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Baking recipe · from the recipe book

Toasted Walnut Rosemary Sourdough Batard

A dark, crackling crust around a tight, tender crumb studded with toasty walnuts and a gentle hint of rosemary and maple, sliced for sandwiches.

Toasted Walnut Rosemary Sourdough Batard

Ingredients

  • 3¼ cups450 gBread flour
  • ½ cup50 gWhole wheat flour
  • 1½ cups350 gWaterlukewarm, divided
  • 3½ oz100 gActive sourdough starter (100% hydration)fed and at its peak
  • 1¾ tsp10 gSalt
  • 2¼ tsp15 gMaple syrup
  • ¾ cup chopped100 gWalnutstoasted, cooled and roughly chopped
  • 1¾ tsp2 gDried rosemarycrumbled

Steps

  1. Starter: about 4 to 6 hours before mixing (for example, 8 a.m.), give your starter its usual feeding and leave it at about 75°F (24°C) until it has doubled, is domed and bubbly, and is at its peak.
  2. While the starter rises, toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring, until fragrant; cool completely, then chop roughly.
  3. Autolyse: in a large bowl, mix the bread flour and the whole wheat flour with 320 g of the water (all but 30 g) until no dry patches remain. Cover and rest 1 hour.
  4. Add the starter and the maple syrup to the dough and squeeze and fold for 3 minutes until fully mixed. Rest 30 minutes.
  5. Sprinkle the salt over the dough, add the remaining 30 g of water, and squeeze it in until absorbed and the dough comes back together. The dough is about 73% hydration (counting the water in the starter) and 2% salt.
  6. Bulk rise at about 75°F (24°C) for 4 to 5 hours. After the first 30 minutes, spread the dough out, scatter the walnuts and the rosemary over it, and fold them in during the first set of stretch-and-folds.
  7. Do 3 more sets of stretch-and-folds, 30 minutes apart, then leave the dough undisturbed until it has grown about 50%, feels airy and jiggly, and shows bubbles on the sides.
  8. Turn the dough onto a clean, dry counter, pre-shape it into a loose round, and rest 20 minutes uncovered.
  9. Shape a tight batard, tucking any walnuts on the surface underneath, and place it seam side up in a towel-lined oval banneton or bowl.
  10. Cover and cold proof in the fridge for 12 to 14 hours overnight.
  11. Place a Dutch oven with its lid in the oven and preheat to 500°F (260°C) for 45 minutes.
  12. Turn the cold dough onto parchment, score one long, decisive slash down its length, and lower it into the hot Dutch oven.
  13. Cover, reduce the oven to 475°F (245°C) and bake 20 minutes.
  14. Uncover, reduce to 450°F (230°C) and bake 25 to 30 minutes more, until the crust is deeply browned and the center reads 205°F (96°C).
  15. Cool the loaf on a rack for at least 2 hours before slicing into 12 slices.

Food safety: Don't taste raw dough or batter: raw flour and raw eggs can carry germs.

Contains: Tree nuts, Gluten.

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Saved in the Every Helping recipe book on October 24, 2026.

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