When it comes to omelette fillings the combination of miso paste and hummus is complementary and comforting, although I suspect I'm the only one who tries something like that with their eggs. And, it is true that miso, and hummus, when spread on hot buttered toast are simply delicious. So, my thinking was that together they could make for a great combination in a bread, even if it is difficult to imagine!

The recipe is a combination of Benny's miso bread (which used 10% miso) and Txfarmer's hummus sourdough. Txfarmer used quite a lot of hummus - 265g per 340g of bread flour, and she also, quite importantly used home made hummus. Although I do make my own, for convenience sake I bought tub of hummus which unfortunately only gave me 187g of hummus (so I used less than txfarmer), and halfway through I was worried that using a commercial hummus wasn't so smart as the sorbic acid in it might negatively affect the sourdough culture, but it seems to have been okay. For miso, I used this lovely "marumu inaka" red/brown miso.

The final dough had 340g bread flour, 187g hummus, 34g miso paste, 152g water (plus an extra 30g water added later as bassinage), 100g levain, 7g salt and 10g vital wheat gluten (as "insurance"). I didn't reduce the salt, as Benny also didn't, but he also didn't add hummus, and my final bread was fairly salty. I'd say to reduce or even leave out the salt if you're going to try this bread. The final dough was mixed for 5 minutes on the dough hook followed by 30 slap and folds. My notes say it 'bounced' when I tried to slap and fold, so was not really as stretchable as a regular dough. As stated above, I did add an extra 30g of water 30 minutes after that too, and once again it didn't handle as it normally does, my notes also say that the dough was slow to get a good gluten stretch, and it is these unusual dough characteristics that should have kept me alert to the moisture in the dough.

I messed up the baking! Because the dough felt fairly robust and not slumpy in the banneton I assumed it would bake the same as a normal loaf and this wasn't the case. I baked it side by side with a regular sourdough and that was a mistake - my habit is to turn the loaves when I remove the steam trays after 20 minutes and this bread was still very wet and loose and should not have been turned, and this turn seemed to knock it into a strange and wonky shape. Perhaps I should also have given a few small scores rather than the single 'ear' type score as well to contain some slumping. It did get an extra 15 minutes in the oven with the door cracked open afterwards, but certainly this bread should have been baked more carefully, as one does with a wet slumpy dough, and requires at least a full hour of low and slow baking with foil tenting.

This bread was super delicious. As the main ingredients were generously used, with ample hummus and miso, the flavours really came through and shone. It made for a lovely savoury breakfast bread, and since we had a friend visiting who was appreciative, it was cut a little too early, and a little too hot. And was superb with melting butter on it. And, finally, gone within an hour.

Day 1

Hard to believe it's been almost a year since I've made a blog post!  The timing for the latest Community Bake was perfect as I've been wanting to try variants of two breads I've made recently.  The two breads are quite different, but both follow the same method...  A 2-build poolish using yeast water (14% PFF) combined with a loose biga (60% hydration) using ADY (10% PFF).

The yeast water was refreshed last weekend and refrigerated.  It was pulled from the fridge this morning to warm up and get good and active.  My yeast water has changed a bit over the last year.  I've stopped using honey and sea salt and have gone to a combination of blueberries and peeled Pink Lady apples.

The poolish for both breads was started late tonight and should be ready for mixing around 7:00-8:00 PM tomorrow night.

Method for both breads
1) Start first poolish build 18-20 hours before mixing.  Ferment 1st build at 75-77 deg F for 12 hours.
2) After 12 hours, combine 1st build with 2nd build ingredients and ferment at 75-77 deg F for 6-8 hours (or up to 12 hours if needed to develop good fermentation activity)
3) Combine scald ingredients with boiling water at the time of the 2nd build.  Cover and let cool on counter.
4) Mix biga ingredients at time of the 2nd build and ferment at 75-77 deg F for 6-8 hours.
5) Leaving out the salt, combine final dough ingredients with poolish, biga and scald.  Mix until flours are just wetted.  Fermentolyse for 15-20 minutes.
6) Add salt and develop dough to medium gluten using your preferred technique.
7) Stretch and folds on 30-45 minute intervals until dough starts to show signs of fermentation.  Cover and refrigerate overnight to finish bulk.
8) Remove from refrigerator and let dough warm up at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.  Degas dough and pre-shape followed by 30-45 minute bench rest.
9)  Shape for pan or banneton depending on preference/dough strength.
10)  Bake after final proof.

It's late...  Ingredients lists and photo updates tomorrow... 

Day 2

Busy day but making progress...  

The 1st yeast waster build doesn't look all that impressive.  Because of the high hydration (200%), there really isn't a dough.  It's more like a soup and any fermentation gases are usually not trapped.  You won't see much.  Just a few bubbles in the dough and maybe a couple on the surface.  But...  the aroma coming from the container when opened lets you know good things are happening!

Rye poolish after 1st build

Kamut poolish - 1st build.  The Kamut is harder and a little coarser than the rye.  Notice how the fermentation bubbles have classified the bran to the top leaving the flour to settle to the bottom.

Bread flour biga gently mixed until just wetted.  Ready for fermentation.

Roasted cereal grains (barley, buckwheat, and Bloody Butcher cornmeal) ready for milling

Roasted cereal grains/sunflower seeds and Ginger/Coconut flour/White rice flour/Roasted sesame seed scalds ready for boiling water

More to come later tonight after mixing along with full ingredient list....

Day 3
And they're baked!  Take a step back and include the ingredient list...

Roasted Cereal Grains (Total Ingredient List)
148.5g  Bread Flour
148.5g  Turkey Red (Fresh milled)
63g       Whole Rye (Fresh milled)
18g       Whole Spelt
18g       Whole Einkorn
18g       Bloody Butcher cornmeal (Roasted)
18g       Buckwheat (Roasted)
18g       Hulled Barley (Roasted)
225g     Water
90g       Blueberry-Apple Yeast Water
9g         Sea Salt
13.5g    Molasses
13.5g    Honey
4.5g      Coriander
22.5g    Sunflower Seeds (Roasted)
0.5g      Active Dry Yeast (ADY)

1st Poolish Build
18g      Whole Rye
36g      Yeast Water

2nd Poolish Build
45g      Whole Rye
27g      Yeast Water

Biga
45g     Bread Flour
27g     Water
0.2g    ADY

Scald
18g     Bloody Butcher
18g     Buckwheat
18g     Barley
22.5g  Sunflower seeds
133g   Water (boiling)

Honey Ginger Sesame (Total Ingredient List)
148.5g  Bread Flour
148.5g  Turkey Red
63g       Whole Kamut (Fresh milled)
22.5g    Whole Spelt (Fresh milled)
45g       Coconut Flour
22.5g    White Rice Flour
225g     Water
90g       Blueberry-Apple Yeast Water
9g         Sea Salt
22.5g    Honey
22.5g    Fresh Ginger Root (minced)
11.3g    Sesame Seeds (Roasted)
0.5g      Active Dry Yeast (ADY)

1st Poolish Build
18g      Whole Kamut
36g      Yeast Water

2nd Poolish Build
45g      Whole Kamut
27g      Yeast Water

Biga
45g     Bread Flour
27g     Water
0.2g    ADY

Scald
45g     Coconut Flour
22.5g  White Rice Flour
22.5g  Ginger Root
11.3g  Sesame Seeds
135g   Water (boiling)

Poolishes after 2nd Build...  I had some scheduling conflicts and these went longer than they should.  They were ready at about 9 hours, but I didn't mix until 12 hours.  The Kamut formed a weaker dough or finished sooner.  At the 9 hour mark it looked like the rye, but it collapsed significantly.

Bulk was 3 hours followed by a 20 minute bench rest after final shape and then 7 hours final proof in the refrigerator.

Baked with steam for 4 minutes (450 deg F), 4 minutes (425 deg F), 14 minutes (400 deg F).  Vented oven and then baked 20 minutes (425 deg F), 20 minutes (375 deg F).  I didn't get the bloom I was hoping for, especially with the Honey Ginger.  It's my first time using coconut flour and I was surprised at how thirsty it was during the scald.  In the end, this loaf smells wonderful and I think it will have a soft crumb, but it is more along the lines of a Gluten Free or high rye loaf in density.  Overall though, I think they will both taste great, which is priority #1!

Honey Ginger Sesame on the left

This was made out of whole unroasted buckwheat groats, soaked and inoculated with a pinch of rye starter. Fermentation was fast and extremely vigorous. Buckwheat groats are quick to fermented on their own,  but they develop really bad stink in the process. With the help of the mature rye starter they smelled really rather nice. 

Fermented groats were blended into dough. I added some coriander and caraway, and, obviously,  salt.

The mixture was poured into prepared pan. Final proof was a little too short and resulted in cracks on the surface,  but it was late and I wanted to bake and go to sleep. 

The texture of this bread is really nice, with a feel of "melt in your mouth". Taste is  very good, mild and pleasantly acidic, with notes of of spices that were used in the process. The taste of buckwheat is present, but not not overpowering. 

20231102_090724~2.jpg

This bread uses rye and wheat flours in the same proportions as dmsyder's San Joaquin breads, but the process and levain are different, and the rye is toasted. I included a little sugar because that seems to go well with the rye.

The loaves proved to a surprisingly large size, baked up beautifully, have a wonderful crust, an open crumb, and a mild lovely flavor with cereal notes.  I don't taste any sourness.

The dough has 65% hydration (not counting the starter ingredients) and 30% starter, with no levain build stage.  The shaped loaves were proofed freestanding and retarded overnight in the refrigerator. Pictures first, then details.  The sheen on the crust is not an illusion. Actually, in person the sheen is even more pronounced. It's something I expect to get on most of my free-standing bakes.

The truncated bit on the left side of the crumb photo is where the two loaves merged, like Siamese twins joined at the hip.

Formula
=======
Total flour 600g (not including starter)
---------------------
      5% toasted rye
    10% whole wheat (93% extraction stone ground)
    85% all purpose Pillsbury Unbleached All Purpose)

30% starter (100% hydration, fresh white AP flour))

65% water
2.0% sugar
2.5% salt

This produced two loaves of about 475g each, or a little more than one pound.

Process
========
- toast rye
- mix starter, all flours, salt, sugar, water
- rest 30 - 45 minutes
- knead/stretch
- 2 S&F in hands over next 1.5 hours
- finish bulk ferment (5 hours total)
- scale, form two loaves, preform, rest 10 minutes
- proof loaves 1.5 hr covered with plastic wrap
- refrigerate loaves overnight
- warm up loaves 45 minutes, uncovered last 10
- preheat oven to 450° F
- bake with steam at 425° F for 38 minutes
- cool down in vented oven for 4 minutes (turned off).

The dough rose quickly in both bulk ferment and final proof, where it took me by surprise. I have a tendency to underproof my loaves - though they seem developed by the poke test - and though I was worried these had overproofed since they had swelled so much, as you see they came out quite beautiful.

The loaves proofed side-by-side on a parchment-covered plastic cutting board.  They got so big that in the end they touched and merged together at the middle, like a tray of buns. They started to overflow the cutting board by bake time.

As usual I baked with a baking steel and steam.  My oven vents steam out of a range-top vent within a few minutes, and this time I blocked the vent for a few minutes to keep more steam in the oven longer.  The dramatic sheen and the rich color you can see in the pictures are enhanced by the steam.  I used to get them with a previous oven, but my present one vents more aggressively.

The crust is very crackly and flakes into shards when you bite it, and you can bite through it without a fight.  The crumb is very open for a 65% hydration bread. It's a little soft, which might be because I didn't wait for a complete cooldown, or could be a hint to use bread flour next time.

All in all, a big success.

TomP