ninarosner's blog

I replicated the method of Loaf 11 because of good result. Fewer S&Fs. 

RECIPE

100% (500g) wholewheat stoneground flour (12.7g protein per 100g)
15% (75g) starter
85% (425g) hydration
2% (10g) salt

METHOD

1 day before, I discarded most of the starter leaving only about 2 tbsp. Refreshed this with 50g water and 50g WW flour.

12.00: AL flour and water
13.00: Mixed in starter and salt, kneaded lightly on countertop, left to sit. *then went out for a walk so couldn't do S&Fs till later*
16.30: S&F
17.30: S&F
18.30: S&F
22:30: Shape into boule, and placed seam side up in floured tea-towel, in colander. Into fridge to proof overnight
09.45 next day: Out of fridge, oven on to warm up
10:45: Into dutch oven, score, and into oven at ~230c
11.05: Lid off
11.35: Out of oven to cool.

RESULT

Good! The thing which is letting me down most right now is my dutch oven. It's too small for my breads, so they get squashed in there. Meaning (I think) they don't rise and open as much as they would like to. I'm keen to experiment without dutch oven and with steam method instead... though I don't have a baking stone.

So... sometimes you just don't try that hard, and you get good results!

RECIPE

100% (500g) wholewheat stoneground flour (can't give any more info than that because I got it at the bulk store)
15% (75g) starter
85% (425g) hydration
2% (10g) salt

METHOD

1 day before, I discarded most of the starter leaving only about 2 tbsp. Refreshed this with 50g water and 50g WW flour.

12.00: AL flour and water
14.00: Mixed in starter and salt, kneaded lightly on countertop, left to sit. *then went out for a walk so couldn't do S&Fs till later*
16.30: S&F
17.30: S&F
18.30: S&F
19.00: S&F
22:00: Tipped onto floured countertop, let rest
22:15: Shape into boule, and placed seam side up in floured tea-towel, in colander. Into fridge to proof overnight
09.45 next day: Out of fridge, oven on to warm up
10:45: Into dutch oven, score, and into oven at ~230c
11.05: Lid off
11.35: Out of oven to cool.

RESULT:

Nice oven spring, amazing colour thanks to 100% wholewheat. Well and evenly fermented on the inside, STILL a bit gummy (ah!) but better than the last few attempts. One of my best so far, methinks.

RECIPE (80% wholegrain):

100g strong white flour (20%)
150g wholegrain spelt flour (30%)
250g wholewheat flour (50%)
85% hydration (425g)
15% starter (75g)
2% salt (10g)

PROCESS:

Night before: refresh starter with 50g wholewheat flour, 50g water
10am: Autolyse
11.30am: Mix starter & salt, knead on counter a little
12.00: S&F
12.50: S&F
13.50: S&F
14.32: S&F
15:56: S&F
16:55: S&F
17:20: Shape and put into bowl (in baking paper) to proof.
20:00: Pre-heat oven.
21:00: Transfer dough straight from bowl to dutch oven still in baking paper. Bake at ~230C for 20 mins with lid on, 35 mins lid off
Left overnight to cool.

RESULT:

Tastes delicious, I love high percentage wholegrain breads.

(Some baking paper stuck to the sides of the bread, which is ugly, but I managed to remove it when I ate it.)

Disappointed with oven spring - another problem I've noticed with recent breads.

Usual problem with slightly gummy crumb. Although the texture was still pretty nice and satisfying. Great toasted!

RECIPE:

50% strong white flour (250g)
50% wholemeal flour (250g)
85% hydration (roughly)
15% starter (roughly)
2% salt

PROCESS:

9am: Refreshed starter with wholewheat
4pm: Autolyse flour + water
5.45pm: Mix in active starter & salt, on the bench, did some kneading till it felt sticky.
6.30pm: stretch & fold
7pm: stretch & fold
7.30pm: stretch & fold
8pm: stretch & fold
9pm: stretch & fold
10.30pm: shape, using a wet surface and no flour, and into fridge (proofed in baking paper in colander)
9.30am: out of fridge, preheat oven
10.15am: Straight from colander into dutch oven, still in baking paper. Baked at ~230C for 20 mins with lid on, 30 mins lid off
Left to sit for about 1 hour before slicing!

RESULT:

- A nice tasting loaf, with good level of fermentation and some rather large air holes (maybe a bit too big/irregular?)
- My main complaint is that the crumb felt a little gummy. Like, even cutting into it, it left quite a lot of sticky residue on the breadknife. This is quite a common problem with my breads - even when I leave them to sit overnight after baking - and I'm trying to get to the bottom of it.
- Let me know your thoughts!

This time, I tried to experiment with a shorter proofing time... But then life got in the way so I wasn't as scientific as I'd have liked to be. The result is OK, I cut into it about 36 hours after baking so it looks a little dry... Tasted nice, but the crumb is a little dense. 

What I'm actually thinking is that the activity of the starter is something I need to control next time. A longer bulk ferment and proof, but with a less active starter might be the key (like loaf 6)

Loaf 8
250g white flour, 250g wholegrain wheat flour.
80% hydration
15% starter
2% salt

Timings:

8.30: 1hr autolyse
9.30 - Mix in starter (refreshed and at peak activation). Light kneading, sit for 1 hour
10.30 - Rubauld mixing.
11:30 - S&F
12:20 - S&F
13:10 - S&F
15:52 - Out of bowl and bench rest
16:30 - Shape into round and proof at room temp
19:00 - Into fridge for more proofing (this is because I was going out for dinner and worried it would over proof at room temp)
22:15 - Bake. ~230c, 20 mins covered and 30 mins uncovered.

I let this cool and didn't cut into it until morning 2 days later. Result was OK, still not as good as my Loaf 6... Some areas feel a bit dense and it didn't get huge oven spring/any ears.

This didn't turn out as good as the last one, even though I used almost the same process. Differences:

- Starter refreshed night before (as opposed to a few days before)
- Slightly shorter final proof (~2 hrs)
- Didn't use as much baking paper - this may have contributed to less rise

Loaf 6
250g white flour, 250g wholegrain wheat flour.
80% hydration
15% starter
2% salt

Starter: Refreshed it with stoneground white flour the night before. 

In the morning, did 1 hour autolyse, then mixed in starter & salt. 5 stretch & folds over 2 hours, then a bulk ferment at room temp for about 6-7 hours.

No pre-shape. Shaped into a round, then,

proofed in a glass bowl, covered with a plastic bag, overnight in fridge for about 12 hours. 

When flipped over, the topside of the dough was sticky and had lost its shape. It made it difficult to slash. I wonder whether I should do a quick 'tuck under' shaping before the next bake to increase tension.

Rather than using baking paper all over, I just used it to drop it into the dutch oven, but this meant that the dough lost its shape and didn't rise as much in the oven. I think this d. oven is a bit small.

Baked in dutch oven at ~230c for 20 mins covered, 30 mins uncovered. Let cool for a day, then re-heated before cutting open.

Result: A decent crumb, though felt a little dry (maybe because I waited a day?) Still better than attempts before number 6, but not as good as number 6.

I am beyond happy with this! It turned out better than all previous loaves, though I'm unsure why... My 'intuitive' approach is definitely working - sticking to one recipe and just tweaking things step by step rather than going for a completely different method that's worked for someone else.

Loaf 6
250g white flour, 250g wholegrain wheat flour.
80% hydration
15% starter
2% salt

Starter: I used it straight from the fridge, but I'd fed it a couple of days before with white flour instead of wholemeal. Maybe that made a difference?

In the morning, did 1 hour autolyse, then mixed in starter & salt.

4 stretch & folds over 2 hours, then a bulk ferment at room temp for about 5-6 hours with another stretch and fold in between.

No pre-shape.

Proofed in a glass bowl, covered with a plastic bag, overnight in fridge for about 16 hours.

Slashed the top which was difficult due to crap knife and very sticky dough.

Baked in dutch oven at ~230c for 20 mins covered, 30 mins uncovered. Let cool for 1 hour.

Result: Really nice, EVEN crumb without the heaviness/density of previous attempts. This must be because of a longer proof in the fridge, and possibly the activity of sourdough starter.

The sides look kind of ugly because of the baking paper I use. My makeshift dutch oven is a little too small so it causes creases in the sides.

The first in a series of experiments on my 'Loaf 3' recipe.

Loaf 5 
250g white flour, 250g wholegrain wheat flour.
80% hydration
15% starter
2% salt

Experiment: Refreshed starter overnight. 

In the morning, did 1 hour autolyse, then mixed in starter & salt.

4 stretch & folds over 2 hours, then a bulk ferment at (cool-ish) room temp for about 5-6 hours.

Pre-shaped and let rest for 30 mins

Proofed in a glass bowl, at room temp for about 2-2.5 hours.

Baked in dutch oven at ~230c for 20 mins covered, 30 mins uncovered. Let cool overnight.

Result: it seems like refreshing the starter has resulted in bigger air holes, a more open crumb. The crumb itself feels a little dry, though that could be because of the cooling overnight. Overall I'm happy with this, and it seems like refreshing is a good idea.

Also, I was more 'intuitive' with this bake, in the sense that I tracked bulk rise to make sure it had risen and had a few air holes before moving on.

What to try next: Slashing the top before baking!

Loaf 4 - 250gwhite flour, 250g wholegrain wheat flour.
70% hydration
15% starter
2% salt

Made sponge overnight by mixing starter (straight from fridge) with 200g flour and 70% water.
The next morning, did 1 hour autolyse with remaining 300g flour and 70% water.

Used scoop & stretch method twice to combine, then roughly 4 hour bulk rise with 5 stretch and folds.

2 hour proof on baking paper in bowl, covered with plastic.

Baked at ~230c for 20 mins covered & 30 mins uncovered
Left to cool for a few hours.

Good result, though not better than the last loaf, so doesn't warrant the additional steps. Considering it was 10% less hydration, the result was good. 

Loaf 1 - 100% wholewheat, 450g
90% hydration
30% starter
2% salt

Long overnight autolyse in fridge.
Also proofed overnight in fridge and baked in the morning.
Baked at ~230c for 20 mins covered & 20 mins uncovered

This worked out well - a beautiful colour and tasted great. Alas, needed more time in the oven, and the crumb wasn't as open as I would have liked. Also, I used the wrong baking paper and it stuck to the bottom!

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Loaf 2 - white/wholewheat mix, 500g.
40% white flour
10% white stone-ground flour
25% wholegrain wheat flour
25% wholegrain spelt flour

80% hydration
15% starter
2% salt

1 hour autolyse.
Proofed overnight in fridge and baked in the morning.
Baked at ~230c for 20 mins covered & 20 mins uncovered

Turned out really nice. Again, could have done with a bit more time in the oven for darker crust and less gummy interior.

---

Loaf 3 - white/wholewheat mix, 500g.
50% white flour
25% wholegrain wheat flour
25% wholegrain spelt flour
80% hydration
15% starter
2% salt

1 hour autolyse.
Bulk ferment + proof on same day. Proof over 2-3 hrs at room temp. Dough stuck to tea towel.
Baked at ~230c for 25 mins covered & 25 mins uncovered
Left to cool overnight

Rose significantly in oven despite it sticking to tea towel. Result was definitely as good as the overnight proof from Loaf 2. It benefited from a longer cooking time, though still feels a little gummy.

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Moving forward: Loaf 3 is my benchmark. I'm curious to try this with 70-75% hydration to see what happens. I also want to try Jose's alternative 18hr bulk ferment for a very open crumb. If that works, I want to try the same thing with 70-100% wholewheat flour.