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dosco's picture
dosco

I'm interested in making a Poilane style bread, so I thought it might be interesting to make a BBA Basic Sourdough with half of the flour being whole wheat.

I made the dough up using the same procedure I've been using for the other Basic Sourdoughs, except (of course) using much more WW flour. Due to schedule conflicts the dough stayed in the refrigerator for 4 days ... I baked the loaves yesterday evening.

Shaping is still an issue and I haven't yet gotten to purchasing a linen, making transfer peels, etc. The batards are slightly misshapen, unfortunately. Baked at 525F for 15 minutes, then 475F for about 15 minutes (until the crust was the desired color).

Crumb is a bit tight despite following the same procedure previously used to achieve ~73% hydration, not sure if it is the result of WW flour needing more water, the excessively long cold fermentation and the yeast running out of "oomph," or the long ferment damaging the gluten.

Flavor is excellent, crumb is tender and fragrant, the crust is nicely flavored and crunchy. There is a slight sour note which is nice.

I have a Poilane style dough in the fridge at the moment and I'll likely bake it tonight ... more later.

-Dave

 

PS: I did bake a BBA Basic Sourdough 2 weeks ago that I didn't blog about ... went skiing with some friends on the weekend of the 18th/19th and baked some bread to bring along. I was in a rush so I didn't get a chance to take pics or post. One friend who came to visit the house we rented, a gent from France, particularly enjoyed the bread with dinner. I was quite happy about that!

 

srulybpsyd's picture
srulybpsyd

So, I'm really excited (but also a bit nervous) to post the results of my first bake. Not my first bake ever, mind you; just my first bake after deciding to get really serious about baking.

After buying a few neccesary supplies a few weeks ago (digital scale, kneading board, baking books) I decided to go full bore and attempt to bake through Peter Reinhart's "Bread Baker's Apprentice". I got this book a few years ago but was always too intimidated to try anything from it. I figure trying every formula would help me get quite a few breads under my belt and hopefully teach me a few things.

And so, without further ado, here are som pictures from my attempt at the first formula for Anadama Bread, an enriched sandwich bread employing direct fermentation and a cornmeal soaker. A list of newbie questions follows.

The dough was smoother than any I've made before but, while I did get a windowpane, it still seemed a little rough to me.

My proofed loaves! I actually put these in the refridgerator to retard while I ran out to do some errands but the stubborn things proofed anyway. You'll notice that the one on the left is a little overflow-y. Thatt's because the pan is really too small for the amount of dough but it's all I've got for now.

The final loaves! Including the weird mushroom-y one:)

Crumbshot! The crust was soft and thin and the crumb was moist but very light, better than I expected!

I sliced up one loaf and put it in the fridge in baggies for the rest of the week and put the other loaf in the freezer to share with family on the weekend.

Overall, I was very happy with this bake and look forward to the next one!

Questions:

1. My digital scale has setting for ounces and fluid ounces. I used the ounces setting for all the ingredients since I know that we're dealing with the relative weights of the ingredients. But how can a scale measure fluid ounces, which is a measure of volume?

2. My digital scale picked up the addition of the instant yeast but just would not pick up the addition of the salt. I ended up using the volume equivalent for fear of adding too much. Any ideas why this happened? Is the salt not dense enough? How do others measure light ingredients?

3. My windowpane was good but a little rough, not like the smooth ones I've seen in books and online. Does the addition of heavier grains/meals make it more difficult to get a smooth, clear, windowpane?

4. Why did my loaves continue to rise even in the fridge? BBA says that they can be put int he fridge to retard for up to two days.

5. What happened here?:

My guess is that I didn't form my loaf evenly which resulted in a gas pocket at one end of this loaf.

namadeus's picture
namadeus

Hi - I do not often bake yeasted bread but last night made a small white loaf with unbleached white flour. Ingredients 500gms U/B White Strong flour / 330gms water / 8 gms fresh teast / 8 gms salt.

Mixed and kneaded for approx 12 minutes then into bowl to rest. Rested for 1hr 20 mins (double in size plus a bit) and then into small loaf tin. Allowed to prove for 1 hr and 10 mins until double.

Then cut top with razor just before going into the oven. The loaf sank slightly and never produced any oven spring !

 

Any thoughts on problem would be appreciated.

 

Thanks and regards

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

I am on a mailing list which periodically sends me formulas for new breads developed at the San Francisco Baking Institute. The most recent mailing was for a "Finnish Rye." Here's a link: Finnish Rye Bread Formula Now, I cannot attest to the Finnish provenance of this bread. Nor would I call it a "rye bread." It is only 22% rye. In fact, it has more whole wheat flour (35%) than rye. Anyway, it is a multigrain bread made with a liquid levain, a cracked wheat soaker and a flaxseed soaker. It looked interesting, but I definitely would not have made it this soon but for Paul's (PJKobulnicky) bake of it (see SFBI's Finnish Rye) that looks so good. 

I followed the SFBI formula with these modifications:

1. For the Wheat Soaker, I used coarse bulgur.

2. I added about 20g additional water during the early dough mix because the dough seemed dry to me. (That was before the soakers were added.)

3. I mixed the dough for about 7 minutes before adding the soakers.

4. After mixing the soakers into the dough at low speed for 3 or 4 minutes, I transferred the dough to a floured board and hand kneaded for another 3 minutes to distribute the bulgur and fax seeds better and develop the gluten a bit more.

5. I bulk fermented at 76 dF for 2.5 hours. I did not feel the prescribed 1.5-2 hours resulted in sufficient fermentation.

6. I proofed for 45 minutes at 85 dF.

The dough was pretty sticky with the additional water I had added. The crust softened quickly with cooling and was pleasantly chewy. The crumb was more open than Paul's, probably because of the additional water and the extra gluten development. The crumb was soft but somewhat chewy.

When first tasted a couple hours after baking, the flavor was very nice except that the flavor of the molasses and the sweetness seemed excessive. There was also a clear flavor of flaxseeds (which I happens to like). However, the flavor profile evolved considerably by the next day. Now, the bread had the flavor of a honey whole wheat bread. The distinct flavors of molasses, flaxseeds and rye have all melded and are no longer identifiable (to my taste). I had said in Paul's blog I would reduce the molasses next time. I'm not so sure now, but I might try it with honey rather than molasses.

I have eaten it plain, toasted with almond butter and un-toasted with a bit of sweet butter. I enjoyed the last option most, so far. We are going to have some tonight as leftover roast chicken sandwiches.

Both my wife and I like this bread a lot, and I expect it will be baked often. However, I will classify it in my my mind as a whole wheat bread rather than as a rye bread.

David

wassisname's picture
wassisname

 

This is a tweaked-to-suit-my-routine version of the barley and flax seed loaf in Tartine No. 3.  The biggest change was to the leaven – all whole wheat flour, 75% hydration, and more of it.  I also switched from barley flakes to cracked barley because that is what I had access to. The rest of the numbers I just put together in whatever way I thought would give me the greatest margin for error.

And, this was the inaugural bake in my new cast iron combo cookers.  I never thought I would take the leap, but my curiosity finally got the better of me.  I must say, I am impressed.  The size and shape limitations mean that I will never rely on them entirely, but they do make things simpler (and I don’t have to worry about setting the wet towels on fire!). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The method stayed pretty close to the one presented in the book, so I will avoid going through it in detail.  One change I did make was to do the turns at shorter intervals, 15-20 minutes, to accommodate the faster fermentation brought on by the increase in leaven.  The dough was also drier than I anticipated, so I added a bit of water with each turn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for the result…  I like it!  Crust, crumb, flavor: all good.  There is a nice nuttiness from the flax seed and the barley smooths out any rough edges from the whole wheat.  OK, I need to reduce the salt a bit, but that’s easy enough.  This is one of those loaves where I can tell I got the fermentation right and the rest mostly followed from there – I wish I could do that every time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Odds and ends – The formula may look a little wacky because of the porridge.  So it goes.  I don’t know if there is a convention on how to present this.  In the end I treated it as an add-in, otherwise the percentages get so skewed as to make them meaningless.  As for the rest, I tried to present the basic info so you could take whatever mathematical leaps tickle your fancy.  The one measurement I regret not having taken was the weight of the porridge after cooking.  So it goes, again. 

Oh, and check out the book.  It reads a little like the blog section here on TFL.  No wonder I’m enjoying it so much!

Marcus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skibum's picture
Skibum

BOY, do I EVER LIKE this bread! This was a full version of the ITJB rye to which I added 120 grams of re-hydrated granulated onion and garlic and remembered to account for the extra water this time. I used about 4 Tbs of the onion and 1Tbs of the garlic, using the water from the soak for the bake. I once again proofed my boules seam side down in a banneton, the baked seam side up Forkish style in a cast iron DO.

I love the 'organic bloom' this technique produces!

This is a much different bread than Peter Reinhart's NY Deli rye in BBA and I enjoy both breads! Next bake of this formula I will up the onion bu adding some sauteed fresh onion to the dried mix. Just for fun!

Happy baking folks! Brian

WoodenSpoon's picture
WoodenSpoon

Formula: 615g bread flour, 35g whole rye flour, 460g warm water, 110g chef (100% hydration), 141g coarse ground cornmeal (thats the dry weight), and 13g salt.

Yesterday afternoon I boiled some water and added it to the 141g cornmeal, I continued adding water until all the corn was hydrated, added just a touch more and let it sit for two hours. Next I weighed out my flours and whisked em together, weighed out my salt and set it aside, weighed out and combined my chef and warm water then added the water/chef mixture to the flour grits. I gently mixed with a bowl scraper then with a spoon and once the dough came together I let it autolyse covered in the bowl for an hour.

After the autolyse, I gave it a gentle set of slap and folds and let it rest, after 3 or 5 minutes I spread the salt out on the counter and gave the dough six minutes of slapping and folding on top of the salt so it pulled a little up at a time. After those six minutes I let it rest for 5 or so minutes and gave it anther 3 minute set of slap and folds. After another short rest I gave it another very short set of slap and folds (1 minute or so) a stretch and fold then put it in a clean bowl and let it ferment at room temp for an hour or so. During this room temp fermentation I gave the dough 3 sets of stretch and folds in the bowl, first after the 20 minutes and the second after forty and the third around the hour mark. then I covered the bowl and popped it in the fridge. An hour later I gave it another gentle stretch and fold then another a few hours later.

This morning I removed the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temp for two or so hours, scaled/preshaped/shaped and proofed for around 3 hours,

Getting on baking time I preheated my oven, stone and sheet pan to 550. then I presteamed the oven with an ounce or so of hot water on the sheet pan, scored and slid the loaf in, gave it another small steam, about a minute later I gave it another small steam waited a minute and turned the oven down to 470. after around 10 minutes I turned it down to 460, after another ten or so I turned it to 450 for the remainder of the bake.

I am extremely happy with how this bread came out, Its got that overnight bulk ferment tang blended wonderfully with the sweetness of the corn and the barely perceptible (maybe placebo) earthiness of of the rye

Wingnut's picture
Wingnut

So I have not made any sourdough in months and let my starter die off. New Year new starter and my first sourdough bake of the year. The santed wife wants to try and go all organic as possible and make two nights a week Vegetarian, not vegan, but lacto ovo so pasta and cheese are still on the table.

This is a variation of Chad Robinsons Sourdough but with 10% Dark Rye Stone Ground Organic Flour, 12 hour rise.

Cheers,

Wingnut

neilbaldwyn's picture
neilbaldwyn

Black Olive Fougasse:

 

BAKERS %   
    
Water45 110
Poolish170 420
Fresh Yeast2 5
    
Strong Bread Flour100 20
Salt3.5 7
    
Olives20 50

 

David Esq.'s picture
David Esq.

Following Chad Robertson's recipe, in Tartine, I made a fantastic walnut bread last night.  It is super delicious plain this morning. Not sure if I would make sandwiches on it or not but I suppose I will find out soon.  I used 200 grams of white whole wheat and 800 grams of all purpose.  I burned a bunch of the walnuts (or at least I think they were too dark) so these loaves don't have the full 3 cups but as you can see there are plenty of nuts in the crumb.

 

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