Levain is a fermented flour-and-culture mixture that doubles in volume over several hours to leaven sourdough bread naturally. A stiff, dense texture creates tangy flavor without an overpowering sour bite.
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Add the flour directly into the container with the full batch of room-temperature, batter-like ripe chef. Stir vigorously to add fresh oxygen to the mixture. This will form a stiff consistency more like a stiff dough than a batter. This firm texture is important for ripening levain, because a dense rather than loose levain creates delicious sour bread without an overpowering tangy bite. Scrape down the sides, cover tightly and let stand in a cool to moderate (about 70 degrees) draft-free place for 8 to 10 hours.
The levain should have doubled in volume. The texture will be somewhat light, with many tiny bubbles throughout. Do not let the levain stand for longer than 10 hours, or the yeast will become exhausted and not raise the final dough. Learn more about the levain starter, including how to maintain and nourish the chef, in Dan Lieder's book "Bread Alone".
Store mature chef in the refrigerator between uses; refresh it before building levain for bread.
Levain is a fresh mixture of flour and mature starter (chef) that ferments and rises before being added to dough. A starter is the long-term culture you maintain; levain is a one-time mixture built from it.
A stiff, dense levain creates complex sour flavor without an overpowering tangy bite. Loose, batter-like levains tend to produce overly sour bread.
The yeast will become exhausted and lose its ability to raise the final dough, resulting in dense or flat bread.
The levain should have doubled in volume with a light texture and many tiny bubbles throughout. Use it immediately or within the 10-hour window.
Yes, all-purpose or bread flour work as substitutes, though bran wheat adds nutty flavor and texture to the final loaf.
