The Pane Sera is a bread made from all kinds of leftovers. You’ve already seen my discard jar, aka the Monster Mash. I love making pancakes from the old sourdough, but sometimes I need something different. And since I had to bake bread anyway, I made one from all the discards.

I’ve been making the Pane Sera for a few years now, and it looks different every time. It uses up quite a bit of sourdough and a lot of other kitchen odds and ends. Buttermilk, cheese, mashed potatoes, cold pasta, everything is possible.

This one’s mostly plain with a hint of bread spice. You need:

• 400g old doughs (sourdough discards, leftover pizza dough, etc. you can use up to 600g)
• 400g warm water
• 2 Tbsp active potato yeast
• 1 Tbsp bread spice (optional)
• 550g flour (I used mostly bread flour and a bit of whole emmer, you can use a whatever, just make sure you have at least 60% wheat or you need a bread pan)
• 15g salt

Mix everything, knead until the windowpane test is successful, then place the dough in an oiled bowl and place it for 24-48 hours in the fridge. The dough should be bubbly and puffy and well fermented.

Let the dough slide out of the bowl, gently form a loaf without pressing all the air out of the dough, and place it in a banneton. I use a brotform made from wood pulp.

Let the bread rise for 45 minutes to an hour, just long enough to pre-heat the oven including a dutch oven or a baking steel. The bread won’t change volume much, but the Pane Sera never does. It keeps all its power for the oven spring. That’s why you need to score the bread vigorously. This is not the time for elaborate ornaments, just slash it. Go deep!

Bake at 250°C falling to 210°C for 45-50 minutes with steam.

See what I mean? Ginormous oven spring!