets the pace. With a kitchen near 23 °C and dough around 24–25 °C after mixing, the timings here hold. Warmer dough (26 °C and up) ferments faster and can weaken, so check earlier and do not over-extend bulk; cooler dough (22–23 °C) runs slower — watch the jar rather than reaching for more yeast.

Formula

| Ingredient | Grams | % | | --- | ---: | ---: | | Strong white bread flour | 400 | 100 | | Water | 260 | 65 | | Salt | 8 | 2 | | Fresh yeast | 3 | 0.75 |

Hydration is 65% to the flour — a comfortable, controllable level for a hearth loaf that still holds an open crumb.

If something is off

  • Dense crumb, weak opening → underproof or slack shaping; check the poke test and shape with more surface tension.
  • Flat piece, weak score → overproof or too long a bulk; stop bulk earlier, closer to +60–80%.
  • Pale crust → not enough heat or steam; check the stone preheat and the built-in steam at loading.
  • Sticky, gummy center → underbaked; bake to 96–98 °C internal and cool at least an hour before slicing.
  • Plain flavor with a normal crumb → a lean white dough is simply neutral; deepen it with a preferment, longer/cold fermentation, or more flavorful flour, not more yeast.

Sources for the theory

Sources for the regional context

Ingredients

Change any amount — the rest rescale by the bread’s formula.

Component Grams Baker's %
Strong white bread flour g 100%
Water g 65%
Salt g 2%
Fresh yeast g 0.75%

Ingredient details

Strong white bread flour

Brand the author uses
MukaMuka 13.5% protein
Role
base of the gluten matrix
Important
do not change the flour for S1-C1 #2; the goal is to verify repeatability

Water

Temperature
18–21 °C with a kitchen at 22–24 °C
Role
tests water uptake of the current flour at 65% hydration
Brand the author uses
Tap water through Barrier Iron x2 filter
Alternatives
any filtered or bottled drinking water

Salt

Brand the author uses
Pink Himalayan salt
Alternatives
sea or table salt (avoid iodized)

Fresh yeast

Range
3 g with a kitchen around 23 °C; 4 g only at 20–21 °C
Brand the author uses
Lux (Voronezh) fresh or Ayrek (homemade)
Alternatives
any fresh yeast in 100 g pack

Conditions and equipment

Conditions

Dough type
lean direct dough: flour, water, salt, and fresh yeast only — no fat, sugar, milk, preferment, or cold retard
Shaping
batard, baked as a hearth loaf from a linen-lined basket
Doneness
96–98 °C internal, crumb with no sticky underbake

Equipment

Mixer
Kenwood KVC85.004SI, dough hook
Oven
Haier HOQ-F6QS, top-bottom heat
Stone
two Estet baking stones (2 cm thick): 40×30 cm on the 2nd level from the top (top heat) and 30×25 cm on the 2nd level from the bottom; load the piece onto the lower stone (30×25) so steam reaches the dough from below. Preheat both to 230 °C. Without a stone (steel, sheet pan) heat transfer differs and the regime needs adjusting
Steam
built-in oven steam at loading and again 2–3 minutes later
Proofing
linen-lined basket
Control
narrow jar with a mark, probe thermometer, scale

Nutrition: how to eat this bread

Bread nutrition facts

Per 100 g of bread

242 kcal

protein 8.2 g · fat 1.1 g · carbs 48.7 g

Per slice (50 g)

121 kcal

protein 4.1 g · fat 0.6 g · carbs 24.4 g

Automatic calculation from USDA + Skurikhin database for the baked loaf after evaporation. Numbers are approximate: 1) the database covers ingredients, not finished dough; 2) bake water loss is assumed at 10% — actual loss depends on crust, time, and pan. Add 5–10% in calorie trackers if needed.

Bread is a source of starch and energy. Its nutrition depends on flour, fermentation, salt, enrichment, serving size, and the rest of the plate.

Digestion
More whole grain, fibre, and fermentation usually mean longer satiety. White flour eaten alone is generally digested faster.
Helpful or harmful
Bread is not poison or medicine by itself. Overall diet matters; current guidance prioritizes whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and pulses.
Amount
For most learning tastings, 1–2 slices, about 30–80 g, is enough depending on loaf density.
Best pairings
Pair with protein, vegetables, and moderate fat; avoid making it a large standalone portion with sweet drinks or sweet spreads.

How to eat

  • Taste the bread plain for learning, then eat it as part of a balanced plate.
  • Slice dense rye thinner; with soft white bread, make sure softness does not automatically increase the serving.

Limits

  • Wheat and rye breads contain gluten.
  • For medical conditions, adjust bread type and serving size with a clinician or dietitian.
Sources

Instructions

  1. Combine water and yeast

    Stir 260 g water and 3 g fresh yeast for 1 minute.

  2. Hydrate the flour

    Add 400 g flour and mix 1–2 minutes on Min.

  3. Rest

    Cover the bowl and leave the dough for 15 minutes.

  4. Add salt and finish mixing

    Add 8 g salt and mix on speed 1 for about 4–5 minutes, stopping before the temperature goes above 26 °C.

  5. Bulk ferment

    Separate 20–25 g into a narrow jar, cover the dough, and do not develop with folds; end bulk by sample growth of +60–80% and dough state.

  6. Shape

    Preshape, rest the piece 10–15 minutes, shape into a batard, and place in a linen-lined basket seam up.

  7. Proof and bake

    Proof until the poke test returns slowly, weigh the piece, score, and bake on the lower stone at 230 °C with built-in steam, then 210 °C dry, to 96–98 °C internal.

A compact step map; notes and comments live in the worksheet.

S1-C1: working sheet for the next control repeat

The sheet is built on facts from S1-C1 #2 on 29 Apr, but now corrects the target bulk endpoint: stop closer to +60–80% rather than dragging to +100%, and record the dough state. Historical times are kept in the research block below, while the working steps read as windows by dough state.

Schedule mode

Pick a starting style.

  1. Day 1, 07:51–08:06

    Setup

    Prepare scale, probe thermometer, linen-lined basket, narrow jar with mark, and water at 18–21 °C.

    Step ingredients

    • New ingredients none added; only prepare and weigh ingredients
    Target
    All ingredients weighed separately; kitchen, flour, and water temperatures recorded.
    Check
    Do not change the formula when the kitchen is around 23 °C.
    Evidence
    Kitchen, flour, and water temperatures.

  2. Day 1, 08:06–08:10

    Mix start

    Combine all water and yeast, stir 1 minute. Add all flour and mix 1–2 minutes on Min until hydrated.

    Step ingredients

    • Water 260 g
    • Fresh yeast 3 g
    • Strong white bread flour 400 g
    Target
    Flour fully hydrated; do not expect smoothness yet.
    Check
    Do not add salt yet.
    Evidence
    Start time, mix duration, dough state.

  3. Day 1, 08:10–08:25

    Rest

    Cover the bowl and leave the dough for 15 minutes. Add nothing.

    Step ingredients

    • Dough without salt all of it
    Target
    Flour absorbs water; the next mixing step should go smoother.
    Check
    Do not shorten the rest without a reason.
    Evidence
    Actual rest duration.

  4. Day 1, 08:25–08:31

    Salt and final mix

    Add all salt and mix on speed 1 for about 4–5 minutes. Check every minute.

    Step ingredients

    • Salt 8 g
    • Dough after rest all of it
    Target
    Smooth extensible dough; temperature not above 26 °C.
    Check
    If the dough spreads, do not add flour; record the fact.
    Evidence
    Dough temperature, dough state.

  5. Day 1, 08:32–08:36

    Bulk fermentation start

    Take a dough photo, separate 20–25 g into a narrow jar, and mark the starting level.

    Step ingredients

    • Dough about 671 g total; after the sample the main batch is around 646–651 g
    Target
    Control sample pressed to the bottom of the jar; main dough covered.
    Check
    Record sample mass if separated.

  6. Day 1, 09:01–10:31

    Bulk fermentation observation

    Do not develop the dough with folds: Kenwood already did the main mixing. Keep covered and watch rise, rounding, and bubbles.

    Step ingredients

    • Main dough all of it after the sample was separated
    Target
    Dough holds gas, gradually rounds, and does not spread into a flowing mass.
    Check
    If the dough is weak, record it as a signal to adjust Kenwood mix duration on the next repeat.
    Evidence
    Surface state, sample-jar growth.

    1 h 30 min timer for this step

  7. Day 1, 10:31–10:41

    First bulk-fermentation check

    Check the control sample and the main dough. This is not a required doneness point.

    Step ingredients

    • Main dough all of it
    • Control sample 20–25 g in the jar
    Target
    Assess dynamics, but do not end bulk fermentation by time alone.
    Check
    Real doneness comes later: jar +60–80%, dough rounded, holds gas, small bubbles on the sides.
    Evidence
    Growth in percent.

  8. Day 1, 10:50–11:20

    Bulk-fermentation end window

    End bulk when the control sample has risen 60–80% and the main dough is rounded and holds gas. The historical 11:34 endpoint was an upper bound near +100%, not a new target.

    Step ingredients

    • Main dough all of it
    • Control sample used only to assess growth
    Target
    Doneness by state, not by schedule.
    Check
    If signs are absent, check every 15–20 minutes.
    Evidence
    Bulk-end time, sample growth.

    30 min timer for this step

  9. Day 1, 11:25–11:35

    Preshape

    Gently gather the dough into a short oval or ball, seam down. Cover and rest 10–15 minutes.

    Step ingredients

    • Dough after bulk fermentation all of the main batch
    • Bench flour minimal, only to prevent sticking
    Target
    Dough gathered without squeezing out all the gas.
    Check
    Use minimal flour, only if the dough really sticks to the bench.
    Evidence
    Time and state after rest.

  10. Day 1, 11:38–11:48

    Shape

    Shape a batard: rectangle, top third to center, side edges in, tight roll, pinch the seam closed. Place in the basket seam up.

    Step ingredients

    • Rested piece 1 piece
    • Linen-lined basket 1 piece
    Target
    Smooth taut surface, no rough degassing.
    Check
    Linen-lined basket; smooth side to the cloth.

  11. Day 1, 14:16–15:16

    Oven preheat

    Set 230 °C, top-bottom heat, no fan. Heat both stones (40×30 on top, 30×25 on the bottom) 45–60 min after temperature is reached, and ready the built-in steam.

    Step ingredients

    • New ingredients none added
    • Stones heated in the oven
    Target
    Stones heated through to the loading window.
    Check
    Do not wait until the end of proofing to start preheat.
    Evidence
    Oven-on time.

    1 h timer for this step

  12. Day 1, 15:06–15:16

    Loading window

    Check the proof: the piece feels lighter, the poke test returns slowly and does not collapse. Weigh the piece before the oven.

    Step ingredients

    • Piece in the basket 1 piece
    • New ingredients none added
    Target
    Loadable piece that is still convex after turning out.
    Check
    After turning out, do not wait on the bench: score and load immediately.
    Evidence
    Piece mass, description of the poke test.

  13. Day 1, 15:16–15:41

    Bake

    Turn out of the basket, score 5–8 mm at 30–45°, and load onto the lower stone (30×25). 230 °C with built-in steam at loading and again 2–3 minutes later; after 8 minutes drop to 210 °C and bake dry.

    Step ingredients

    • Proofed piece 1 piece
    • Water for steam for steam, not part of the formula
    Target
    96–98 °C internal.
    Check
    Check with the probe from minute 25.
    Evidence
    Loading time, internal temperature, crust photo.

    25 min timer for this step

  14. Day 1, 16:41–17:41

    Cool and slice

    Cool on a rack at least 1 hour, then slice.

    Step ingredients

    • Finished loaf 1 loaf after baking
    • New ingredients none added
    Target
    Tasting after cooling.
    Check
    Record weight loss: piece mass minus finished loaf mass.
    Evidence
    Mass, tasting note.

    1 h timer for this step

Version history

  • v1.16May 25, 2026
    Problem
    Template labels like 'Actual timing', 'Actual temperatures', and 'Actual mass' in kitchenCheatsheet mixed the facts of one repeat with general instructions: on the public card they looked like requirements for every bake rather than observation notes.
    Change
    Labels replaced with neutral 'Control schedule', 'Temperature control', and 'Weight-loss control'. Specific numbers from the 29 Apr repeat (start 08:06, kitchen 23 °C, internal 98.5 °C, piece 639 g) are kept in the research block; the working sheet is still available on /kitchen/.
    Result
    The public card now reads as instructions, while the research block remains an honest journal of a specific repeat.
    Conclusion
    Separating 'instructions to repeat' (kitchenCheatsheet) from 'facts of the past repeat' (research) is a general pattern for all lessons.
  • v1.15May 20, 2026
    Problem
    Recipe time metadata was shorter than the actual working sheet: the sheet runs from mixing through baking and includes at least 1 hour of cooling before slicing.
    Change
    prepTime, cookTime, and totalTime are aligned with the current working sheet of the next control repeat.
    Result
    The recipe card no longer promises too short a total time for S1-C1.
    Conclusion
    Working decisions on bulk and proof are still made by dough state, not by time metadata.
  • v1.14May 20, 2026
    Problem
    The recipe mixed the actual 29 Apr protocol with the target sheet for the next repeat: the Kenwood mode disagreed between blocks, shaping happened right after preshape, and bulk fermentation was described at once as fact +100% and target +60–80%.
    Change
    The sheet is now called the next control repeat sheet, the Kenwood mode is set to Min/1, shaping is moved after a 15-minute rest, and the bulk target stays as the corrected working bound +60–80%.
    Result
    Historical S1-C1 #2 facts are preserved in the research analysis, but the working sheet no longer locks in the old overshoot of bulk or contradictory mixer speeds.
    Conclusion
    S1-C1 remains a control lesson: structure works, flavor is 2/10, the next product lever is S1-C2.
  • v1.13May 8, 2026
    Problem
    S1-C1 theory was too short compared to the new lesson standard.
    Change
    Added blocks about direct dough as a system, the difference between bulk fermentation and final proof, temperature logic, diagnostic errors, and sources.
    Result
    S1-C1 now explains what exactly the baseline formula controls and why weak flavor is not fixed by simply adding more yeast.
    Conclusion
    The lesson stays a control: its job is to give a clean baseline for comparison with poolish, cold, flour, crust, and the soft track.
  • v1.12April 30, 2026
    Problem
    Repeated review against modern curricula showed the lesson lacked an explicit home adaptation and control questions.
    Change
    Added the home S1-C1 standard, control questions, and criteria that translate the professional systematic approach into a normal kitchen.
    Result
    S1-C1 is now not only a control-bake journal but also an entry learning exercise in direct dough.
    Conclusion
    The formula stays a control; product flavor develops not through yeast but through the next fermentation lessons.
  • v1.11April 30, 2026
    Problem
    After the general course revision, S1-C1 lacked explicit lesson theory and a link to the new S1/S2 map.
    Change
    Added the course code, direct-dough theory, sensory card, and a link to the new course program; the old branch chart was replaced with S1-C2 and S2.
    Result
    S1-C1 now reads as an entry control for the lean artisan track, not as a failed product attempt.
    Conclusion
    Lesson closed: do not increase yeast; develop flavor through S1-C2 and study softness in S2.
  • v1.10April 29, 2026
    Problem
    After tasting, it turned out the flavor of S1-C1 #2 did not improve compared to S1-C1 #1.
    Change
    Tasting score recorded in the journal: same flavor, score remains 2/10.
    Result
    Photos and the numeric protocol confirm a technologically working bake, but the product score did not change.
    Conclusion
    S1-C1 closes the learning control of the baseline technology but does not solve the problem of tasty white bread; the product version must develop on a separate branch.
  • v1.9April 29, 2026
    Problem
    The process journal was kept on an iPad in the working sheet and did not make it into the previous publication.
    Change
    Added real times, temperatures, control-sample growth, piece mass, finished-loaf mass, internal temperature, and weight loss.
    Result
    Mix start 08:06; bulk 08:32–11:34 with sample growth up to 100%; loading 14:59; bake 25 min to 98.5 °C; piece 639 g, finished loaf 579 g, loss 60 g / 9.4%.
    Conclusion
    3 g of yeast in the formula is sufficient; bulk can probably be stopped earlier, closer to 60–80% growth, and the next technical focus is shaping, scoring, and steam.
  • v1.8April 29, 2026
    Problem
    S1-C1 #2 was baked, process and slice photos appeared, but some of the numeric data was not yet added.
    Change
    Added photos of the control sample, end of bulk fermentation, final proof, finished batard, and crumb; the analysis was updated from facts visible in the photos.
    Result
    Fermentation worked, the loaf baked through, the crumb became more open and even than expected from a first weak repeat.
    Conclusion
    S1-C1 can be considered a usable learning control by structure; the next node to improve is shaping, scoring, steam, and precise numeric records.
  • v1.7April 28, 2026
    Problem
    A fixed 07:30 start was inconvenient when the actual start shifts in the morning.
    Change
    The working sheet received an input for mix start time and automatic recalculation of the other steps.
    Conclusion
    Scheduling became relative, while criteria for bulk and proof doneness remain sensory.
  • v1.6April 28, 2026
    Problem
    The rye R1 section was temporarily delayed while restoring the starter, so the next active bake shifted to wheat S1-C1 #2.
    Change
    Added a schedule for 29 Apr 2026 starting at 07:30 and expanded kitchen-cheatsheet fields for mass, temperature, final proof, scoring, and weight loss.
    Conclusion
    The formula stays the same; the main task is repeatability and a complete record of facts.