The Fresh Loaf

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I Got the No White Bread Blues

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

I Got the No White Bread Blues

Willie Mae’Big Mama’ Thornton is a Blues Legend.  She didn’t write but had her biggest hit with Hound Dog which was written for her.Elvis had a big hit with it later.  She was a 6’tall, large in; voice, frame and width being well over 200 pounds.  She drank hard too and never turned down a drink from a listener.  She taught herself to play harmonica and drums as well as anyone could and often played both while on stage as she sang. 

She had the biggest blues voice anyone ever heard.  In the early 70’s we would always try to catch her when she played Rick’s in Waldo - KCMO the home of some fine Blues at that time - not 12th Street and Vine where you could get killed pretty easy enough.  She died, in 1984, from a heart attack and complications from cirrhosis of the liver. She was penniless at the time of her death.  Even though she sold 1,000,000 copies of Hound Dog she only made $500 off it.  She wrote and recorded Ball N’ Chain which was another big hit for her. Janis Joplin supposedly met sang with Willie Mae when they both lived in San Francisco and later recorded Ball N’Chain for a big hit.  Both Elvis and Janis did much better than Big Mama ever did – just by covering her songs.

With dark breads, darker DaPumpernickel breads and fruit and nut breads behind us, I decided to do an about face with a simple sort of SD white bread loosely based on one of our David Snyder favorites - Pugliesi  Capriccioso.  Keeping true to our 2 most recent resolutions, we added a little corn flour and Tang Zhonged 25 g of the flour mix with 100g of water. This water was not included in the hydration calculations.

I know some might be dumbstruck with the purer, comparative simplicity of this bake’s ingredient list but, there is a reason for it.  My apprentice was looking pretty frazzled after her long series of more complicated creations and was at the beauty parlor getting her hair done to be beautiful for next week’s festivities.  So, the bread was naturally way more sane than usual in her absence.  Without an apprentice under foot, I’m way to lazy to work that hard.   Ahhh, peace and blissful, no work retirement at last!

Another Hound Dog -a hot one with a pretty purple bow.

The rye, whole wheat and spelt sourdough levain was the one we had built on April 24 form a multigrain 3 leaven bake we posted thatday and refrigerated the rest of it.  We used half of the left over levain for the Yellow Mellow bake earlier this week and we used the rest of it for this bake.

We fed it 60 g of AP flour and 60 g of water and it doubled and was ready to go in 2 hours.  The formula shows that the levain was a 1 stage build but it was really a 4 stage one.  When the levain was originally made we refrigerated it after stage 2 and then did the 3rd stage build the next day before refrigerating it again.  It was in the fridge for over a week before we did the AP 4 stage build today.

We hope at least the longer cold spell in the fridge will impart many more labs that yeast into this bread so it will have a decided sour taste.  There isn’t much else taste enhancing going for it besides the corn flour and other 10% whole grains in the levain.  With guests coming in next week for our daughter’s college graduation, they might prefer some white SD bread instead of all the other kinds of bread in the freezer.

The method was a 2 hour autolyse, with salt, while the levain doubled, making the water roux in a sauce pan and then mixing the levain with the autolyse with a sturdy SS spoon. Almost forgot the corn flour. Then 10 minutes of slap and folds brought this much wetter than 70% feeling dough together nicely – silky smooth just like white bread should be at this stage

We sang Big Mama’s 12 bar blues version of ‘She’s My Sweet, Sweet Angel’ while doing the slap and folds this time.  I’m not sure where the song came from but the lyrics are a little risqué for this forum as 12 bar can get sometimes.  She never recorded it as far as I know but I heard her sing it several times since folks would request it and buy her a drink.  Clay Walker did a very clean Country version he called Sweet Sun Angel not long ago.

We developed the gluten further with 3 sets of S&F’s where, each time, we gently stretched out the dough into a rectangle and folded it in thirds from the E, W, N and South.  We let the dough ferment for an hour on the counter in an oiled plastic tub, before its 20 hour retard in the fridge, to help the sour along a steeper, pucker curve.

In the morning, we took it out of the fridge and let it warm on the counter for an hour before pre-shaping and then shaping it into an oval that went into a rice floured basket seam side down.  After 30 minutes of final proof it look like it was going to take off and it did.  After an hour it had over proofed again – we are getting good at this over proofing thing.

 

This would eventually not even be close to fitting, un-slashed, seam side up, into the mini oven - which is officially banned to the outside patio for the summer.  We have to learn to make these breads less gargantuan in the summer months so they fit the mini oven!  Where is that apprentice when you need her to help think and plan things out right anyway?

 

So we fired up Old Betsy to a preheated 500 F with the (2) stones - top and bottom, 1 large Sylvia’s Pyrex steaming pan with (2 ) towels half full of water and a 12” CI skillet with the bottom filled with lava rock, per David Snyder  and half full of water for the required mega steam.  This set up trally puts out the steam.

 

The mini oven is famous around here for putting the best blisters one has ever seen on bread of all kinds when the steam is fierce.  But Old Betsy can blister bread pretty good too on occasion.  We steamed the bread for 2 minutes at 500 F and 13 more minutes at 450 F and then removed the steam while turning down the oven to 425 F, convection this time and continued baking for 15 more minutes when the bread hit 205 F on the inside.  We rotated the bread every 5 minutes 120 degrees on the bottom stone to get even browning.

 

We left the bread on the stone with the oven off and door ajar for 8 minutes to crisp the bread even more.Betsy didn’t disappoint and neither did the bread.  The bread baked boldly, blistered and nicely brown.  The crust came out crisp but it went softer as it cooled.  Will have to wait to see what the inside looks like after it cools.

 

We don't often make the same bread twice but, when we make white bread, a version of David's is always the one we go back to again and again - so we do make this bread often.   The crumb came out less open than usual but it was much softer and moist this time - both probably due to the Tang Zhong.  The crust went chewy soft and was delicious.  We think the corn flour addition really improved the already fine taste of this bread some too.  We like it very much and this bake again shows why David is so famous for his SF style SD breads.  He spent a lot of time developing and perfecting them and we get those benefits every time we make them even if we add a tiny little bit more whole gain to them.   If you haven't made the Pugleise, SFSD or San Joaquin you really need to do so.

The bread went extra tany the nexr moring for breakfast and toaasted well. If you like SD white bread you shoud give this one a try.

 

Formula

I Got The White Bread Blues

   
    

WW SD & Rye Sour

Build 1

Total

%

WW & RyeSD Starter

10

10

1.54%

AP

60

60

9.23%

Spelt

20

20

3.08%

Dark Rye

20

20

3.08%

Whole Wheat

20

20

3.08%

Water

130

130

20.00%

Total

260

260

40.04%

    
    

Levain Totals

 

%

 

Flour

125

19.23%

 

Water

135

20.77%

 

Hydration

108.00%

  
    

Levain % of Total

22.99%

  
    

Dough Flour

 

%

 

Bread Flour

300

46.15%

 

Corn Flour

25

3.85%

 

AP

200

30.77%

 

Dough Flour

525

80.77%

 
    

Salt

12

1.85%

 

Water

325

50.00%

 

Dough Hydration

61.90%

  
    

Total Flour

650

  

Water

460

  

T. Dough Hydration

70.77%

  

Whole Grain %

13.85%

  
    

Hydration w/ Adds

69.70%

  

Total Weight

1,132

  
    

Add - Ins

 

%

 

VW Gluten

10

1.54%

 

Total

10

1.54%

 
    

100 g of water for the Tang Zhong not included in hydration

 

Comments

Wingnut's picture
Wingnut

What a write up! I love Lavern Baker from around that blues era. 

How is the crumb?

Cheers,

Wingnut

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

open with big holes everywhere as it usually is but .....it is much softer, moist and tastier.  It's a nice bread  just like David's original that he is so famous for.  I added the cumb shots and write up about it.

Thanks and happy baking Wing

 

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Great Post DA...I've had a crazy day at work so I was happy when I took a moment to breathe and saw this beautiful white breadish creation.  What a great looking crust and crumb.  Looks like a great bread to grill and put on some fresh cheese and peppers.

Lucy looks so pretty....I love her pretty bow....my Lucy would never keep it on for more than 2 seconds.

Have a great weekend.

Ian

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

has EVOO dipping oil with balsamic vinegar, Parmesan, pecorino, olives, capers, fresh basil and cracked black pepper all over it for dinner.  Then a sopper upper for some fish stew of some kind  and then grilled for some fancy pepper and cheese bruschettas like you suggest.  This bread always disappears quickly.   I'm guessing your Lucy isn't so vain that she has to go to beauty parlor either:-) 

Happy weekend Ian and hope your weekend bake goes well.

hanseata's picture
hanseata

Interesting story about Big Mama (I only knew the Elvis and Janis Joplin versions) Your beautiful bread certainly shouldn't make you feel the blues.
David's San Joaquin SD is my favorite white sourdough, made several times, but I didn't try the Pugliese, yet. How is the apprentice keeping up with the heat?

Happy baking,

Karin

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

I've Got The No White Bread Blues.  Nice catch Karin I'll get it changed.  Davids/ SJ is a batard, and hsi SFSD is a boule but we like this one the best because it has a great name and is proofed seam side down, Baked seam side up and no slashing required.  Perfect for the slashing challenged like my apprentice :-)  We always add 2 to 3 times more whole grains than David calls for in his recipes for heath reasons and we prefer the taste better - but you lose some of the big holes to :-( Tang Zhong makes the crumb more soft and moist and we like that too,

Poor Lucy hates this time of year.  Not over 100 F in the day day and not over80 F at night - so no A/C.   This 96 /78 F stuff just gets under her heat trapping hair.  She is sleeping on the ottoman I moved under the ceiling fan in the family room but will move down to the colder tile floor as the day heats up to continue her 12 hour nap twice a day!

You will like this bread too since all of David's recipes are first rate.

Happy baking Karin

Mebake's picture
Mebake

DA, you got all the procedures right for baking an excellent SD bread. David should be proud to learn of your latest creation. Super good, and no wonder it disappears so quickly.

I'll try proofing seam side down next time, i love your smooth crust top. I never get blisters the way many do... is it proofing humidity, or intensity of steam in the oven?

-Khaid

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

This one was proofed seam side down and baked seam side up but ti didn't crack naturally at the seams for a couple of reasons.  First the tang zhong made the bread higher in hydration than usual and secondly but ,more important as you can see from the pictures,  we overproofed it.  It wasn't so overproofed that it fell or collapsed but it didn't have enough oomph to do do more than dome up - no cracking.  It was pretty jiggly when it went into the oven.  If we would have slashed it, it would have likely sunk pretty easiy into a mess.  That is why we love this bread so much - no slashing required so have a chance to save it when overproofed - when we do often and well :-)

I think blisters could come from 4 things. High hydration, long cold retard with the dough going in the oven still on the cool side rather than room temperature, high preheat to 500 F and then mega steam applied for 12-15 minutes.  You would think someone long ago would have done some scientific experiments and testing  to confirm what actually causes blisters.  I think the more whole grains you use the less likely blisters will happen too!    Buit it could be anything,

Glad you like the bread and I hope Dvid does too. He has been a big inspriation for recipes, methods and techniques  for me and everyone else too.

Happy Baking Khalid!

evonlim's picture
evonlim

white! and lovely. not so, as your SD is rye and whole wheat. this gives the white bread character. 

are those white flowers, diasy? beautiful pictures

evon

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

in a pot last year in the back yard and all the ones this year came up volunteer like the zinnia did in the front yard.  We like ti when plants seed themselves and then bloom year after year.   Hopefully this will continue.  This bread has some rye and WW and spelt in the levain  to give it extra flavor and then the corn flour too in the dough not nomally found in white bread but a Janet favorite and becoming one of ours.  These breads are addictive for munching on and for dipping and bruschetta; the roasted pepper and onion one Ian mentioned, that we will have for dinner tonight.  Ian is also the king of cheese in bread to soften the crumb and one day we ill try it instead of tang zhong for this bread and see which one we like better.

Thankfully for us, there are all kinds of breads and combinations of them just waioting to be baked and tasted.  Variety is the spice of life lived well.

Happy baking Evon

 

pmccool's picture
pmccool

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around a flower that might look/feel/smell like a rodent!  Besides, your apprentice would be digging up the flower beds all the time.

Probably another "Damn you, Autocorrect!" moment, but it gave me a good chuckle.

Paul

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Where can I get one of them Gerbil flowers?  Do they have any hamster tulips?

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

No one knows why.

varda's picture
varda

DA,   Your bread looks very nice and unusually tame.  Question for you.   Your posts usually include a sliced up bread.   Do you always slice your breads in advance?   I just slice mine a piece at a time to maintain freshness.  Just curious.  -Varda

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

I like to slice each bake into halves and then one half into quarters and one quarter into slices. This gives me an assortment of stuff to pose for crumb shots.  I eat the heel slice to taste the crust and the one next to it t taste the crumb plain,  The 3rd slice goes into the toaster for butter sincemost breads taste better toasted and some have other flavors come out when toasted.

We try to plan the bale to be cooled by lunch so we can use 2 slices for a lunch sandwich and we want to have a lunch shot shot for the post. By dinner time the quarter we sliced is gone.  After the lunch shot is taken I slice the other half into quarters and we freeze the 3 quarters immediately - if the bread isn't a rye or pumpernickel.  Frozen as quarter they come out of the freezer as good as they went in if wrapped properly and slice well.

Since rye and pumpernickels have to sit for 32 to 48 hours before they can be sliced properly, we usually slice them completely in 1/4 inch slices.  There will never be as good a time to slice it as right then.  We freeze 8 slices in a packet and that will last us one day after coming out of the freezer.

I am always amazed how great white bread tastes when you haven't had any for a while.

Happy baking Varda!

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

I really like your food (and staff) photos.

Well, while you're going white, I'm turning to the dark side. I have loaves of my SF SD bread made with 30% whole wheat (plus some rye) in the oven right now. I'm eager to see how this mod works for me.

David

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

since I made this with less than 15% whole grain and never with any corn flour.  It goes to show you that the recipe is very flexible and that if you haven't had a really good white SD bread in a while - it really does taste special.    Your breads disappear faster around here than any other.   I think you will like your 30% whole grain variety.

I have made it 30% whole grain many times due to diabetes, but haven't made it with WW being the majority of the whole grain. I usually prefer the multi grain variety split evenly between rye, spelt and ww.   A very delicious variety too,

It s a fine loaf of bread whether white or up to 30%, whole grains.  I still say that any bread that has 70% white flour is still a white bread :-)  I like the long retards, that you don't have to use a mixer to get it to work, is nicely sour and tastes good even though a white bread.   All three, your SFSD,the pugliese and the San Joaquin are all top 5 SD breads which is why i make them so often,  Don't really do that for too many other breads. 

Happy baking David.

Alpana's picture
Alpana

Not sure who deserves more compliments, your perfectly turned out not so white pugliese or prettily groomed Lucy! Both are winners. How does it feel to be on the "light" side?

 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

to have one this good is a treat.  I still think I prefer it with twice as much whole grains though, say 30-35% - my favorite white bread.  70% white flour makes it a white bread in my book!   We like light but it isn't good for me health wise.  It sure is good though. Lucy sure looks presentable in her purple bow too!  Still we know how she can get when left to her own devices though :-)

Happy Baking Alpana