The Fresh Loaf

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Thanksgiving Multi-Grain Marble Chacon

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Thanksgiving Multi-Grain Marble Chacon

After the difficult and tedious Not So Stollen bake earlier in the week, we decide to continue our Thanksgiving bake list with something much simpler, less stressful even if not as enjoyable.

  

After seeing Toady Tom’s fantastic large miche bake and the excellent crust he managed to put on it, we decided to do a large loaf too only using the chacon shape we love to make since it too can produce a beautiful crust if it naturally splits where we would like as it springs and blooms in the oven heat.

  

We also wanted to try out a toasted wheat germ, soft white wheat extract and oat bran component similar to Toad’s to see what it tasted and looked like in the chacon.  All but 10g went into the dark side.

 

Instead of using our recent 1  starter and 24 hour counter levain development we went back to our roughly 20% seed levain for the SD starter required for this bake.   One levain was Rye Desem combo SD for the heartier darker portion of the loaf that has 2all of the whole grains listed for the starter. 

  

The other levain was a YW one that was fed with cake meal, another new ingredient for bread making for us.  Many folks use this ground matzo altus for their lemon, poppy seed walnut cakes or possibly a chiffon cake of any number of possible flavors.  We decided to try it out in the whiter portion of this bread only to see what it tasted like and how it performed in two different kinds of bread.

  

The instant coffee and the cocoa were only used in the dark portion to, you guessed it, make it darker than the light colored portion.  We also used some yogurt whey water for some of the liquid in both portions with 2/3rds of it going into the dark side.  The sprouts were also split between the two sides in the same proportion as the whey water - 2/3rds to the dark. 

  

In order to finish the breakout, the white portion ended up being 500 g with 100 g of the AP and bread flour and 80 g of the whole grains in the bread flour and 10g of the toasted bits.  Total flour and toasted stuff was 290 g and the liquid was 210 g (42 g whey) for a little over 72.4% hydration not counting any of the 1/3 of the sprout total that went into it.

  

With the malts, oats, and potato flakes on in the dark side the hydration of it was 82%.

The fun part was putting together the largest chacon we have ever made.  The center knotted roll is made from the light side and the side going down into the basket is sprinkled with rice flour.  It was surrounded by a twisted rope from the dark side.   The 4 other knotted rolls, on the cardinal direction points, were made from equal portions of dark and light that were ropes twisted together to make one rope.  The 4 little balls between the 4 twisted knotted rolls were from the light side.  Remember to rice flour anything that will touch the basket so it doesn't stick - and don't rice flour anything else so it sticks together.

 

What was left over was two light ropes that were placed on the spread out remaining dark side.  The long sides of the dark were folded over the light ropes to encapsulate them making a long rectangle.  The shot sides of the rectangle were folded over to the middle making a near square where the corners were folded into the center making a circle that was quickly shaped as a boule.

 

This boule was pressed out gently into a large bialy with the center indentation equal in size to the circle of knotted rolls, ropes and balls already in the basket.  The large bialy was floured around the edge that would contact the basket with rice flour and flipped over so the indentation covered the knotted rolls and the assembly was basically flat on top when finished. 

We hope this assembly will make a very pleasing marbled look when the chacon is cut.  Otherwise it was a waste of time and effort…something every baker is well used to if they have been baking more than a couple of minutes with an apprentice that is nearly all paws, bark and ankle bite.

The levains were formed by mixing, letting them double over about 4 hours or so and then chucking them in the fridge for 24 hours to build the labs while suppressing the yeast.   The flours and toasted bits were autolysed with the liquids and the salt for 2 hours as the levains came back to room temperature a day later.

Once the autolye and the levain were combined for each, the gluten was developed with 15 minutes of French slap and folds.  Then 4 sets of S&F’s wee done fpor each where the sprouts were incorporated on the 3rd set.  The dough’s were allowed to develop for 1 ½ hours on the counter before being retarded in a36 F fridge for 15 hours.

 

They were allowed to warm up for 1 ½ hours before being formed into the chacon and the allowed to proof at room temperature for 2 hours before firing up old Betsy and her16”round stone,  to preheat at 500 F for 20 minutes before 2 of Sylvia’s steaming pans were added.

After 45 minute of total pre-heat the chacon was un-molded easily from the basket using parchment and peel.  It slid into the oven off the peel when a 1/2 C of water was thrown into the bottom of the oven for extra initial steam and the door closed.  The temperature was turned down to 450 F the steaming was done at the 20 minute mark when the pans were removed and the temperature turned down to 425 F, convection this time.

In another 20 minutes the bread was exactly 205 F in the middle and beautifully and evenly brown from rotating it 90 degrees on the stone every 5 minutes after the steam came out.  At the 40 minute total mark, we turned off the heat and left the oven door ajar as the chacon continued to crisp on the stone for another 10 minuets before removal to the cooling rack.

The chacon didn't spring all that much and might have been a little over proofed but it did bloom and crack as expected.  It is a very pretty large chacon and we can’t wait for it to cool down and rest for awhile before we cut it ....   and see if anything interesting happened inside.

Now that it is cut..... the light and dark did learn to play well together.  We are pleased that it is so pretty on the inside and fitting for such a gorgeous outside.   The crumb is fairly open for so many add ins and whole grains.  The dark is tangy sour while the white is a little sweet, maybe sue to the Cake meal, has no tang and is a little moister as YW tends to impart in crumbs everywhere.  A very nice combination of two tastes.  The toasted bits tend to come through more on the dark side and the millet crunch is prevalent throughout.  This bread will have to to to the top of the chacon list and into the top 15 of our all time top 5 favorites.  I'm glad we made a big one.

Formula

Combo Starter

Build 1

%

SD Desem & Rye Sour

30

3.01%

Bulgar

20

2.56%

Dark Rye

20

2.56%

Kamut

20

2.56%

Buckwheat

20

2.56%

Spelt

20

2.56%

Whole Wheat

20

2.56%

Yeast Water

60

7.69%

Ground Flax

20

2.56%

Cake Meal

80

10.26%

Water

140

17.95%

Total Starter

450

39.74%

 

 

 

Starter Totals

 

 

Hydration

97.25%

 

Levain % of Total

17.88%

 

 

 

 

Dough Flour

 

%

Whole Spelt

25

3.21%

Dark Rye

25

3.21%

Whole Wheat

25

3.21%

Whole Kamut

25

3.21%

Bulgar

25

3.21%

Buckwheat

25

3.21%

Cake Meal

50

3.21%

Oats

20

2.56%

Instant Potato Flakes

20

2.56%

Bread Flour

245

31.41%

AP

245

31.41%

Dough Flour

730

93.59%

 

 

 

Whey 125 and Water

610

78.21%

Dough Hydration

83.56%

 

 

 

 

Total Flour

998

 

Total Water & Whey Water

822

 

T. Dough Hydration

82.36%

 

Whole Grain %

43.19%

 

 

 

 

Hydration w/ Adds

78.94%

 

Total Weight

2,517

 

 

 

 

Add - Ins

 

%

Red Multi-grain Malt

3

0.38%

Barley Malt

20

2.56%

White Multi-grain Malt

3

0.38%

Total

26

3.33%

 

 

 

Multigrain Sprouts

 

%

WW

25

3.21%

Rye

25

3.21%

Quinoa

25

3.21%

Buckwheat

25

3.21%

Millet

25

3.21%

Bulgar

25

3.21%

Spelt

25

3.21%

Total Sprouts

175

22.44%

 

 

 

Toasted Bits

 

%

Toasted Germ, Oat Bran & Extraction

50

6.41%

  10 g each of instant coffee and cocoa went into the dark side only.

Comments

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Holy marble Miche Batman!  I love this latest creation.  It looks like  a work of art.  I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

I'm curious how the cake meal ended up working in your final flavor profile.

Just a wonderfully creative bake.

Ian

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

up Robin!  You're a little on the bigger side for a stereotypical Robin though.  The cake meal worked out well and we think it gave a little sweetness to the light YW portion - or maybe it just tasted slightly sweet because of the sour of the dark side.  Will have to bake it on its own to know for sure.  So blitz up some matzo and give it a try.  Beats me why they call it cake meal when they should call it Matzo Meal.

The Toady Tom Toasted Bits were also very good on the dark side.  The marbling turned out nice.  All in all, a fun bake where the bad guys lost and the bread looks and tastes good - the perfect 3 some Robin :-) 

Look forward to you next bake Ian. 

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Just saw the crumb shots...they look perfect.   Just a great bake all around.  Yes I'm a bit big for a Robin....if I keep eating all this Southen food I may end looking like Jabba the Hut!

I brought my starter with me to NC so I'm going to make a couple of rolls based off some of my recent bakes.  Hopefully they will turn out good.   Have a great Thanksgiving!

ian

gmabaking's picture
gmabaking

Just when it begins to look like maybe sadly, there is nothing really and authentically new under the sun, here is a Miche that looks like a bright spinning sun gracing your table! The combination of flavors must give it an intense taste. Nice baking there!

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

need to do a chacon for one of your weekly bakes.  They are so much fun to do and after all, you have one named for you - 'The 3 Granny Twisted Sisters Chacon' :-)  This does look like a sun and is much better looking than the horse dropping one don't you think?

Sadly, the Sun wasn't out for the crumb shots but hey, it's AZ and the Sun Just Don't Shine Here No Mo! -  since she's been gone ......behind some clouds.

Happy Thanksgiving baking!

FlourChild's picture
FlourChild

I was stunned when I first looked at it, wondering how on earth you managed to make it look like an antique roman floor tile mosaic.  Can't wait to hear and see more about the flavor and crumb, hope you'll cut into it soon.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

the Roman floor mosaic analogy for the Chacon after having studied the ones from Pompeii in Architectural school so long ago.  But, there might be a way to take it to another level using really small balls of colored dough and ......... Where is Szanter5339 when you need her?

The bread is two in one.  One sour, dark and earthy the other barely sweet, light and  soft.  Love the sprouts and the millet crunch too.  Actually managed to wait 24 hours to cut it this time.  That 6 week stollen wait rule is killing me. It better be worth it.

Glad you liked the post.  Chacons are fun to do and you never what you are going to get.  They make good special occasion breads too.

Happy baking.

Mebake's picture
Mebake

As If it is not enough how DA's expressions in writing make me smile every single time, there comes Ian with his batman comment :) you two make a hilarious pair. Thank you both for making my day!

A true masterpiece chacon miche, DA! It all came out perfect, crust, shape, bloom.. Really skillful of you. I admire your relentless baking excercise. My thumbs up to you. Careful, though, it seems to be taking over you in ways beyond addiction :)

can't wait to see the crumb

Khalid

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

I am committed to being the best baker I can be some day but, never knew it could get me committed too!  I'm trying to make up for forgetting to bake my orange and black, dripping blood and puss 'Zombie Bread' for Halloween :-)  Maybe next year.

Glad you liked the post and will patiently wait for your next post on your next bread bake after your're not a patient yourself and fully recovered. 

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Beautiful! As Phil put it. The crumb is as beautiful as the crust, DA! 

Khalid

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

crumb comes out this way every time since I started doing French slap and folds after reading Eric Hannsr's post and watching the Richard Bertinet video he recommended.   Then just let letting it sit with some S&F 's to get the add ins distributed if the bread has them.  Eric got me to be a real believer in this method.  His passing is just plain difficult for bakers like me who depend on really good ones to pass what they know along to the rest of us.

That is why teaching, especially for free,  is considered such a great act of generosity and why that attribute is absolutely required for success.  It is the hardest one of the hundreds of character attributes required but by far the hardest to attain  Giving away what you know for free to others, who you don't even don't know,  is what makes some folks special and more successful than others -  especially when that knowledge may have personally cost them dearly to attain.  Generosity is the greatest of all good character attributes to have and hold dear.  Eric had generosity overflowing his pockets like so much change.  He will be sorely missed but his posts will continue on for everyone to learn from.

Mebake's picture
Mebake

I missed his obituary post earlier, i noticed it from your comment above, DA. What a shocking sad news. I agree with everything you said. He will be missed.

PiPs's picture
PiPs

Beautiful DA, just beautiful ...

Cheers,
Phil 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

you liked it Phil.  One day you will bake a chacon  and photograph it to show us what they are really supposed to look like :-)   Cheers and....

 Bake on!

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Love the crumb you have achieved with all that braiding going on...just beautiful and delicious.  Nice work, give the app. a big hug for me.

Happy Holiday Baking,

Sylvia

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

to hug the apprentice.  She just got back from the beauty parlor yesterday and she smells very good for a change and she has a new  bow!  Glad you liked this Chacon.   We like it when bakes turn out this good looking and taste good too. 

Hope your Holiday baking goes well.

varda's picture
varda

a lovely and intricate bake.    I thought at first glance that Szanter (Terike) was back posting.   -Varda

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

fun to make.  After trying a couple of different knotted rolls, kaiser shapes, ropes, twisted ropes.  twisted knotted rolls and various  balls there is still one I want to do.  That would be a 6 strand round challah braid in the center and rolling the rest of it around snail shaped.  That would be way cool for Rosh Hashanah.  Different colored braids of challah would be interesting from a marbling point of view too. There is always something Chaconesque to do.  FlourChild's comments about Ancient Roman tile floors made me think of Szanter too.  She really could do a Mosaic picture using little colored balls chacon style - but you would have to work fast or have lots of helpers placing the balls before they proofed.

Glad you like the bake Varda.  Your WFO would really do a chacon justice.

breadsong's picture
breadsong

Hi dabrownman,
This really caught my eye, in Floyd's Thanksgiving photo collage :^) - don't know how I missed this last year?
This is so pretty, with the marbled crumb, and especially attractive the way the 'knots' create such a beautifully-patterned crust during the bake!
And the color - the oranges that came out, so perfect for fall.
Lovely!
:^) breadsong