Isand66's blog

I was trying to get into the holiday spirit so I asked my wife what type of bread she wanted me to make next and she immediately asked for a chocolate chip Challah with cherries.

I decided to use a sourdough starter and followed the Coconut Yeast Water Challah formula I had made last year which came out very nice.  This dough is very wet and does not really allow for braiding, so if you want to braid it you should cut down on the water even though the overall hydration is only 68% most of it comes from the egg yolks.

I ended up baking this a little too boldly for this type of bread since I needed to run out for lunch and get back in time for a meeting.  I  turned up the heat a bit since it was taking a long time to finish baking and still almost took 2 hours to bake.

The end result is a nice breakfast/dessert bread with a ton of chocolate goodness.  My wife thought it could have been sweeter so next time I would increase the honey or add some white sugar to the mix.  My wife also insisted on adding some cinnamon/chocolate sugar on top right before baking which ended up burning off mostly, so next time that would be omitted.

If I make this again, I would also add some cocoa powder to the dough itself to make it more interesting even though I used so many chocolate chips and cherries you can't help but get a taste in each bite.

Procedure

Starter Preparation

Mix the starter with the water and break it up.  Next add the flour and mix until incorporated.   Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 5-6 hours until you have a bubbly active starter.  Either refrigerate for a day or use right away in the main dough.

Main Dough

Mix the flour with the egg yolks and water for about 1 minute.   Let the dough autolyse for 30 minutes to an hour in your bowl covered with a cloth or plastic wrap.  Next add in the starter, salt, oil, vanilla and honey and mix on speed #1 for 4 minutes and #2 for 2 minutes or by hand.  This dough is very wet but it should start to come together after mixing but will still be very wet.  Now add the chocolate chips and dried cherries into the bowl and mix until incorporated for about 1 minute.

Next take the dough out of the bowl and place it on your work surface or in an oiled proofing bowl.  Do a stretch and fold and rest the dough uncovered for 10 minutes.  Place the dough in an oiled bowl after the rest and do another stretch and fold and cover the dough in the bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes.  Do one more stretch and fold and put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and let it sit at room temperature covered for 2 hours.  (If the dough is still too lose, you can do several more stretch and folds until you are ready to put in the refrigerator). After 2 hours you can put the dough into the refrigerator for 24 hours or up to 2 days before baking.  (Note: this dough is very moist and you may want to add more flour, but try to resist or you will make it too dry.  It will firm up while in the refrigerator overnight.)

The next day (or when ready to bake) let the dough sit out at room temperature for 2 hours.  After 2 hours form the dough into your desired shape and put them in floured bannetons, bowls or molds.  If desired use an egg wash of 1 beaten whole egg with a little water.  I added 2 coats to try and get it shiny.

Set your oven for 450 degrees F. at least 30 minutes before ready to bake.  When ready to bake place the loaves into your on  your oven stone with steam and lower the temperature immediately to 350 degrees.  Bake until the loaf reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F. which in this case took about 2 hours.  I'm not sure why this took so long this time as the last time I made this it only took about 70 minutes.  I also started the oven at 550F this time and lowered it to 450 and then 350 F until I got impatient during the last 30 minutes and put it back to 425 F.

Let the loaves cool down for at least an hour or so before eating as desired.

   This past weekend I decided to make 2 different styles of bread, with one being a classic Pain au Levain and the other a new higher percentage Jewish Rye.  I will post on the rye separately shortly.

I have made different versions of Pain au Levain in the past with moderate success so I wanted to change-up the flour a little and also add some barley flakes to hopefully add another layer of flavor.

I used a high percentage of KAF French style flour which I love baking these hearth style breads with and one of my favorite whole wheat flours called Turkey Whole Wheat.  I also added some white rye to make it interesting.

The final bread turned out just as I was hoping for with a nice thick chewy crust and an open crumb.  The taste was just enough sour tang along with the whole wheat nutty flavor profile.  My wife who tends to be very picky about my breads, ate more than half the loaf herself over the last few days, some even with no butter or cheese which is a major compliment to yours truly.

This is also a great bread to eat with a nice hearty soup or use to make a grilled cheese sandwich for the snowy cold days that have already arrived.  My apprentice Max gave it 2 paws up and was eager to taste another slice after his first romp in the snow.

Formula

Levain Directions

Mix all the Levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours, and 275 grams of the water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces) and mix on low for a minute.  Add the rest of the water unless the dough is way too wet.   Mix on low-speed for another 5 minutes.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.  I made 1 large boule shape.   Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.  The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 500 degrees and after another 3 minutes lower it to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 210 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

For Thanksgiving we were visiting my wife's family in North Carolina as we always do and as usual we brought have our kitchen with us so we could bake for the main feast.

This year I made a double batch of my German Sourdough Pumpernickel Pretzel Rolls and another version of my Tangzhong Onion rolls.  I changed up some of the flour and also added some shredded cheese in the mix for added flavor.

Tangzhong is the technique of heating a portion of the flour and liquid in your recipe to approximately 65C to make a paste (roux).  At this temperature the flour undergoes a change and gelatinizes.  By adding this roux to your final dough it will help create a soft, fluffy, moist open crumb.  It is also supposed to help prevent the bread from going stale.

It is not very difficult to do a Tangzhong.  Use a  5 to 1 liquid to solid ratio (so 250g liquid to 50g flour) and mix it together in a pan.  Heat the pan while stirring constantly.  Initially it will remain a liquid, but as you approach 65C it will undergo a change and thicken to an almost pudding like consistency.  Take it off the heat and let it cool before using it in your recipe.  Some people will refrigerate it for a while but you can use it right away as soon as it cools.

The rolls were a big hit along with the pretzel rolls.  If you try these you won't be disappointed.

Please note I had to use my I-Phone to take the photos so they are not exactly up to my usual standards but hopefully you can stand to look at them :).

Formula

Note: Tangzhong consisted of 30 grams European Style Flour, 20 grams Durum Flour and 250 grams Cream.  I included this in the overall formula below.

Levain Directions

Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Cut up the onion into rings and sauté on low heat until nice and canalized using some olive oil or butter in your pan. Let the onions cool completely and chop into smaller pieces before using in the dough.

Prepare the Tangzhong per directions above and allow to cool to room temperature.

Mix the flours, Tangzhong and cream together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  Next add the salt, potatoes and starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), and  mix on low for a minute.   Mix for a total of 13 minutes in your mixer starting on low-speed and working your way up to speed #3 for the last 5 minutes.  When you have about one minute left to mix add the cheese to get it evenly incorporated.  I used a mixed cheese blend that was shredded.  (Note: I didn't follow my own directions and only mixed for about 6 minutes on speed #1.  If you want the rolls to be lighter it is better to mix for the total amount of time as originally indicated).  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and cut into equal size pieces and shape into rolls.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover with moist tea towels or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, using a simple egg wash brush each roll and sprinkle on your topping of choice.   Next add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 425 degrees.  Bake for 35 minutes until the crust is nice and brown.

Take the rolls out of the oven when done and let them cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

I love baking with Durum flour and bake with it all the time, so I figured it was time to finally make a 100% Durum bread.  I have not used the 36 hour method in a while so I incorporated it into this bake and used some KAF Durum flour in the 2 stage starter and in the final dough.  Technically there is a little bit of AP flour in the seed starter but I hope you won't hold that against me.

The technique I used for this bake creates a pretty sticky dough so it's not for the faint of heart but if you are willing to take the plunge you will be rewarded with an open and moist crumb and crispy crust.

I decided to make one large miche and used one of my Good Will finds for the banneton which left a nice pattern on the bread.

Directions

Semolina Starter Build 1

Mix ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined.  Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for around 8 hours.  The starter should almost double when ready to proceed.

Semolina Starter Build 2

Add to Build 1 Starter:

100 grams Durum Flour

100 grams Water at Room Temperature (80-90 degrees F.)

Mix ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined.  Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for around  4 - 6 hours.  The starter should almost double when ready to proceed.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flour and the ice water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Put the dough in a slightly covered oiled bowl and put in the refrigerator for 12 hours.

The next day add your starter and salt to the dough and mix by hand until it is thoroughly mixed and evenly distributed.  Due to the high water content in the 100% hydration starter this dough is very easy to mix by hand and is very silky and smooth.

Bulk rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours until it grows around 1/3 in volume doing stretch and folds every half hour until it has developed the correct amount of strength.

Put the dough back into the refrigerator for around 20-24 hours.  I took it out about 20 hours later.

When you take the dough out of the refrigerator you want it to have almost doubled in volume.  Mine only rose about 1/3 in volume.  Let it rise at room temperature for around 2 hours or until the dough has doubled from the night before.

Next, divide the dough and shape as desired and place them in their respective basket(s).

Cover the dough with a moist towel and let sit at room temperature for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Score the loaves as desired and prepare your oven for baking with steam.

Set your oven for 525 degrees F. at least 45 minutes before ready to bake.  When ready to bake place the loaves into your oven on your oven-stone with steam and let it bake for 10 minutes and then lower the temperature  to 450 degrees.    When the loaf is golden brown and reached an internal temperature of 210 degrees F. you can remove it from the oven.

Let the bread cool down for at least an 3 hours or so before eating as desired.

Max getting in the Thanksgiving spirit with his Bird Hat

I've made English Muffins in the past and I thought it was time to try them again but with a few twists.

I've been craving some bacon lately and I had some left over sautéed onions from our dinner the other night so I figured these would go well in this new formula.  I wanted to see how mashed potatoes would work in this concoction as well.  I've been on a maple syrup kick since our trip to Vermont a few weeks ago, so that went in the cauldron in place of the sugar.  Of course some mixed cheese with Parmesan, Asiago and Fontina needed to be added as well as the Greek style yogurt which accounts for around 74% of the additional water in the recipe.

Oh, and I forgot to mention I used my Yeast Water to make the starter and added some Spelt flour and 00 Italian style flour just to make it interesting.

The end result was as good as I hoped for and I wish you could taste these toasted for yourself.  You almost don't need anything on them they smell and taste so good.

Enjoy!

FORMULA

Directions

Mix flour, starter, water, sautéed onions (chopped in to small pieces) and yogurt in your mixing bowl and mix for 1-2 minutes to combine.

Cover the bowl and let it sit out at room temperature overnight or for at least 9-10 hours.

The next morning add the rest of the ingredients and mix for a minute.  Knead the dough either with your mixer or by hand for around 4 minutes, adding additional flour if necessary.  Next roll out the dough to about 3/4" thickness on your work surface.  You will have to put some bench flour on the work surface to prevent the dough from sticking.  Using  4" biscuit cutter or can, cut the muffins out and place on a pan lined with parchment paper dusted with corn meal or semolina flour.  You should end up with 5-6 muffins.  If necessary you can combine the scraps and roll out again but you may need to let it rest before rolling.

Cover the muffins with a clean misted or floured towel and let rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

Heat your griddle or heavy skillet to medium or around 350 degrees  and when ready to cook spray some cooking spray on the cooking surface before placing the English Muffins in the pan.

Cover the pan to create some steam and let cook for around 5 minutes or until the bottoms are nice and brown.  Flip and cook another 5 minutes and remove to a baking rack to cool.

Today it's snowing.  Not enough to bring out the snow-blower but enough to enjoy a nice cup of soup with a sandwich made with my hearty multi-grain bread.  I've made similar breads before and I followed the basic procedure but I varied the soaker/scald ingredients and the combination of flours in the main dough.

I used some Vermont maple syrup infused with vanilla to add a touch of sweetness to offset some of the bitterness from all the whole grains used in the recipe.

I cooked the whole grains with 290 grams of water on my stove top and let it come to a boil for about 5 minutes.  I then transferred the scald to a bowl and let it sit overnight covered.  The scald absorbed all of the water so I adjusted my final water amount accordingly.  I still ended up with a very moist dough but one that was manageable.

I really like the way the crust and crumb came out on this bake.  A nice dark thick crust with a chewy interior, perfect for the cold days and nights ahead.

I have to say I've bought multi-grain breads from the supermarket in the past and there is just no comparison to this healthy and tasty bread.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours with the water and honey in your mixer or by hand for 1 minute leaving 50 grams of water to add later.   Let the dough autolyse for 20 minutes to an hour in your bowl and make sure to cover it.  Next add in the salt, olive oil and the soaker and mix for 2 minutes.  Add the balance of the water as needed and mix for an additional 4 minutes.  The dough should have come together in a ball and be tacky but not too sticky.

Next take the dough out of the bowl and place it on your work surface or a clean dough rising bucket sprayed with cooking spray.  Do a stretch and fold and rest the dough uncovered for 10 minutes.  After the rest do another stretch and fold and cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.  Do one more stretch and fold and put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and let it sit at room temperature covered for 2 hours.  After 2 hours you can put the dough into the refrigerator for 24 hours or up to 2 days before baking.  Feel free to do some additional S & F's if you feel it is necessary.  I baked the bread about 24 hours later.

The next day (or when ready to bake) let the dough sit out at room temperature for 1.5 - 2  hours.

Next, form the dough into your desired shape and put them in floured bannetons, bowls or on a baking sheet and let them rise covered for 2 hours or until they pass the poke test.  Score the loaves as desired and prepare your oven for baking with steam.  I made one large miche for this bake.  I also added some organic oat bran to the bottom of the basket which adds a nice texture to the outside of the bread.

Set your oven for 525 degrees F. at least 30 minutes before ready to bake.  When ready to bake place the loaves into your on  your oven stone with steam and let it bake for about 5 minutes.  Next lower the temperature to 500 degrees for about 2 minutes and then lower to 450 degrees.   Since I baked this as a miche I then lowered the temperature to 425 degrees about half way through the bake until it was finished.  When you have a nice dark crust and the internal temperature reaches at least 210 degrees you can take it out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack.

Let the loaves cool down for at least an 6 hours or so before eating as desired.

  I was asked to make some rolls for Thanksgiving again this year so I decided to try to turn my Sweet Potato Maple Pecan bread into rolls.  In the original bake I had discovered that I used way too high of a hydration in the dough so this time since I was making rolls I cut down on the hydration considerably.  My calculations say 53% total dough hydration and 78% with the add-ins but since the sweet potato variety I used this time was a red variety with white flesh I think the moisture content of the potatoes may have been less than calculated.

I decided to add some cranberries to go along with the holiday theme which definitely added a nice tough to these rolls.  I also used milk instead of water this time to try to make the crumb a little softer which I stole from Janet Cook's recipe here.  She also used butter in her bread which I decided not to borrow in this version, but may try adding in the next go around.

I also used some fall themed cookie cutters to try to make them pretty, but for some reason it didn't really work very well and the rolls ended up a bit misshapen on the top.

Acorn

The end result of this experiment was a tasty roll which didn't have the orange color I would have preferred or sweetness due to the variety of sweet potato but still tasted like a nice holiday roll worth of a Thanksgiving feast.  For the next go around I will use the correct variety of potato and also increase the hydration just a bit.  Using some Yeast Water couldn't hurt either.

Formula

Levain Directions

Build 1

Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled. I used my proofer set at 83 degrees F. and it took around 5 hours.

Build 2

Add the stage 2 ingredients to the first Build (add 50 grams of mashed sweet potatoes) and mix thoroughly until incorporated.  Cover and let sit at room temperature or in your proofer if you have one.  In my proofer it took around 4 hours to double.  You can either use it immediately in the main dough or put it in the refrigerator overnight and use the next day.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours, and the milk together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  Next add the salt, starter, balsamic and sweet potatoes and mix on low for 6 minutes.  Add the pecan pieces and cranberries and mix for an additional minute to incorporate them evenly.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  Since this dough is so wet I did a total of 5 stretch and folds but if you adjust the hydration you won't need to do this.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and divide into pieces.    Shape into rolls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 425 degrees.  Bake for 35 minutes or until the rolls are nice and brown on the top and reach an internal temperature of 210 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack  for at least 2 hours before eating.

  My pretzel rolls have become one of my wife's and friends favorites so I figured it was time to make some more.  I stuck to the same basic formula and procedure as before but changed up some of the flour using some potato flour in the starter and some First Clear flour in the main dough.

I decided at the last-minute to make a few rolls with a surprise inside and added some bacon cheddar cheese I had picked up while in Vermont a few weeks ago.  All I can say is...."Cheese and Bacon"..enough said!

I like the way the First Clear flour worked in this formula and all and all these came out great and are worth making.

For details on how to prepare these go here.

 Last weekend I was lucky enough to journey back to one of my favorite states Vermont and visit King Arthur Flour as well as some other local attractions.  We enjoyed some great meals at the Norwich Inn and Simon Pearce Glass which blows their own glassware. 

The new expanded store and bakery at KAF was amazing and we felt like kids in a candy store loading up our shopping cart to the top with baking goodies.  We also managed to find some great Vermont maple syrup, honey and raspberry apple sauce along with some Vermont Hard Cider.  The last 2 ingredients were the inspiration for this latest bake.

I originally wanted to add some cranberries but I only had dried cherries in the house so in they went as a substitute.

I think hard cider goes great with rye so I used a fair amount of dark rye flour in this bake and I added some spelt which add a nice nutty flavor.  I don't think you can really taste the raspberry apple sauce but it added a nice moist texture and compliments the cider and cherries very well.

The end result was a nice moist bread with a great crust, fairly open crumb for this mix of flours and a tasty bread all around.

Levain Directions

Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours, and hard cider together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), and the rest of the ingredients (except the cherries) and mix on low for 5 minutes.  Now add the cherries and mix until distributed for about 1 minute.   Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.  I decided to add some oat bran to the bottom of the baskets to add some nice texture to the finished loaves.  Next place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is ready to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before you are ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on a shelf above the pan and one on the top shelf.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

     This is very close to the Coffee Potato Sourdough I posted last week but I replaced the coffee with water and replaced the cheese powder with a mix of shaved Asiaggo and Parmesan cheeses and bumped up the percentage greatly.  I also eliminated the balsamic vinegar and added some garlic infused olive oil.

The end result was a bread that was even tastier than the last with a nice open crumb and chock full of cheesy goodness.  I highly recommend you try this one as it makes great sandwich bread and grilled bread as well.

Levain Directions

Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours, and 350 grams of the coffee together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), and the rest of the ingredients and mix on low for a minute.  Next add the rest of the coffee unless the dough is way too wet.   Mix on low-speed for another 4 minutes.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.  I made 1 large loaf using a cloth covered Good Will find.  Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is ready to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before you are ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on a shelf above the pan and one on the top shelf.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

Last signs of Summer....long gone!