Poppy Seed Yeasted Loaf

Ingredients

Poolish (Mix Friday Night)

A 100% hydration overnight preferment. This is what gives the yeasted version the flavor depth of the sourdough.

• 90g (¾ cup) Bread flour
• 90g (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) cold water
• 0.5g (small pinch (about ⅛ tsp)) instant yeast

Final Dough

Saturday morning mix. Bread flour + wholemeal at 80% hydration, with the active poolish providing the lift.

• 292.5g (2¼ cups) Bread flour
• 67.5g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) wholemeal flour
• 270g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) cold purified water
• 180g (¾ cup) active poolish from above
• 2g (½ tsp) instant yeast
• 9g (1½ tsp) fine sea salt
• 8g (1 tbsp) whole poppy seeds

Total flour: 450g

Hydration: 80%

Pro tip: Bread flour handles 80% hydration without fighting you. If you can't find it, use a strong all-purpose around 11-12% protein. King Arthur AP is the closest match. Bread flour tightens the crumb.

Equipment

Method

Build the Poolish

The poolish is a 100% hydration preferment that ferments overnight. It gives the yeasted version the flavor depth and extensibility you'd normally get from sourdough. This is the bridge.

1. Mix the Poolish. In a clean jar or small bowl, combine 90g bread flour, 90g cold water, and a small pinch of instant yeast (about 0.5g). Mix until smooth, like a thick pancake batter.
2. Rest Overnight. Cover loosely and leave at room temperature for 10-14 hours. By morning the poolish should be bubbly, slightly domed in the center, and smell sweet and yeasty. If it has collapsed and looks flat, it's gone too far. Build a fresh one or speed up your morning.

Wait: PT12H

Tip: If your kitchen runs cold (below 65°F / 18°C), use 1g of yeast instead of 0.5g. If it runs warm (above 75°F / 24°C), drop to a small pinch and check earlier in the morning.

Fermentolyse

Combine the poolish, flour, and water all at once. No yeast, no salt yet. Mix until no dry flour remains, then cover and rest. This is fermentolyse — Henry's standard method across all Crust & Crumb sourdough and yeasted recipes. The poolish brings pre-fermented flavor and pre-hydrated flour into the dough from the start, while the rest period gives the flour full time to hydrate and the gluten time to begin organizing. The instant yeast and salt come in next.

1. Add the Poolish. Add the 180g active poolish to your mixing bowl.
2. Add Flours and Water. Add the 292.5g T55 (or bread) flour, 67.5g wholemeal flour, and 270g cold water.
3. Mix Until Shaggy. Mix by hand or with a dough whisk until no dry flour remains. The dough will look shaggy and rough. That's expected.
4. Cover and Rest. Cover and rest for 1 hour. No instant yeast, no salt yet. Let the dough hydrate and the poolish begin its work.

Wait: PT1H

Tip: Why fermentolyse for a yeasted bread? Same reason as sourdough. Combining the poolish with the flour and water at the start gives you flavor development during the rest while still hydrating the flour fully. The result is a more cohesive dough by the time the salt and additional yeast come in, and a more flavorful loaf at the finish. One method across every recipe in the Pantry keeps your hands trained.

Add Yeast and Salt

Add the instant yeast and salt to the dough. This is when bulk fermentation truly begins. The salt slows fermentation just enough to give you a manageable timeline, and the added yeast gives you a reliable rise window for Saturday's bake.

1. Sprinkle the Yeast. Sprinkle the 2g instant yeast evenly across the top of the dough.
2. Sprinkle the Salt. Sprinkle the 9g salt across the top.
3. Pinch and Fold. Wet your hand and pinch the yeast and salt into the dough, working them through with a series of pinches and folds for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Check Dough Temperature. Aim for a final dough temperature of 80 to 82°F / 27 to 28°C.
5. Begin Bulk Fermentation. Cover and begin your bulk fermentation timing from here.

Wait: PT30M

First Coil Fold + Add Poppy Seeds

Same as the sourdough version. The coil fold builds structure gently, and dropping the poppy seeds in at this stage laminates them through the dough so they stay crunchy.

1. Sprinkle the Poppy Seeds. Sprinkle 8g whole poppy seeds evenly across the top of the dough.
2. Coil Fold. Wet both hands. Lift the dough from the middle. Let the bottom unfurl and tuck it under itself. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. The coil motion laminates the poppy seeds evenly without crushing them.

Wait: PT30M

Tip: Mixing the seeds in at autolyse softens them. Folding them in during the first coil is what keeps them crunchy in the final loaf.

Second Coil Fold

Same motion. The dough should already feel stronger and smoother.

1. Coil Again. Wet hands. Lift from the middle, let the bottom drop, tuck under. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat.

Wait: PT30M

Third Coil Fold

Surface bubbles should start to appear after this set. The dough holds its shape better and feels alive.

1. Final Full Coil. Same motion. By now you should see visible bubbles on the surface and the dough should hold a soft jiggle when you nudge the bowl.

Wait: PT30M

Half Coil (Set 3.5)

Two coils only. Front to back, then side to side. Then leave it alone for the rest of bulk.

1. Two Gentle Coils. Wet hands. One coil from front to back, one coil from side to side. That's it. No more folding.

Tip: At 80% hydration with 15% wholemeal, four full coil sets would over-develop the dough and tighten the crumb. The half set gives final structure without going past it.

Bulk Finish

Yeasted dough at 80°F (27°C) ferments faster than the sourdough version. Watch for the signs, not just the clock.

1. Watch the Dough. Look for a 50-75% rise, a domed top, soft jiggle, and bubbles visible on the sides of the bowl. At 78-80°F (26-27°C) this takes about 1.5 to 2 hours from the half coil. Cooler kitchens take longer.

Wait: PT1H30M

Tip: The yeasted version finishes bulk about 2 hours earlier than the sourdough version. That's expected. The two loaves will land at shaping at the same time.

Pre-Shape and Bench Rest

Pre-shape into a loose round to build initial tension.

1. Turn Out and Pre-Shape. Lightly flour your work surface. Tip the dough out gently. Using your bench scraper and a wet hand, shape it into a loose round by pulling the dough toward you and rotating.
2. Bench Rest. Leave the round uncovered on the bench for 20-30 minutes. This relaxes the gluten and makes final shaping easier.

Wait: PT30M

Final Shape

Same shaping technique as the sourdough version.

1. Flour and Flip. Lightly flour the top of the pre-shape. Use your bench scraper to flip the round so the floured side is now down.
2. Letter Fold. Fold the top over the center, then the bottom up, then the right side, then the left side. Imagine folding an envelope.
3. Roll and Seal. Flip seam-side down. Cup your hands around the dough and rotate, dragging it toward you to build a tight, smooth skin on top.
4. Into the Banneton. Heavily flour your banneton or linen-lined bowl. Place the dough seam-side UP. Pinch the seam closed if needed. More flour than you think.

Tip: Heavier on the flour than you think for the banneton. Yeasted dough at this hydration is slightly stickier than the sourdough version after retard.

Cold Retard

Same as the sourdough version. The cold retard makes scoring easier and gives you control over when you bake.

1. Cover and Refrigerate. Cover the banneton with a plastic bag or shower cap. Place it in the coldest part of your fridge. For same-day bake, 2-4 hours is plenty. For overnight bake, hold up to 14 hours at 4°C / 39°F for added flavor.

Wait: PT3H

Tip: Unlike the sourdough version where the retard is mostly for scoring, the yeasted version benefits from extra retard time for flavor. If you want a more complex loaf, take it overnight.

Preheat

Same preheat as the sourdough version. Both loaves go in at the same time.

1. Preheat at 482°F / 250°C. Place your Dutch oven or Challenger Pan inside the cold oven. Preheat at 250°C / 482°F for 1 full hour. Don't shortcut this.

Score and Bake

Two-temperature bake. Same as the sourdough version, so both paths come out of the oven together.

1. Turn Out and Score. Pull the banneton from the fridge. Tip the loaf onto a piece of parchment paper. One clean off-center slash with your lame, ¼ inch deep, held at a 30-degree angle.
2. Bake Covered. Lower the loaf on parchment into the hot Dutch oven. Cover with the lid. Bake at 250°C / 482°F for 30 minutes.
3. Bake Uncovered. Remove the lid. Reduce oven to 200°C / 392°F. Bake another 20 minutes until the crust is deeply mahogany and internal temperature reads 96-99°C / 205-210°F.
4. Cool. Transfer to a wire rack. Cool at least 1 hour before slicing. Cutting hot gives you gummy crumb. That's physics, not the bake.

Shape the Boule

Classic round boule. Letter fold for tension, roll and seal for a smooth top.

Boule (Round) (recommended)

The Saturday Bake-Along shape. Round, rustic, dramatic when scored.

1. Letter Fold. Top over center, bottom up, right side, left side.
2. Roll and Seal. Flip seam-side down. Drag on bench to build a tight skin.
3. Into the Banneton. Heavy flour. Seam-side UP.

Proof test: Press the cold dough gently with a floured finger. It should spring back slowly, leaving a slight indentation. Springs back immediately means under-proofed. Doesn't spring back at all means over-proofed.

Bake the Loaf

Two-temperature bake in a preheated Dutch oven. Identical to the sourdough version.

Oven: 250°C / 482°F. Internal temperature when done: 96-99°C / 205-210°F.

Dutch Oven or Challenger Pan (Recommended) (recommended)

Trapped steam plus radiant heat. The home baker's best tool for artisan crust.

Equipment: Dutch oven or Challenger Pan, preheated 1 hour at 250°C / 482°F

1. Preheat. Preheat at 250°C / 482°F for 1 full hour with the pan inside.
2. Bake Covered. 30 minutes at 250°C / 482°F with lid on.
3. Bake Uncovered. Remove lid, reduce to 200°C / 392°F, bake 20 minutes more.

Note: Internal temperature is the only doneness indicator that doesn't lie. 96-99°C / 205-210°F at the center is done.

Storage

• Room temperature: 2-3 days cut-side down on a board, no plastic
• Frozen: Slice first, double-wrap, up to 3 months
• Refresh: Skip the fridge. It stales faster than the counter. Refresh slices with a quick toast or warm at 350°F / 175°C for 5 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is fermentolyse and why use it instead of autolyse?

Fermentolyse combines the levain (or poolish, in this yeasted version) with the flour and water at the start of mixing, then rests the dough before adding salt and additional yeast. Traditional autolyse uses only flour and water in the rest, with the leavening added later. Fermentolyse gives you flavor development during the rest period while still hydrating the flour fully, and it eliminates an extra mixing step. This is the standard method used across all Crust & Crumb Academy recipes.

Why a poolish instead of just adding more yeast?

Direct-yeast bread at 80% hydration tends to be bland and floppy. The 12-hour poolish develops flavor compounds, pre-hydrates the flour, and gives the dough enough strength to handle this hydration. It's the bridge between speed and depth.

Can I skip the poolish and use only instant yeast?

You can, but the loaf will be noticeably different. If you must skip the poolish, replace it with 90g of the final dough flour and 90g of the water (moved from the dough portion), and bump the total instant yeast to 4g. The bread will be flatter in flavor but functional.

My poolish collapsed by morning. Can I still use it?

If it's only just collapsed and still smells sweet with active bubbles, use it. If it smells sharp like nail polish remover, build a fresh one. A collapsed poolish has spent most of its sugar and yeast activity.

How does the timing compare to the sourdough version?

The yeasted version finishes bulk fermentation about 2 hours earlier than the sourdough at the same temperature. We've adjusted the schedule so both versions land at shaping at the same time, and into the oven at the same time. Two paths, one bake.

What if my kitchen is cold (below 68°F / 20°C)?

Extend bulk fermentation by 30 minutes to an hour. Watch the dough, not the clock. Look for the 50-75% rise, the domed top, and visible side bubbles. Cool kitchens also benefit from a slightly warmer poolish ferment, so use 1g of yeast in the poolish instead of 0.5g.

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?

Yes. All-purpose flour works beautifully in this recipe, especially for the softer crumb that suits a poppy seed loaf. King Arthur AP runs around 11.7% protein, which is almost identical to French T55. Pillsbury and Gold Medal AP are slightly lower at around 10.5%. If you use AP, consider reducing your water by 5 to 10 grams since AP absorbs slightly less than bread flour.

What if I have T55 French flour on hand?

Use it. T55 is essentially a French all-purpose flour at around 11% protein. The recipe works with bread flour, AP, or T55. We swapped to bread flour as the primary call so the recipe is accessible to home bakers using flour they already have on the shelf.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 slice (~60g)): 150 calories, 29g carbohydrates, 5g protein, 1g fat, 2g fiber, 245mg sodium. Makes 10 servings.