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It took  awhile, but this is my take on Karin’s Cecilienhof Ancient Grain Rye Bread challenge.  The list of ingredients involved initially had me convinced I would stay on the sidelines for this challenge.  But I had more of them than I realized on hand already and a little searching turned up the rest (ah, the power of the internet!).  Still, I haven’t had to think this hard about a bread in a long time.                                                           

I wanted to stay as close to the original as I could, particularly with respect to the order of ingredients. Out of personal preference I omitted the fat, the yeast and the vital wheat gluten and out of necessity replaced the rolled barley with coarse barley meal because I couldn’t find any rolled barley.  They used a spelt starter and I used a rye starter to get the fermentation going.  Other than that I think I got everything else in the loaf.  To the right are the weights in grams.

As mentioned by others, if you assume that the ingredients are listed in order of weight then the water becomes a problem.  The only way I could think to get the dough up to a reasonable hydration was to turn this into essentially a sunflower seed rye with a very little bit of a lot of other stuff thrown in.

It still wasn’t going to be enough water, but then I found the answer!  I happened to check the ingredients on a package of rye crackers:  Whole rye flour, yeast, salt... but no water… how can there not have been any water?  There must have been water in the dough, even if it all cooked out during baking… AH HA!  I get it!  They listed the ingredients by their weight in the finished product, not the dough!  And since the crackers are bone dry when they are finished, they don’t need to list water at all!!!!  Obviously this loaf isn’t going to be that dry, but it will dry out enough that I can pretty much add as much water as I want and still stay true to the original.  Thank goodness!

I kept the process as simple as I could.  Rye meal only in the preferment.  All the other large or hard bits in a hot soaker.  Then everything together and into a Pullman pan. 

This loaf is mostly made up of meal rather than flour.  Everything labelled “meal” in the formula was ground from whole grains in a burr coffee grinder.  There is some dust-fine flour produced along with the meal.  I sifted some, but not all, of it out so there is a bit more “flour” in this loaf than indicated in the formula.  I’ll be tinkering with this aspect of the process down the road.

Long, slow, covered baking is something I started working on last winter.  I never got a result I was really happy with before summer came along and put the experimentation on hold.  This seemed like a perfect opportunity to start tinkering again so I went with a total of five hours in the oven.  The biggest problem I ran into with the long bake was the outside of the loaf drying out before the inside could bake through.  Even in a covered pan there was too much moisture escaping, but keeping the oven steamed for hours was never an option.  The solution:  Pour water directly on the loaf at intervals during the bake.  Simple!

And then there is the waiting.  As many before me have noted, a loaf like this really takes a couple days to fully set and for its moisture to even out.  I never wait that long for a first taste, but it is worth waiting before devouring the rest of the loaf!  This loaf came together very nicely after 48 hours.  To avoid having the crust dry out I don’t wait until the loaf is completely cool before I bag it and put it in the refrigerator – yes, the refrigerator.  This is the only style of bread I refrigerate.  If I’m planning on eating it right away I will take it out again once it has chilled and leave it on the counter.

The result: happiness!  Even the cat loves this bread (I thought that was a little odd, but a good review is a good review, right?).  The flavor is complex and satisfying and the texture is moist with just enough chew.  Now that I’ve eliminated the rock hard crust I see this style of bread becoming one of my regular bakes – at least during the cool months.  And the possibilities are endless! 

Marcus

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 picked up the little mill attachment for my new mixer and have been experimenting with it my last couple bakes.

My first batch used 40% fresh milled flour (hard red wheat), my second about 25%.  The flavour seems really nice, though I've got a bit of the cold and thus don't have the most nuanced sense of taste right now.

I have much to learn if I decide this is something I want to pursue.  For now I'm just having fun tinkering with a new toy, and the response from everyone who can taste has been quite good.

This is the second time I have made this recipe, so I am still working on it.  First time I made it, the starter was really active, and after I made the dough, I had to go out and left it too long, so it was over proofed. I brought some sourdough starter to my hometown of Milwaukee when my husband and I were in town this summer. I took it in checked baggage, used two ziplock bags over a glass container, and it worked.  I put a sticker on it with my address and said: "sourdough starter' in case the TSA folks were wondering what it was!)  I was in town again recently and just had to bake, as all of you understand. The starter was in the fridge for months and started up perfectly when I was there two weeks ago.  My sister fed it once for me during that time.  The starter was extremely active. I had apricots and nuts and thought I would make something with these ingredients for a Sunday football party.  Because I had to go out, I left it too long, and I thought the taste was too sour, and I didn't like the color. The starter I have in Milwaukee is much more active than the starter I have at home. The "baby" is better than the "parent."  For this one, my "home" starter wasn't active enough, so it took forever, and I got some wrinkling I didn't like. The braiding is kind of fun, but I didn't do the best job on this one. My husband gave it the thumps up, however; we just had it warm out of the oven and toasted.  I am trying to let the starter I have at home rest more, so it can become more active. Suggestions are certainly welcome.  I so much appreciate the encouragement, advice and outstanding baking on this site.  I have learned so much, but am always trying to get better.  Thanks to everyone!

I've attached the link to the recipe below.

http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2010/04/perhaps-best-yetirish-apricot-and.html

I didn't know I couldn't post more than 1 pic for a blog entry. D'oh.

Here is a pic of the crumb of Loaf #1 (there were 2 loaves from the batch of dough).

Cheers-
Dave

As I mentioned previously I decided to try "My Daily Bread"  with SD starter instead of packaged yeast. So I added 1 cup of fed starter to 1 cup unbleached AP flour and 1 cup of filtered water to make a "poolish" (I used quotes because I'm not sure what to call it when using SD starter). I let it ferment at room temperature overnight, and then proceeded to use 8 ounces of filtered water and enough flour to make a slightly sticky dough (I did not record the amount of flour used so I don't know the hydration, but it definitely is less than the 70% used in many SD recipes posted on TFL). I kneaded the mixture with my Kitchen Aid for 5 minutes at "1" with the dough hook, let it rest for 15 minutes, then kneaded again for 5 minutes with the KA at "1." I let it ferment at room temperature for about 6 or 7 hours, then put it in the refrigerator overnight. Yesterday evening I split the dough ball in half and formed 2 boules, put each boule on a piece of baking parchment, and let them rise overnight at room temperature. I baked them both this morning by preheating the oven (with a stone and a metal pan of water) to 550 F, slashing the loaf with a "+" and then baking the loaf for 15 minutes at 550 F then 10 minutes at 475 F. Final bread temperature was 212 F for loaf #1 and 208 F for loaf #2.

Oven spring was OK, shape of each loaf was a little wonky ... each dough ball formed a thin dry skin on the surface and it looked like the dough was rising unevenly as a result. Crumb development was OK but not great (not a big surprise considering the hydration was low (at least lower than 70%)). I took off a thin slice and tasted it, tastes pretty good but we'll see how the flavor develops over the next day or two. I think the pics are a bit deceiving as the crumb seems slightly dense to me.

I can see how the higher hydration leads to such a spectacular crumb ... I am thinking that in addition to poor gluten development in my SD loaves, the higher hydration doughs are a bit more fragile and prone to "deflation" while being handled after the final rise. I think I can handle that, now that I've learned a bit.

Quick update on my Cadco oven.  It took an electrician doubling as an oven mover helper, an amateur plumber, and a fan, but it's now up and running, and I am starting to learn to use it.    No surprise but it requires lower temperature AND shorter baking time.   This fig anise bread took 30 minutes total, at first 400F, then 350F, then 300F as I kept lowering it to keep the crust from getting too dark before the inside could bake.   It looks a bit lonely in there doesn't it, but no way am I going to bake a big load of bread before I get to know its ways.    The fan on top is the amateur climate control specialist's solution to fluid condensing on the wall behind the oven.   Works like a charm.   No need for the $1000 condenser.

Onward and upward.

Here is a pic I took this past Sunday.

On the left are failed attempts at Dave Snyder's SFSD and SJSD. I suspect it has to do with inadequate gluten development. Starter could be off but I've been able to work it up to the point where it will double in 3 to 4 hours ... we'll see.

Loaf on the right is "My Daily Bread" baked in a gas-fired oven, with a pizza stone, with a metal bowl of water, at 550deg F, until an internal temperature of 205 deg F was attained. Appears to have come out well, which I suspect has to do with 1) sufficient kneading (I used my Kitchen Aid), and 2) a tad lower hydration. SWMBO decided we'd save it for Thanksgiving, so any crumb pictures will have to wait.

As you can see it had quite a bit of oven spring, so I'm fairly certain that it was a bit underproofed when it went into the oven.

I've decided to try a version of MDB using starter (instead of packaged yeast) for the poolish...

More later.

-Dave

Made some 1.2 kg boules using a liquid white and stiff wheat levain this weekend.  I used about 48% wheat and 2 % rye (in the form of rye sour used in the liquid levain) I would have used my white starter but I didn't have quite enough for both levains so instead of adding a touch of rye flour i built off of my rye sour.  I wanted a full flavored bread with volume and keeping qualities in a relatively small amount of time.  So 30% of the flour was prefermented which boosted both bulk and final ferments.  2 hours and 1 hour.  Since the loaves were so large right after shape I retarded 2 loaves and proofed 1 at room temp.  It was ready to go at just shy of an hour and I missed it so it was a touch over but not bad at all.  The other loaves followed after 1 hour, then 2 hours.  The slow rise in the retarder helped a great deal.  Next time I'd retard all and bake start baking at the 2 hour mark.  

that is my assistant "Seven" and she is pleased with the results.   As am I.  As expected this bread was better on day 2.  Last loaf is left and we'll see how it is on day 3.

Josh

Thanks to Isand66 inspiration on savory english muffins, who saved me from my plain or sweet boring english muffins. 

I mixed the cooked onion, tomato and dried basil into the dough, with a few S&F, divided and proof for 45 mins.

Heres the crumb n front shot.

After eating it, im still craving for his bacon and cheese *Huff huff" :( , I will definitely grab some bacon for my next english muffins bake.