The Fresh Loaf

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Andy's Rye sourdough w/sunflower soaker

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Andy's Rye sourdough w/sunflower soaker

I've always admired Andy's (ananda)recipes, and earlier printed and baked one of his. The blog can be found HERE. He describes the bread as being one of the tastiest imaginable.

I, however, regretfully, did not remain true to the recipe, and deviated, mostly out of necessity and scheduling. Firstly, i didn't have any pumpkin seeds, so i used only sunflower seeds. Secondly i reserved no seeds for the garnish (blame it on my forgetful mind!). Thirdly, i prepared and used 20% more rye levain than called for in Andy's recipe, as i wanted a faster ferment and consequently baking the same day i mix. Fourthly, and most importantly, i ended up retarding in bulk the dough, as even the additional Levain took a while, and i couldn't afford to stay up late for baking. The last factor, did increase the tanginess/ sourness of this bread, although within tolerable limits ( in a nice way).

Baked in a deep Pullman look alike.

Soft, and Very, Very aromatic!

Speckeled with sunflower seeds.

I'am not in a position, therefore, to be able to verify the claim Andy made to the flavor of this bread, but judging from the flavor of my version, Andy's un-retarded version should be more subtle in sourness, and would allow the seeds to show presence better. The sunflower liquor has some solid presence as it permeates throughout the loaf. Pumpkin seeds were all that was missing from the combination.

Thank you andy for the wonderful recipe!

 

Comments

sam's picture
sam

Looks great to me!   Good bake, Mebake.

 

lumos's picture
lumos

Really beautiful crumb, Khalid!  Really love the delicate colour.

thanks for sharing. :)

lumos

 

p.s. I actually much  prefer sunflower seeds to pumpkin seeds......but don't tell this to Andy!    ::runs::  :p

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Thank you, gvz! this bread really smells of sunflower seeds.

Thanks, Lumos! :) Pumpkin seeds would have added another flavor dimension to the prevailing sunflower seed infused bread.

sam's picture
sam

Wasn't too sour after the cold retard?   I guess with only 32% of the flour being Rye, you could get away with a cold retard?   Depends on time+temp.

I've been struggling with trying to cold-retard high percentage whole-grain flours made with with natural leaven, my LAB just goes nuts on me.   :)   On one hand, I want the flavors from my wild yeast on a long ferment, but on the other I want the LAB to be diminished.   Possibly the best is to do the Robertson method of using young levains.   Or, maybe both a poolish and a small amount of very ripe sour leaven?    So far, I didn't notice much of a difference in texture from a poolish-only vs. levain-only, but I definitely noticed a difference between poolish/levain vs + more baker's yeast in the final dough.   Adding more yeast in the final dough makes it fluffier and lighter, not as much chew.   My apologies I am just rambling...

 

 

 

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Sour, but no overly so, and in a pleasant way.

To avoid Lacto Bacteria adverse effect on a retarded sourdough, and as you rightly said, use a reasonably ripe sour, or levain.

nicodvb's picture
nicodvb

because his fellow made a fantastic job indeed!

Mebake's picture
Mebake

:) Thanks, Nico.

varda's picture
varda

Khalid,   Looks like you got great results.   Two questions:   Do you think the sides would have browned more if you had baked longer, or is that a function of the pan treatment?   And can you give more info on the pan itself?   I am shopping for one now.  -Varda

AnnaInNC's picture
AnnaInNC

with a recipe and then notice someone ate the last few slices of the remaining, and I have to rush the process along.

Your bread looks beautiful and if not sour enough, oh well -  serve a pickle with it :)

Anna

 

rayel's picture
rayel

Khalid, bread looks like a beauty. The color and shape, and crumb. The flavor must be wonderful.  Ray

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Thank you varda! here is a picture of the pan

the tin plated pan is lightweight and does not retain heat as other pans would. I have two options: either bake for 15 additional minutes (while tenting the top), or de-pan it and resume baking it free form to even out the color.

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Thank you , Anna! Actually, quite the opposite in my case here. I delayed bulk fermentation in the fridge due to scheduling constrains. I never had an incidence where i had to rush my baking schedule.

 

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Thank you, Ray!