Overnight Preferment Bread | Loaf Made with Overnight Preferment

Mix the flour, water, and 1 gram of yeast for the preferment with a fork until no dry flour remains; it should have the consistency of a pourable pancake batter. Loosely cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature. You cannot measure 1 gram by eye, so use a precise scale; too much yeast will consume the preferment overnight and leave it collapsed by morning.

By morning, the preferment should have risen, developed bubbles on the surface, and begun to dip slightly in the center; this is its ripest stage. Add the remaining flour, water, yeast, and salt, and knead for 8 minutes. The dough is ready when a piece stretches into a thin membrane.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Fold the edges toward the center to shape a long loaf, then place it on parchment paper with the seam underneath. Cover and let it rise for the final proof.

Preheat the oven to 230°C / 445°F and place a pan filled with water on the lower rack. Use a razor blade to score a deep line lengthwise across the loaf, then bake for 40 minutes. It is done when the crust is dark golden and the score has opened clearly. Cool completely on a wire rack; bread cut while hot will have a gummy interior.