The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Maple Sap SD

WoodenSpoon's picture
WoodenSpoon

Maple Sap SD

For the past few weeks I've been in my native homeland of New Hampshire visiting my folks. And  being in the north east in the early spring means maple sugar. Some of our family friends have a sugar shack and I went and visited and got some of the sap, One batch I made from full on raw maple sap, then the other batch was made with sap that had been run through their reverse osmosis machine. 

The full loaf in the title image is the one with plain sap 

  • 620g BF 78%
  • 40g WW 5%
  • 40g Rye 5%
  • 196g Levain (12%flour 12%water)
  • 599g Sap 75%
  • 16g Salt 2%

The Crumb shot is from Mel's reverse osmosis sap bread and also has some soaked rolled oats.

  • 566g BF 80%
  • 141g WW 20%
  • 141g Levain 20%
  • 566g Sap 80%
  • 71g (dry weight) rolled oats 10% (really wring em out after soaking em if ya know whats good for ya)
  • 15g Salt ~2% 

 

We did a one hour autolyse followed by some pretty minimal slapping and folding, the batch with oats took a little more working to get it to come together but it eventually did. Then as all the ingredients were cold we started the bulk ferment at room temp for an hour then retarded it for around 12 hours. Then we let it warm up at room temp for around an hour shaped and proofed until ready, some loaves were proofed in the oven with warm water, those took around three and a half hours and some were proofed on the counter, those took a bit longer.

If you have access to some maple sap I strongly suggest you try incorporating it into yer baking, because why the heck not!

Comments

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

not getting within a mile of this bread but is sure looks fantastic.for those who can eat it.  The sap, not you,  replaces the water....Never even heard such a thing before.  Very inventive and well done WS

 

WoodenSpoon's picture
WoodenSpoon

I'd never heard of such a thing before either but luckily had the opportunity to give it a whirl, If only the sap was more readily and less seasonally available it could probably be used in all sorts of baked stuff. 

emkay's picture
emkay

So very creative. Is the bread very sweet? What is the consistency of maple sap?

WoodenSpoon's picture
WoodenSpoon

The bread was a bit sweeter than usual, and the consistency of maple sap is very similar to that of water but it will leave your hands just a bit sticky after touching it. We did notice that it was considerably less hydrating then water, which initially was strange but makes sense due to the sugar.  

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Both of your loaves look delicious and beautiful - especially the shot of the first with the sun reflecting off of the crust and cutting board…very nice.

One of my favorite breads to bake in the fall is THIS one found on Farine.  Looking at your loaf makes me want to bring out my oats and maple syrup but I am in the middle of baking hot cross buns and Finnish Easter breads so I must resist the urge.

Take Care,

Janet

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Neat.

golgi70's picture
golgi70

Nice Loaf WS.  If I were still on the east coast I'd be lookin for some sap and trying this out.  As Floyd said "Neat"

Josh

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Great looking loaves.  I like to bake with maple syrup but have never tried sap before.  Do you find the sap to taste stronger than the maple syrup in the bread?

WoodenSpoon's picture
WoodenSpoon

for the nice comments guys, isand, no there was very little maple flavor left after baking, maybe a bit but with the rye and WW flours it was hard to tell.