Runnerfemme's blog

I'm a morning runner.  I run far.  And I run a lot.  Except on Sunday.  Sunday morning is my turn over and go back to sleep day.  My laze in bed reading day.  My nesting day.  

After reading about the much beloved traditional Hovis Granary Loaf, I bought a bag of the flour (thank you, Amazon) and decided to adjust the traditional recipe a bit to give way to my love of wild leavened bread baking.  I'm pleased with the results.  A mild malt flavor with a pleasantly chewy crumb laced with nutty wheat bits.  The crumb is what I prefer for sandwich or breakfast bread -- not so tight as to be dense but sufficiently closed to bring some heft to your plate.  A perfect canvas for butter and jam, or whatever you fancy.  Although I have no point of reference, I think the buttermilk I chose to add contributes to the tenderness of the crumb.  The toast is fantastic.  Crispy exterior, nearly pillowy, cool interior with nutty bits.  My best friend brought me some gruyere and Honeycrisp apples yesterday, and I've got some young arugula in the crisper.  So lunch is rather a done deal. 

This bread speaks of Sunday to me.  Relax.  Reconnect with the basic.  Seek out restorative, simple pleasures to gird your loins for the week to come.

Enjoy.

Wild Leavened Hovis "Granary Loaf"   

Mix and autolyse for a few hours: 650g water, 700g Hovis granary flour (or any malted substitute you concoct), 150g KAF bread flour, 150g KAF Artisan Bread Flour (nearly equivalent to APF in protein content), 4 TBL buttermilk powder, 1 TBL VWG, about 2.5 TBL wildflower honey.  After autolyse, mix in: 3 TBL cultured sweet butter, 200g 85% hydration starter (I used a mix of my rye starter and my WW/APF starter), 22g fine sea salt, a dribble of water to form a slurry for the salt.  Squish and pinch to incorporate.  Do 3 sets of stretch+folds in 35-40 minute intervals, covering and storing someplace warm during the rest intervals.  Allow to rest for balance of bulk fermentation (mine totaled about 4 hours).  Pre-shape; bench rest 20 minutes uncovered; linen-lined bannetons sprinkled with rice flour and oats. Retard in fridge for 4 hours. Preheat oven to 500 for an hour with cookers in oven; reduce oven to 450 once breads go in; 35 minutes at 450; tops off, reduce oven to 435, and bake 12 minutes; oven door ajar for final 8-10 minutes.

Notes: I was surprised how quickly these loaves were ready to bake. I'd planned to retard overnight, but listened to the dough. They were ready.  I originally planned to add some soaked (and possibly sprouted) barley, but decided the wheat flakes in the flour were sufficiently plentiful on their own.  Plus, the barley didn't sprout. Wondering if it's old...

I was shopping this morning at my local natural food store and lingered too long in the grain aisle.  And this happened.  I bought some hard red wheat berries thinking I'd throw them in the Vitamix and see what happens.  And this happened.  About 500g fresh milled whole wheat (my first time - no, not a proper mill, but whatev) and about 200g organic sprouted spelt flour (both on eyeball), about 600g warm water, about 3/4c Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal (dry, not cooked), 2 handfuls (about 1/2c??) KAF Harvest Grains Blend (dry, not soaked), 2 TBL VWG, 2 TSP diastatic malt powder, 1 decent pour (about 2 TBL??) of wildflower honey, what looked like 18-20g fine sea salt, about 1/3c toasted chopped pecans, 1 TBL instant yeast. Autolyse with everything (except yeast & salt) for 10-12 minutes - then throw in the yeast and salt.  squeeze it all together and then knead for a few minutes until it comes together.  (I used a bit of KAF Artisan Bread Flour as needed while kneading.)  Raise in covered oiled bowl for 75 minutes; de-gas a bit; shape, transfer to lightly oiled loaf pan, cover, let rise for about an hour; bake at 350 for about 70 minutes until reached 195-200 degrees. Tented last ten minutes.  YUM.  (I knew it was rather oversized for the loaf pan, but didn't care.  It's what I had on hand.)

I love a seedy, nutty loaf.  A dear, old friend of mine would have teased me by calling this a "sticks and leaves" loaf.  Mind you, he was the one with the Birkenstocks, but I digress.  This Treehugger Special was inspired by my taste for heavily seeded, toothsome loaves, as well as my curiosity about porridge breads.  (Oh, and I bought a bag of buckwheat flour that I really wanted to experiment with -- I'm a newbie to buckwheat.  A nubuck.  I won't quit my day job.)   I've read many an Ode to Oat paying homage to Robertson's oat porridge loaf.  People wax on about the dreamy quality of a porridge loaf crumb using words like "custardy" and "cloud like."  I was also careful to take stock of the lessons of others and their reports of too-slack doughs attributed to an 11th hour surprise release of water from the cooked porridge.  (I imagine a bowl of polenta donning a mini party hat blowing an unfurling paper horn and squeeking, "surprrriiiise!")  Others have lamented the challenge of working a cooled porridge, much thicker in its cool state than when fresh off the stove, into a dough post-autolyse.  So, it's a long weekend.  My husband is a willing guinea pig.  I have a toaster.  I have butter.  I ask you: What else could a girl need to launch into a Treehugger Special?  So, off I went.

One warning before you proceed: when baking bread for "just me", I am far more permissive with the "a little of this, a little of that" muscle.  If this doth offend thee, shield your eyes now.  I can't be held responsible.

200g EACH of Arrowmills organic buckwheat flour,  One Degree organic sprouted spelt flour, KAF organic whole wheat flour, KAF Artisan Bread flour, KAF bread flour.

4 TBL (1/4c) vital wheat gluten http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/vital-wheat-gluten-16-oz

1TBL diastatic malt powder http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/diastatic-malt-powder-4-oz-jar

2TBL wildflower honey (eyeballed)

1 cup (eyeballed; measured dry) Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal

1/2 cup (eyeballed) KAF Harvest Grains Blend (whole oat berries, millet, rye flakes, wheat flakes, flax seed, poppy seed, sesame seed, and sunflower seed) http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/harvest-grains-blend-2-lb

300g 50/50 spelt/rye starter - very bubbly and strong and at 80-85% hydration (consistency of thick cake batter)

800g water (about 80-90 degrees) - (Note that this water measurement does NOT include water used for porridge or soaker)

24g fine sea salt

Method:

Cover seed/grain blend in hot or boiling water.  Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit for at least 2 hours (or up to overnight if you like); drain if needed.  I planned to toast my seeds first and, in my excitement, forgot.  I imagine it would really deepen the flavors of this loaf.

Cook cereal to a thick consistency and cool completely.  I added enough water - straight from the tap - to cover the cereal, stirred it in until it was the consistency of pancake batter, and microwaved it uncovered on high for 2 minutes. Stirred it again, covered with plastic wrap and let cool while I ran errands for a few hours ... Imprecise, yes, but easy.

Combine: all flour, honey, 800g water, cooled porridge, seed/grain blend, VWG, diastatic malt powder.  Autolyse for 2-3 hours.  I decided to add my porridge and seeds at this stage primarily because of the "baking for just me" factor, but also because I was hopeful I might get a truer read on the dough hydration/slackness if I threw all my water-logged ingredients in the pool from the start.  My thinking was that perhaps the unwelcome surprise water release experienced by others may have something to do with flours still being thirsty even post-autolyse. Maybe the whole grain flours draw out some moisture from the cooked porridge.  Then again, under that theory, the flours should then absorb the porridge release, so that's probably bunk logic.  Whatever.  My instinct said throw it all in. So I did.   

Post autolyse, add starter and salt. Pinch starter and salt into dough completely. Cover and stash somewhere warm-ish (75-80 degrees) for the bulk fermentation. Do 4 stretch-and-folds every 30-45 minutes; letting the dough rest for the balance of the bulk fermentation.  You can complete bulk fermentation on the countertop for a total of (approximately) 4-5 hours (or until whenever you say it's done!); or, following S&Fs, bulk fermentation can be completed in the refrigerator.   I did only 3 stretch-and-folds spaced at about 45-37-30 minutes.  No precision there - too busy retrieving my dog from the neighbors' yard and getting sucked into a movie.  I would have done more S&Fs, but we had to go to a wedding rehearsal and dinner, so after my 3 S&Fs, I popped the dough into the fridge to complete its bulk fermentation.  

Post bulk fermentation, divide and pre-shape. Let rest for 20-30 minutes seam down on lightly floured surface.  Mine rested only 20 minutes; and I didn't even bother to cover them, the poor things.

Following bench rest, do your final shape magic. Turn seam side down into rice flour dusted baskets/bannetons.  Cover with plastic.  Retard in fridge overnight.  For decoration and experimentation, I lined one of my bannetons with linen, leaving the other bare.  I dusted both bannetons with rice flour and scattered oats into both.  Mine retarded for about 10 hours.

Preheat oven to 500 for 60-90 minutes with covered cookers in the oven.  Dust bottoms of loaves (the side facing up while the loaves are still in their bannetons) with flour or cornmeal, turn out onto parchment, score, and get the babies into their cookers.  Reduce oven temperature to 475 and bake for 35 minutes.  Take the tops off the cookers, reduce temp to 450, and bake another 10-12 minutes.  Crack the oven door and bake for another 5-10 minutes.  I did not dust my loaves sufficiently with flour before turning out onto my parchment and had some parchment stick on one of the loaves but not the other.  This may be a function of the cooker.  The one that did not have parchment issues was cooked in an Emile Henry bread cloche; the other was baked in a Granite Wear cooker.  

Let cool completely and dive in.  

Next time, I will toast my seeds, but for now, I am groovin' on my Treehugger Special!  The porridge is not identifiable on its own, but definitely lends to a creaminess to the crumb.  The crumb is light and delicate, open but not gaping, with seeds suspended throughout.  This makes incredibly flavorsome toast.  I might like some chopped toasted nuts in this as well.  This could (will) be delicious sandwich bread too.  I imagine a hunk of this would be truly satisfying next to a fall stew.  Happy baking!

My husband is a dark chocolate fiend.  I love to throw dinner parties and no matter how lovely my finale dessert may be, he teasingly chides, "if it isn't chocolate, it isn't worth eating."  (Of course, his empty plate and disheveled napkin bear witness to the contrary....)  So, this one is for the Hubbin!!

No fancy flours here...  I figured the chocolate would overwhelm any delicately nuanced grains.  Plus chocolate. So chocolate. And chocolate.  I also had a great (genius!) idea to add a little instant espresso powder to the water (not for coffee flavor so much as chocolate enhancement) and forgot entirely to add it.  So much for great ideas.  Oh well.  Much to my husband's delight - I will have to try again!  Here's the set up: 

800g KAF Bread flour

200g KAF Artisan BF

100g Dutch process cocoa

100g sugar

10 once bag of dark chocolate chunks 

dried cherries soaked in hot water - eyeballed about 1.25 c.

toasted pecan halves - eyeballed 1.5-2 cups (cooled before mixing in; not chopped)

275g 50/50 WW/APF starter at about 85% hydration

16g fine sea salt

700g water - plus a few dribbles of the soaker water

Mix 700g water, sugar, flours, cocoa. Autolyse for 1.5-2 hours. (This autolyse time was based on going out to run errands -- if I'd been home, I imagine I would have done a 60 min autolyse.)  Add starter, salt, splash of cherry soaker water (probably 3 TBL), chocolate, cherries and nuts.  I coulda shoulda waited to add the fruit/choc/nuts until after a stretch and fold or 2, but the dough was fairly structured from the start b/c (I think) of the high percentage of protein in KAF bread flour (12.7%) (KAF Artisan BF is only 4%; almost as low as APF).  Anyway, in they went.  I did only 3 stretch and folds at 45 min; 37 min; 30 min (no design there...life just happens, including having to chase my dog out of our non-dog-loving neighbor's yard).  I completed the bulk ferment in the fridge for another 3.5 hours while we attended a wedding rehearsal. I pre-shaped and let rest for 20 minutes; shaped into 2 loaves and proofed on the counter for only 1 hour and 15 minutes. I typically do an overnight fridge proof, but The Hubbin HAD to have this for breakfast and I am nothing if not a dutiful wife (insert women's college sarcasm here).  So, in they went to the roaring fire.  Preheated for 90 minutes at 500.  I turned the oven to 450 when they went in.  So 450 for 35 minutes; tops off cookers & reduce to 425 for 12 minutes; door ajar for another 8-10 minutes. I probably could have proofed for another 30 minutes as the whopper oven spring attests.  

The reviews at 7am this morning: "Mmm. Chocolate.  Mmm.  Gooood.  Yes."

Waiting for bread to cool before slicing is an exercise in restraint and one at which I usually fail.  Not this time and it paid off.  So pleased!  A creamy, cool, light interior despite the heavy ingredients of soaked seeds, fruit and nuts.  I went full throttle on heat and was nervous that I'd burned the bread, but I had not. The burnished crust was just perfect for my preference.  My husband is sitting next to me eating a hunk as I type this and he JUST said, "Mmm mmm gooood."  Recipe & pics attached.  Happy baking!

Seeded Sprouted Spelt Sourdough with Walnuts & Figs (2 loaves)

400g KAF bread flour

400g KAF Artisan Bread Flour

200g One Degree Organics Sprouted Spelt Flour

250g 50/50 rye/spelt fed and bubbly starter (about 85% hyd)

880g water 85-90 degrees 

22g fine sea salt

2 TBL honey

2 TBL walnut oil

scant 2 TBL diastatic malt powder

200g or more toasted walnut halves

200g or more Black mission figs (soaked; rough chop)

1/2c KAF Harvest Seed blend - soaked for a few hours in hot water; drained if needed

Do soaker of seeds and figs separately; draining if needed before use. Reserve 50g water from fig soaker.

Toast walnuts – 325 for 10-12 minutes and cool completely.  Set aside. Mix 830g of water with honey, all flour, diastatic malt powder. Cover bowl and autolyse somewhere warm (around 78ºF) for 1.5-2 hours. After autolyse, add starter, salt, reserved 50g fig soaker water, walnut oil, & seeds (can add ¼ tsp instant yeast at this point if starter needs oomph). Mix by hand to incorporate ingredients - don’t over mix. Complete 4 stretch & folds spaced out by 30+ minutes (1st S&F after 30 min; store dough someplace warm during rests).  Gently add figs/nuts at second stretch & fold - don’t worry if they are not well dispersed at this point - they will be by the end.  After completing the 4 S&Fs, cover & complete bulk ferment in refrigerator over night (about 7 hours; alternatively let bulk ferment at rest for additional 2-3 hours on counter/warm room).  After bulk ferment, divide dough into 2 masses. Pre-shape into boules, let rest seam down for 20 minutes UNcovered.  After 20 min rest, shape each into batard or boule. Proof in bannetons (lined with linen dusted with rice flour, covered) for 3 hours in fridge and 1 hour on warm countertop while oven preheats. (Or approx. 1.5 hours on countertop or in warm room. If you have chosen the shorter countertop bulk fermentation, consider doing final proof in refrigerator over night/about 7 hours for flavor development).  (Choose whichever fermentation/proofing method meets your schedule needs.)

Preheat oven & cookers for 1 hr. at 500º. Turn out loaves onto parchment rounds. Score. Spritz with water.  45 min. at 500º. After 45 min, reduce oven to 450º, remove cooker lids & bake for an additional 10 min. Watch for scorching figs if any are sitting on the surface of the breads - can loosely cover with foil to prevent scorching, although this may interfere with deep browning of crust. Remove from the oven & cool on wire racks. LET COOL 100% - BEFORE SLICING (difficult, but I swear it’s worth it particularly b/c the walnut oil and soaked seeds/fruit have added to the moist crumb — slicing early will result in gumminess).