In this instructional segment, Mario Sebok demonstrates the final shaping of a sourdough batard without using flour, opting instead to coat the loaf with a mixture of seeds (flax, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, and optional oats). He walks through the precise hand‑folding technique to create tension and achieve the classic batard silhouette, then lightly mistes the surface to help the seeds adhere. After the seed coating, he transfers the dough into a proofing basket (a tin lined with a tea towel), ensuring the loaf is upside‑down for the oven bake. He adds a thin layer of flour (referred to as “Rough Barn”) to prevent sticking, seals the seam, and tops the loaf with any remaining seeds. Finally, he outlines two proofing strategies: a warm proof of about 2 hours at roughly 32 °C, or a cold proof in the refrigerator for 8–30 hours, after which the loaf will be ready for baking. The segment is conversational, with both speakers confirming timing cues and expressing enthusiasm about the final product.
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And now we're gonna final shape it. Usually to final shape, you use flour. I'm not gonna use flour because I'm gonna coat the bread with the seeds.
So I slightly wet the counter again. I'll turn this around. Because that's the top part. This is the final shape in here. Be careful not to tear it. You just stretch it in triangle form. Like this. Just as much as it, it goes. Now you fold the top part like this. Stretch these 2 edges. And then you go one, and you go two, and down here you go one, and you go two, and then you come up here, stretch it a bit, and start rolling it into itself. Like that. Each one. This is a batard shape, and here while I'm rolling, I'm creating tension again on the top part as much as I can. Okay, and now this looks okay. We're going to cover this, coat it with water just a little bit to stick our seedlings all over. Coating it completely with seeds. What kind of seeds? Flax, sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin. It could be even only sesame if you want. It doesn't You could add even oats as well. And this is how it looks now. That's the buttered shape. This is going to prevent it from sticking, besides being very healthy and yummy.
Beautiful.
And now, We transfer it to our proofing basket, which is pretty much just a tin with a tea towel, and you're going to transfer it upside down. Oops, before I do that, I'm just going to add some Rough Barn for it not to stick, just in case. Although it shouldn't stick because this I don't know what the food is on it, but this prevents it completely from sticking. So there you go, into the basket. As you can see, the bottom part is facing up now because we're going to turn this in the— Oven. Oven. So it's going to go upside down. And here I still just finish to kind of sew it, stitch it together, the bottom part like this, stitch it together. And this last, last row of seeds here, I can just put it on top. And maybe just add a little bit of this barn for it not to stick around, because this is gonna grow. It should grow like double, double the size. That's it, bread is ready for the final proofing. So you cover it with the tea towel. And how long? Now it would need around— and with this weather, maybe 2 hours. 2 hours at 32 degrees Celsius.
29, but I'm gonna put in the fridge, and in the fridge 8 hours. So tomorrow morning— 8 to 30 hours. So tomorrow morning it's ready for baking.
