The Fresh Loaf

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XXIX -Still baking! : Little Salkeld Multigrain Sourdough.... and HUGE thanks to Ruralidle

lumos's picture
lumos

XXIX -Still baking! : Little Salkeld Multigrain Sourdough.... and HUGE thanks to Ruralidle

Yes, I've been baking regularly still, usually twice a week at least. Just been a bit lazy in posting the result lately.  :p  

 My first trial with Four Grain Blend flour  Richard (Ruralidle) kindly got for me from Little Salkeld Watermill, Cumbria, in Lake District.

  As Richard advised, I mixed it with my regular bread flour at 25 : 75 ratio and at 67% hydration and kept the method very simple and basic to get to know this flour.  In the end, I added a bit more water because it felt a tiny bit stiffer than my regular basic sourdough, so the final hydration became about 70%, which is exactly the same as my regular dough. I think it’s probably due to the higher gluten level of the flour I used (Waitrose Leckford Estate Strong flour. 13.6% protein), compared to Richard’s regular flour, Untreated Organic White from Shipton Mills with 11.3% protein.

 I baked in the late evening and left it on a worktop overnight, and sliced it first thing in the morning for my breakfast and sandwich for my husband.  The first thing I noticed was how moist the crumb was. It reminded me of a few loaves I baked a few years ago which included some oats flakes. And the loaf kept its moistness very well for whole three days until we consumed it all. So it’s definitely a bread that keeps well.  Also it had subtle but very pleasant nutty flavour. It was lovely as it is, but even better when toasted, too.  I think I’ll increase the proportion of Four Grain flour a bit next time, probably to 30% or so.

 Thank you, Richard, for introducing this lovely flour to me (and paying for it, too! ).  You’re absolutely right. It makes a really good loaf!

 

Multigrain Sourdough with 25% Little Salkeld Four Grain Blend Flour


Ingredients

 Levain – 120g (70% hydration) = fed with 70g strong flour + 50g water

 Main Dough

   Four Grain Blend flour  75g

   Strong Flour  225g

   Salt  7g

   Water  210g 

 

Method

1)      Feed the starter 8 – 16 hrs before use.  

2)      When the levain is ready, mix flour and water and leave for 30 min to autolyse.

3)      Sprinkle salt and stretch and fold in a bowl until the salt is well distributed.

4)      Rest 40 minutes.

5)      Repeat 2-3 x S&F in bowl at 40-45min intervals.

6)      Put the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl and cold retard in the fridge for 16-18 hrs.

7)      Take it out of the fridge and leave at room temperature for 1 – 1 1/2 hr.

8)      Pre-shape, shape and put in a banetton.

9)      Final proof…..until it’s ready to bake. (finger-poking test!)

10)  Heat the oven at 240C with a covered casserole (I use an oval Pyrex casserole with a lid).

11)  Bake for 20 min with the lid on.

12)  Remove the lid, lower the temperature to 210C and bake for another 20 – 25 min.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

I am glad you enjoyed the loaf and the flour.  I do like it and the biggest problem with it is the carriage costs from the watermill :( .  Your bread looks lovely as usual.  A bit better than the one that I baked yesterday using a similar recipe but I think that was more to do with the long run that I had to load it into the wood fired oven than anything else, I must get a table near the outdoor oven so that I can take the loaf out of the proving basket, slash it and load it into the oven within a few seconds.  Still, the baguettes I baked in it turned out quite good (but no great "ears") but I need a peel long enough to fit a decent sized baguette on.

Happy Baking

Richard

lumos's picture
lumos

Thank you, Richard, for your comment and, more importantly, lovely flour! :)   I'm planning to bake another one this week, this time with 30-35% Four Grain flour.   What's the highest proportion you've used this flour?

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hi lumos

Sorry it has taken me a couple of days to reply, I've been preparing for a couple of meetings at the end of the week. Anyway, I have used up to approximately 35% of the 4 grain in a dough but then I added 10g of vital wheat gluten - whether it needed it or not :) .

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi Richard,

My next batch with 1/3 Four Grain flour is proofing as we speak, will be due for baking in a hour or so.  For this batch I used Dove's Organic Bread flour which is lower in protein than the previous one (Waitrose Leckford Estate),  so I'm a bit nervous how it'll turn out.  Will post the result when it's done.   Pray for me!!!!

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Ok, I can't wait any longer :) I have to ask you how the different formula came out.

lumos's picture
lumos

Sorry, I did bake it late last night (Wed),  left it to cool overnight and had it for breakfast.......and been out all day!  Just posted the result here (link).  Thank you for your impatient patience! :p

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hi lumos

Those loaves look as if they have caught the "Mary Poppins" characteristics - "practically perfect in every way". They look delicious, I'm glad you are liking the flour. Good luck with 50% of the 4 grain. I might try that myself if you produce a better loaf than the last two bakes (if that is possible) :) .

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Lumos,

Glad to see you posting again :-)  I figured you were resting after the terrific get together you helped organize.

Lovely loaf.

Do you happen to know the different grains used in your flour blend?  I am wondering if it tells you on the sack somewhere what they include so I can see if I can come up with a similar blend using my grains.

Thanks,

Janet

lumos's picture
lumos

Thank you, Janet. :)  The info on the flour is as Richard told you below.  Was a bit nervous using it at first as there's not mention about protein level or as such on the bag at all, so had no idea how the flour would behave.  Bread flour I usually use is quite high in protein (see above), so I hoped it'd give enough strength to the dough and it was only 25% Four Grain flour I mixed in, so in the end it turned out alright fortunately. 

Good luck with your trial with mixed grain loaf.  I've used oat flakes several times before and I think it really helps keep the moisture as well as giving  a good crunch to the crumb.

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

"Stoneground Wheat Flour with Cracked Rye Flakes, Barley Flakes and Oat Flakes. A lovely crunchy texture and delicious taste for biscuits, crumble tops and flapjacks, as well as a solid loaf full of flakes. After two or three days, it makes very good toast."

http://www.organicmill.co.uk/  Go to "shop" to see descriptions of all their flours.

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Richard,

Thanks for the grains included in this loaf. I have them sitting in my basement waiting to be used :-)  My kids like all 3 grains when I put them in loaves.  Will see what their reaction is when I combine all in a single loaf.   I have combined rye and barley many times when making D. Leopard's 'Barley Rye Loaf' but have never added oats.

Will give this a go when my lean loaf lover returns from his camping trip at the end of the week :-)

Thanks for the recipe and Lumos for bringing it to my attention!

Take Care,

Janet

Syd's picture
Syd

Lumos, so nice to see you back!  Where have you been hiding?  Nice crumb on that loaf. Keep on documenting them.

Best,

Syd

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, Syd! :)  I've been hiding behind that tree over there. Can you see it? :p ..... well, in truth,  I've only been baking my regular loaves lately, so thought it'd be a bit boring to blog about the same old things. :p  

Thank you for your kind words.  As I said to Richard above, I'm thining of trying this flour again this week but at higher proportion, so will post about the result. ;)

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi lumos,


very tender and light loaves you have produced using some Watermill flour.

I wondered if you fancied making bread just using this flour only?   We did that exclusively at the Red Herring in Newcastle where I worked from 1987 until 1993.   Sponge and Dough, or a generous Bulk Fermentation process both work well.

Richard is right; Watermill postage costs are prohibitive; but the flour is unique.

All good wishes

Andy

lumos's picture
lumos

Richard advised me to mix 25-30% Four Grain with strong flour, so that's I'm doing at the moment as a start. As I said above, the next bake will be with 30-35% Four Grain, and hopefully I'd get more feel of how this particular flour works. Then I'm planning to up the proportion to 50% and decide if I want to increase it more or not.

PiPs's picture
PiPs

Beautiful bread Lumos,

How lovely to be able to use flour milled in such a manner.

Cheers,
Phil

lumos's picture
lumos

Thank you, Phil.  It was the first time I've ever used flour milled in that way, so it felt really special.  There's been some movements in UK in recent years to revive old run-down water/windmills, so I'm hoping there'll be more of such a mill in the future.

breadsong's picture
breadsong

Hi lumos,
A lovely loaf with a gorgeous bloom, baked with that special flour.
Isn't it wonderful when friends share? I've been the grateful recipient of others' generosity - and it's been a lot of fun baking bread with the flour  friends have so kindly shared with me. 
So good to see your post!
:^) breadsong

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, breadsong. Thank you. :) 

Yes, indeed, I'm so grateful to Richard being so generous and considerate.  It's always great to have a friend who shares a same 'hobby'! ;)

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Great bread, from great homebaker baker that has access to great flours! Lovely Lumos, nice to see you posting again.

lumos's picture
lumos

Thank you, Khalid, the greater home-baker! :)

bertie26's picture
bertie26

Hello Lumos

That bread looks devine. could i ask for the formula please . I will speak to Richard about the flour and the Mill. Have a great time baking bye Albert

lumos's picture
lumos

Thank you, Albert. :)

The formula is already in the post above. ;)