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Pan Payés · Catalan Country Loaf

Bread flour + whole-wheat flour + water + salt + sourdough starter, autolysed 60 minutes, folded-not-kneaded over 4 hours, cold-proofed overnight in the fridge, and baked in a preheated Dutch oven at 250°C for 45 minutes. The resulting loaf has the crackling burnt-sugar crust of a wood-fired Catalan village oven, a chewy open crumb, and a subtle sourdough tang. Built for pa-amb-tomaquet, for a Sunday family lunch, for a tapa of cured ham + olive oil. Teaches the long-ferment country-bread archetype — the lineage that underlies every rustic Mediterranean loaf from Pa de Pagès to Pane di Matera to Tartine's country loaf.

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Bread · Pan de Cada Día · Sunday Lunch Centerpiece
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None (bread)
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1 × ~1 kg boule · 10-14 slices · Sunday lunch for 4-6 with leftovers
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1 h autolyse + 4 h bulk fold + 14 h cold proof + 45 min bake = ~20 h total (mostly passive)

The Bread That Anchors a Catalan Kitchen

Pan payés (Catalan: pa de pagès, literally 'farmer's bread') is the traditional Catalan country loaf. Every Catalan village bakery historically made a version of it + it remains the pan de cada día (everyday bread) across Catalan rural + urban households. The loaf is round, large (800-1200 g), with a thick crackling crust, an open moderately-chewy crumb, and a subtle sourdough tang. It's the bread that anchors the Catalan kitchen — the one that goes under pa-amb-tomaquet ✅, holds Ibérico ham, sops up allioli + fish juice, and still tastes good on day 3-4 from the cut loaf.

The technique is long-ferment country bread — a bread-family that uses sourdough starter + extended fermentation (overnight cold-proof) to produce complex flavor + open crumb + long shelf life. The lineage extends across Mediterranean: Pa de Pagès (Catalan), Pane di Matera (Italian — the famous stone-oven Puglia loaf), Tartine's country loaf (San Francisco), La Vineria de Zentone sourdough (Basque), Sullivan Street Bakery (NYC). Different region, different flour, different hydration — same underlying technique of long-ferment + moderate-kneading-via-folds + overnight cold-proof + Dutch-oven or stone-hearth bake.

The key technique teachings here are: autolyse (mix flour + water 60 min before starter addition, develops gluten passively), stretch-and-fold technique (replaces kneading for high-hydration doughs), cold retard (overnight fridge proof for flavor development + easy shaping), and Dutch-oven bake (lid-on for steam → lid-off for crust, replaces professional steam-injection oven).

Pan payés is different from the master sourdough loaf ✅ (Batch 1) in three ways: (1) it incorporates whole-wheat flour (15-25%) for rustic flavor + darker crust, (2) the hydration is slightly lower (70-72% vs 75-78% for the master loaf), making it easier to shape + handle, (3) the shape is a taller, slightly-domed round rather than an oblong batard. The two breads complement each other — master sourdough is the San-Francisco-style open-crumb showpiece; pan payés is the everyday Catalan workhorse. A serious bread kitchen makes both on rotation.

Ingredients

for 1 × ~1 kg boule · 10-14 slices · Sunday lunch for 4-6 with leftovers

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Everyday

The Flours

400 g bread flour (12.5% protein) — King Arthur Bread Flour
100 g whole-wheat flour — King Arthur Premium 100% Whole Wheat or Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground Whole Wheat

The Water + Starter

360 g water (filtered or bottled; tap water with high chlorine levels inhibits fermentation)
120 g active fed sourdough starter — use the starter built from sourdough-starter-nacimiento ✅ or the starter in your existing master sourdough ✅ workflow. Feed starter 8-12 h before mixing; use when it has doubled + is bubbly + passes the float test (spoonful floats in water).

The Salt

12 g (2 tsp) fine sea salt

For Shaping + Baking

Rice flour (for dusting the proofing basket / banneton)
Parchment paper (for transferring dough to Dutch oven)
Optional: flour for scoring dust

No Limits

The Flours (Tier B)

400 g Grist & Toll Red Fife bread flour (Pasadena shipping) OR Anson Mills Glenn bread flour (heritage wheat, South Carolina). Stone-ground heritage wheat = more-complex flavor + better crust color + stronger gluten profile.
100 g Grist & Toll whole-grain Jumaica or Janie's Mill Rouge de Bordeaux (heritage whole wheat; deeper flavor)

The Water + Starter (Tier B)

360 g filtered water (Culligan or reverse-osmosis; chlorine-free)
120 g 3+ month mature sourdough starter — starter that's been fed 3+ months, shows strong + reliable rise (doubles in 4-6 h), pleasant lactic-acid aroma (not acetone or vinegar)

The Salt (Tier B)

12 g Sal de Ibiza flake salt (crushed fine) OR Maldon flake salt (crushed fine) — mineral-complex salt gives the crumb a subtle mineral note

Mise en Place

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Starter fed 8-12 h before mixing; verify ready with float test + doubled + bubbly
Water at ~26°C / 80°F (warm to the touch, not hot)
Flours weighed into mixing bowl
Salt weighed separately
Bench scraper + proofing basket + rice flour ready
Plan: mix Friday 16:00 → autolyse until 17:00 → add starter + fold cycles 17:00-21:00 → pre-shape 21:00 → final shape 21:15 → cold retard Friday 21:15 to Saturday 11:00 → bake Saturday 11:00

Method

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Phase 1 · Autolyse — 60 min (passive)

In a large mixing bowl, combine 400 g bread flour + 100 g whole-wheat flour. Whisk to blend.

Add 360 g water (~26°C). Mix with a spatula or your hand until no dry flour remains. The mixture will be shaggy + rough + sticky.

Cover the bowl. Let stand at room temperature 60 minutes .

Do NOT add starter or salt yet. This is the autolyse phase only.

Phase 2 · Add Starter + Salt + First Fold — 5 min active

After autolyse: add 120 g starter + 12 g salt to the dough.

Use a wet hand to pinch + fold + squish the starter + salt into the dough. Work the entire bowl until homogeneous — no streaks of starter, no gritty salt patches. About 3-5 minutes.

The dough will feel tight + tacky at first; as you work, it becomes smoother + more unified.

Cover the bowl. Set a timer for 30 minutes (until first stretch-fold).

Phase 3 · Bulk Ferment with Stretch-Folds — 4 hours

Perform stretch-folds every 45 minutes for the first 3 hours (4 total stretch-folds).

Stretch-fold technique: wet your hand (prevents sticking). Grab one edge of the dough, stretch UP + fold it over to the opposite side. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees. Repeat 3 more times — 4 total stretches per fold cycle. Cover the bowl.

First fold at 30 min (after salt + starter added). Second at 75 min. Third at 120 min. Fourth at 165 min.

After the 4th fold: let the dough rest undisturbed for the remaining 1 hour of bulk (until 4 h total from starter addition).

The dough will transform over the 4 hours: from tacky + wet-feeling → smooth + elastic → airy + jiggly with visible bubbles on top.

Bulk ends when the dough has grown ~50-75% in volume + is jiggly + has visible bubbles. This is NOT a 'full double' — only a partial rise. Full rise comes during cold retard.

Phase 4 · Pre-Shape + Final Shape — 15 min active

Turn the bulk-fermented dough onto a lightly-floured work surface.

Pre-shape: use a bench scraper to gently gather the dough into a rough ball. Use surface tension — drag the bench scraper around the dough to tighten the surface.

Let the pre-shaped ball rest on the counter for 15-20 minutes (bench rest).

Final shape: turn the dough seam-side up. Stretch it gently into a rough rectangle. Fold the top third down + the bottom third up (like a letter). Rotate 90°. Repeat the letter-fold.

Flip the dough seam-side down. Shape into a tight round boule by cupping + rotating.

Transfer the boule seam-side UP into a banneton that's been generously dusted with rice flour (rice flour prevents sticking better than wheat flour).

Cover with plastic wrap or a shower cap. Place in refrigerator for overnight cold retard (14-18 h ideal).

Phase 5 · Cold Retard — 14-18 h (overnight)

In the refrigerator at 4°C, the dough will slowly continue fermentation + develop flavor.

The dough should be in the banneton seam-side up, covered loosely to prevent drying but not airtight (fermentation produces CO2).

Minimum retard: 14 hours. Ideal: 16-18 hours. Maximum: 24 hours (beyond this, dough over-proofs + collapses).

Plan: mix Friday 17:00 (starter add) → bulk until 21:00 → shape 21:15 → retard Friday 21:15 to Saturday 11:00 = 14 h retard. Or mix Friday 16:00 → retard 20:00 to Saturday 12:00 = 16 h retard.

Phase 6 · Preheat + Bake — 1 h preheat + 45 min bake

Place empty Dutch oven (with lid) on a rack in the middle of your oven. Pre-heat oven to 250°C / 482°F for at least 1 hour. The Dutch oven must be thoroughly hot.

When ready to bake: take the dough straight from the fridge. Do NOT warm to room temp first.

Place a piece of parchment over the banneton; set a plate on top; flip the banneton over. The dough is now on the parchment, seam-side down.

Score the top of the loaf with a lamé in a single deep cross (or diagonal slash). Score quickly + confidently; hesitation produces ragged cuts.

Open the oven; carefully remove the hot Dutch oven + put the lid on the counter.

Use the parchment as handles to lower the dough into the hot Dutch oven. The parchment stays with the dough.

Replace the lid on the Dutch oven + return to the oven.

BAKE: 25 minutes covered. Then REMOVE the lid (be careful; steam will escape) + bake 20 more minutes uncovered.

Total bake: 45 minutes .

Loaf is done when: internal temperature is 97-99°C (measured at center; poke thermometer through the bottom), crust is deep mahogany-brown with visible caramelization, tap on the bottom sounds hollow.

Phase 7 · Cool + Slice — 60+ min

Remove the loaf from the Dutch oven using the parchment.

Transfer to a cooling rack. Do NOT slice while hot — the internal structure is still setting.

Cool at least 60 minutes . 90 min is better. The loaf is fully cooled at 2 hours.

Slice with a serrated bread knife. The first slice should reveal the open crumb + glossy holes.

Store cut-side down on a wood cutting board at room temp (do NOT wrap in plastic — traps moisture + softens crust). Keeps 3-5 days.

Timeline

Day 1, 15 30: Feed starter (8 h ahead)
Day 1, 16 00: Autolyse — combine water + flour only, mix + rest 60 min
Day 1, 17 00: Add starter + salt + mix in + bulk start
Day 1, 17 30: First stretch-fold
Day 1, 18 15: Second stretch-fold
Day 1, 19 00: Third stretch-fold
Day 1, 19 45: Fourth stretch-fold
Day 1, 21 00: Bulk ends; turn out + pre-shape
Day 1, 21 15: Final shape + into banneton
Day 1, 21 15: Cold retard — into fridge
Day 2, 10 00: Preheat Dutch oven in 250°C oven (1 h preheat minimum)
Day 2, 11 00: Transfer dough to parchment + Dutch oven + score + lid on
Day 2, 11 25: Remove lid
Day 2, 11 45: Remove loaf; cool 60+ min on rack before slicing