The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Red Fife & Multigrain Levain

Franko's picture
Franko

Red Fife & Multigrain Levain

For the bread I wanted to bake this week I didn't have to look too far to find the recipe I was after. Right next to the Whole Wheat Levain in Hamelman's Bread that I baked last week is his Whole Wheat Multigrain which also uses a levain. Over the last six months I've accumulated a lot of various grains and thought I'd try to use some of them up since I'm running out of room in my storage bin. As well, I wanted a recipe that I could use the Red Fife whole wheat flour in, so this seemed like the perfect fit. The only changes I made to the formula were to increase the amount of grains by 18% and the overall hydration by about 4% , putting it into the high 70's. The grains used were millet, oatmeal, cracked wheat, rye chops, and the last of some seven grain mix I've had since last February. The millet made up 40% of the hot soaker, and the remaining grains were divided in roughly equal proportions. Since the formula includes 1% of bakers yeast in addition to the levain, this is by far the quickest rising levain style bread I've made so far, taking just a little over 5hrs and an easy one day 'mix to oven' levain bread. The loaves were baked using the dutch oven method, the boule baked totally in the lid/pot combo and the batard on the stone covered with the pot. So far I've had better results using the pot/stone combo for even bottom colour, as the lid/pot method tends to darken it more than I'd like. Earlier this week in a reply to Mini on another post I described it as scorching, but it's not even that, it's just uneven colouring since there's no 'burnt' taste to the loaf. The DO we have is heavy aluminum rather than iron so that may be where the problem lies, I'm not sure. I'm considering having a piece of baking stone cut to size to fit inside the lid and see if that doesn't correct the problem, or I may just go for a genuine Lodge CC. At any rate, both loaves turned out well I thought, with a crunchy crust and a nice chewy, even textured crumb. This is a good everyday bread for sandwiches or toast, and although it uses a levain it's very mild in acidity but with lots of deep wheaty flavour that bread lovers will enjoy. If there was any downside to this bake it's that I've just enough Red Fife flour left for one more mix, meaning my trip down Island to Cowichan Bay for more will have to be sooner than I'd thought. The RF flour is so nice to work with and makes such tasty bread I really don't mind having to literally go the extra mile/s to get some more.

All the Best,

Franko

 

 

Comments

ananda's picture
ananda

Up there with all your breads of late, Franko.

That's a really interesting banneton you are using.

Just love Hamelman's multigrain formula too

All good wishes

Andy

Franko's picture
Franko

Thanks Andy!

Marie would tell you that the last Spelt bread I made for her was far from "up there". I learned a valuable lesson about the pitfalls of an overripe poolish.

You must be referring to to oval shaped loaf re:interesting banneton. It's just a basket I bought to use while I was waiting for the real thing to arrive in the mail. It's very much like what a restaurant would use to serve bread in. Just wanted to try it to see what shape a loaf it would turn out. Makes a nice shape I thought.

Cheers,

Franko

ehanner's picture
ehanner

I'm with you Franko. I really like that multigrain. Do you have a particular set of grains you like?

Eric

Franko's picture
Franko

Thanks Eric!

I don't have any particular set of grains that I prefer since I like them all, but I always make sure that millet is one of them. Love the texture it gives to the bread as well as how it tastes when toasted.

Franko

breadsong's picture
breadsong

Hi Franko - congratulations on two more lovely loaves - from breadsong

Franko's picture
Franko

Hi breadsong,

Many thanks! It looks like I'll be going down to get us some RF fairly soon, possibly next week if the roads over here stay clear of snow. I'll message. you a few days ahead of time when I know for sure and you can tell me what you'd like me to pick up for you when I'm at True Grain.

All the best,

Franko

breadsong's picture
breadsong

Thanks again Franko for your willingness to send me some of this great-sounding flour!  from breadsong

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Lovely Bakes, Franko! I like multigrain too, well done!

It appears Your loaves could have used more final fermentation time?

Franko's picture
Franko

Hi Khalid,

Thanks very much for your comments. You have a keen eye my friend, the loaves could have had a slightly longer final ferment. The slash pattern on the boule was not exactly what I'd intended it to look like but I rather like the result anyway. How's your back doing? Hope it's well on it's way to healing.

Franko

wally's picture
wally

I love multigrains for both health reasons and the appearance and crunchiness of the crumb.  Those are both outstanding looking.

Larry

Franko's picture
Franko

Thanks Larry!

Yes, the crunchiness is a big factor for me as well, especially when it's toasted. It's a good thing I made two loaves of this cause the last few slices of the first one were finished this morning along with my coffee. My Dr. would be very pleased with my diligence in keeping up the old fiber intake.

Good to hear from you Larry,

Franko