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Light Pain au Levain; “Rossisky”using the Auerman Three Stage Process.

ananda's picture
ananda

Light Pain au Levain; “Rossisky”using the Auerman Three Stage Process.

Light Pain au Levain; “Rossisky”using the Auerman Three Stage Process.

Yesterday I stoked up the wood-fired oven first thing, as I had around 8.5kg of dough retarded in my fridge, and a ripe Rye “Sponge”, ready to use to make a Pullman Pan loaf of high-rye bread.

I had to get up early on Sunday to start building the wheat leaven and rye sourdough, as I had minimal stock, as usual, and had decided I wanted to make a large batch of dough using the Hobart mixer, something a bit lighter as an alternative sample for the shop I had visited the day before.

I fed the wheat leaven 3 times over the day, starting with 40g of stock, and ending up with just over 2kg.   I fed the rye sourdough twice in the same period, then made the “Sponge” last thing before going to bed.

Here are the formulae detail:

1.    Light Pain au Levain

Material/Stage

Formula [% of flour]

Recipe [grams]

1. Wheat Levain

 

 

Carrs Special CC Flour

25

1250

Water

15

750

TOTAL

40

2000

 

 

 

2. Final Dough

 

 

Wheat Levain [from 1.]

40

2000

Carrs Special CC Flour

45

2250

Gilchesters’ Organic Pizza/Ciabatta Flour

25

1250

Bacheldre Dark Rye coarse bran & meal

5

250

Salt

1.8

90

Water

53

2650

TOTAL

169.8

8490

 

 

 

% pre-fermented flour

25

-

% overall hydration

68

-

FACTOR

50

-

 

Method:

    • Build the leaven as described above and allow to ripen until just peaking.
    • For the rye flour, sift Bacheldre flour several times, to separate the fine particles from the coarse.   Reserve the fine flour for the Rossisky loaf, and use the coarse meal as part of the grist here.
    • Weigh the water into the mixing bowl and add the ripened leaven.   Lastly add the flours and salt.   Attach a dough hook and mix for 15 minutes on first speed to develop the dough.   Scrape down as necessaryduring mixing.   Retard overnight.
    • Leave the dough for 1½ hours to come back to room temperature, before scaling and dividing.   I made 9 loaves from this dough. One in a pan, plus a variety of different-sized boules.
    • Set to prove in the bannetons/pan, covered, for 3 – 4 hours whilst firing the oven.
    • I had to bake these loaves in 2 batches, as the oven takes 5, maybe 6 loaves only, at one time.
    • Cool on wires.

The first batch went into the oven whilst it was still a bit hot.   Four of them were fine, and I sold them to my builder mates, so they are not pictured.   The large and dark specimen is the one we are currently eating.   Alison hasn’t had any yet, and I suspect it will be too well-fired for her taste; we shall see?   However, the quality in the crumb is very pleasing indeed, a fine example of how baking hot directly on the sole can produce wonderfully gelatinised crumb.   The crust has cracked beautifully and is pleasing in every aspect, except it is a little too dark!   I took another loaf for a friend who helped me out recently with a supply of wood to fuel the fire.   I gave 2 more away as samples to the shopkeeper I visited on Saturday.   The other 2 go into the freezer.

The Samples:

 2.    “Rossisky”using the Auerman Three Stage Process.

I made the “Scald” at the same time as the final refreshment for the rye sourdough, then combined the “Scald” with the “Sour” to make the “Sponge” last thing at night.   I made the final paste first thing in the morning.

Material/Stage

Formula [% of flour]

Recipe [grams]

1a. Rye Sourdough

 

 

Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye Flour

30

300

Water

50

500

TOTAL

80

800

 

 

 

1b. “Scald”

 

 

Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye Flour

15

150

Red Malted Barley Powder

5

50

Boiling Water

35

350

TOTAL

55

550

 

 

 

2. “Sponge”

 

 

Rye Sourdough [from 1a.]

80

800

“Scald” [from 1b.]

55

550

TOTAL

135

1350

 

 

 

3. Final Paste

 

 

“Sponge” [from 2]

135

1350

Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye –finely sifted

30

300

Gilchesters’ Organic Pizza/Ciabatta Flour

20

200

Salt

1.5

15

TOTAL

186.5

1865

 

 

 

% pre-fermented flour

30 + 20 = 50

-

% overall hydration

85

-

FACTOR

10

-

 

Method:

    • Build the sour as described, make the Scald, then combine the two to make the Sponge.   Ferment this overnight.
    • I sifted through the Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye flour, reserving the fine flour to use here, and using the coarse meal in the Pain au Levain.   Add the remaining flour and the salt to the sponge in a mixer, and combine with the paddle beater to form a paste.   Scrape the bowl down as required.
    • Bulk proof for 1 hour.
    • Line a Pullman Pan neatly with silicone paper and place the paste into the pan, neatening off carefully.   Attach the lid.
    • Final Proof 3 hours.
    • Bake 2½ hours at 160°C in an electric oven with convection and a steady supply of steam.
    • Cool on wires.   Wrap in linen 24 hours before cutting.

For some reason my rye sourdough is not managing to raise this particular type of bread as effectively as in the past.   The loaf did not quite hit the lid of the Pullman Pan, which I have usually achieved in the past.   I kept the salt out of the Scald this time as I thought this may have been retarding activity in the Sponge.   However, what I actually believe is the most likely problem is that the final paste appears a little tight.   Rye flour is notoriously unpredictable when it comes to water absorption, however, past experience tells me to be wary of going much beyond that 85% hydration rate.   I have worked with flour in the past which was so badly damaged by the milling that it was possible to just keep adding water and yet the paste never dropped at all.   Of course, it then becomes impossible to bake the loaves as there is an excess of moisture which just cannot be driven off.   I reckon I am going to have to be much more rigorous about temperature regimes throughout the entire process.   Adding more water will be a last resort only.

I have just had a sample of this bread now, having cut off a portion to use as a sample in the shop in Wooler, and given a bit to the builders for their “elevenses”.   The taste at least, is spot-on.

More baking later in the week; I will need to be getting more wood sorted as well!

Happy Baking!

Andy

Comments

varda's picture
varda

if I ever get a crumb like your light pain au levain I would think I'd died and gone to heaven.   Second, your quantity baking is quite impressive.   I made four loaves yesterday, and in the heat of the moment one of them was more or less destroyed.   It looks like you have several times that going at once.  Ok.   I know you are not an amateur but I can still be impressed.  Wonderful baking!  -Varda

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Varda,

The 2 photographs at the bottom of this post have me convinced that you obviously didn't like it up there in heaven, and so decided to come back.   Good choice!

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/25170/faux-faux-poilane

Yes, I am making quite a bit of bread at the moment; hopefully I can expand this somewhat in the short term, despite limited facilities.   After next summer I'm hoping production will be considerably increased.

I really appreciate your generous words

Very best wishes

Andy

Franko's picture
Franko

Now it's my turn to be impressed Andy.

That crumb on the Pain au Levain is a thing of beauty and should be in a baking textbook as a perfect example of gelatinised  crumb! I've always considered myself lucky if I get any gelatinization at all in my home oven that max's out at 500F, and like Varda I'd be over the moon with something like that.

When mixing the Rossisky (which looks delicious by the way!) with the paddle, how much time and at what speeds are you using, if I may ask?

Best Wishes,

Franko

 

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Franko,

Scarily, I loaded the first batch of loaves with an infra red temperature reading on the roof at 350*C, and the sole aroundabout 300*C....ie ridiculously hot; I just about got away with it, but that photo is of a loaf weighing in at 1.3kg, and it baked in less than 40 minutes!!!

For the Rossisky I don't use any intensive mixing, or make any attempt to develop gluten; there isn't really any there to develop.   It's more a matter of making sure the ferment is thoroughly incorporated into the final paste.   Approx mixing times would be 3 minutes on first speed and 1-2 minutes on second.   Of course, scraping down the bowl as required is of utmost importance.

Your comments are very much appreciated, as ever

All good wishes

Andy

ehanner's picture
ehanner

Andy,

The crumb on your Light Pain au Levain looks simply wonderful. A bold bake that looks like it has great potential to be outstanding. I hope your bride likes it as much as you will. Thank you for a detailed post with great visuals to key on.

Cheers,

Eric

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Eric,

You may already know that Alison is a rye fiend!   So, the Rossisky was always going to be her first choice anyway!

The Tree is now up, and the lovely blue lights flashing away in the window

Very good to hear from you and many thanks for your positive comments

All good wishes

Andy

breadsong's picture
breadsong

Andy,
I couldn't agree more with your description of your pain au levain's crumb :^)
The sample loaves look perfect to me, as does your pullman rye.
:^) from breadsong

ananda's picture
ananda

Thank you breadsong,
I normally try to photograph the breads outside to try to do them justice.
My photographic skills are pretty limited, and I gather from the more knowledgeable that the flash on my small digital camera is relatively poor, although the camera itself is a reasonably good one.
A school report on photography might read: could do better!
I am more than happy about the bread itself, which is the most important thing really
Lovely to hear from you
Best wishes
Andy

Mebake's picture
Mebake

This is some serious devotion, passion and dedication, Andy! 8 Kg, and planning to increase production? Did i miss something? are you into commercial bread production? 

I join the others in admiring your pain au levain. however, it obviously comes with a price, a scorched crust. Nevertheless, your efforts have produced some excellent loaves!

 

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Khalid,
In your absence I found the work at Leeds was uncertain, and I hated being away from home. Having left that post, work has been very sporadic since.
So I am making alternate career plans so I'm all set for the big change when I complete my MSc at the end of our Summer.
Hence I have bought a 20 quart Hobart mixer which has taken pride of place in our kitchen. And..the wood-fired oven now gets a regular outing and is proving to be more effective at storing heat than I could possibly have hoped for.
Yes, the one loaf I could capture in photograph was too dark for many tastes. But I do also think there is good illustration here of the positive effects of baking on the sole of a very hot brick oven.
Best wishes
Andy

PiPs's picture
PiPs

Oooh. Dark crust alright.  I always get my wrists slapped by Nat for my enjoyment of "bold baked" crusts. The crumb is sensational though ... great use of the sifted rye meal in the dough ... the bran is floating in the opaque crumb. I love that.

I have been reading with interest your Auerman process rye. This is using the sour and scald then combining them in a sponge? I would like to give his method a go. I noticed you are using a bulk ferment with this process ... what's the reasoning behind this? 

I was about to ask how particular you were with temperatures, then remembered that you said you needed to be more rigorous next time. Any clues though?

You are certainly getting your moneys worth from the mixer ... good to see.

All the best,
Phil
p.s.  so much for summer heat ... the temperature has plummeted here with rain expected for most of the month .... (when I say plummeted its still 20C)

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Phil,
There is much very good discussion to be found on the Auerman Process, largely on other sites, it has to be said.
However, Faith and Daisy have both really helped me to find these sources, and you should also look for suave's blog. It's in Russian, but you can find your way round it reasonably with Google translate.
It's not an exhaustive post by any means, but if you look at my blog entry here:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/24237/celebrating-rye-breads
this should be a good starting point to chase references. Look for comments from Daisy and Faith in the thread. This is the link to suave's blog:
http://crucide.livejournal.com/202572.html#cutid1
You'll need to translate it, as I said.
This is also a good place to research:
http://www.foodbanter.com/sourdough/175443-translation-auermans-borodinsky-recipe.html
Bulk ferment time is for just one hour, and I would happily cut that back if I found the final paste was moving at a good rate, fermentation-wise.
Temperature? 28*C; I want to move to Brisbane! In spite of your cooler snap. It's blowing a howling gale here, and, although sunny, it's very cold too.
Good to hear from you Phil, many thanks for your kind words
Best wishes
Andy

Juergen Krauss's picture
Juergen Krauss

to try the Auermann process.

But first - Andy, that gelatinised crumb is amazing!

I wanted to try the Auermann process for a while, and your post came at the right moment - I needed some rye bread and had just the right time to follow your process.

I didn't have red malt, I used some black treacle in the sponge.

My sourdough was quite active, I adjusted the proofing times accordingly (the sponge peaked after 4 hours at 24C ambient temp).

The bread has come out very nicely. Soft, light and moist but substantial, with a mild, fruity flavor and good keeping qualities - I started eating the second loaf today, 4 days after baking.

A great recipe,

Thank you,

Juergen

 

 

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Juergen,

4 hours for the sponge process is exactly what Auerman stipulates.

Well done for that; it doesn't alway work out for me.   When it has done, I agree, this is sensational bread.

Treacle is not really a decent substitute for Red Malt.   Bakery Bits will supply your needs moving forward.

Red Malt is a powder form of Crystal Barley Malt.

4 days before slicing: great discipline my friend!

Photos?

All good wishes

Andy

Juergen Krauss's picture
Juergen Krauss

Hi Andy,

I was trying to get crystal malt from Harvey's in Lewes, but they don't sell.

I'll order from Bakery Bits.

And this was the second loaf, we ate the first one during the previous four days - we also had some nice wholegrain levain, and some pane al latte.

You might guess correct that we'll have a diet next ;-)

Here's a photo of the crumb:

 

Best Wishes,

Juergen

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Juergen,

The crumb texture looks "bang-on".   The strange colour must be the camera, I guess?

Hard lines on facing up to a "diet"; never done one of those!

Very best wishes

Andy

Juergen Krauss's picture
Juergen Krauss

Hi,

Artificial lighting, and me trying to fix the colors. I should say I'm partially colorblind. Hm.

Also, the bread when fresh was quite light in color and the effect of the black treacle was noticeable.

Now the bread has become much darker / rye-ish.

nicodvb's picture
nicodvb

should be included in some manual, Andy. That crumb is incredible! As for the rye breads that don't rise as they used to do, I was wondering if you can try to increase the proofing temperature and to bake the first 10 minutes at 250°C or more to give the paste a kick of life. After all a huge heat is what a WFO excels at doing.

Nico

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Nico,

Many thanks for your kind words, and excellent advice.

I would have to load the rye breads into the electric oven initially to get that burst of high heat.   Then transfer to the wood-fired oven for that long slow bake on the "dead" oven.   That would work really well.   I can do like Eric, and let them sit overnight on a really gentle heat.   Long and intense heat in the brick oven would burn the rye bread.

I've realised that now I am baking more, I no longer need to keep my leavens and sours in the fridge.   I've never maintained a starter at ambient temperature at home as I hate throwing things away unused.   However, I reckon I can now feed small amounts to build up the cultures without having to throw any out.   That should make quite a difference too.

Very best wishes

Andy