Smoked sprouted rye from Tartine 3
I made this over the weekend (sorry, what you see is all that's left) and knew it would be good because in addition to sprouted rye berries which were smoked in a steamer over a cast iron skillet (which caused me to be expelled from the house, but not before I was done) I had used rye from repeated starter refreshing so I knew it would be extra-sour and it was. A really complex and interesting old world style loaf.
However, the crumb when I cut it that evening was still a bit moist. It's only dried out now, 3 days later. I had followed the directions which are 20 minutes inside a dutch oven at 500 degrees, lower the heat to 450 for another 10 minutes with the lid on, then take off the lid for a final baking period. I stopped after 50 minutes total because the crust was as black as I wanted it to get. (My wife, the same one who does not like me to smoke up the house, thinks burned food causes cancer. She's probably right.)
So, next time I will do some experimentation in the bake. My first thought is to take the lid off after 20 minutes not 30. Or, turn the heat down to 450 right after I put in the bread, instead of waiting 20 minutes. My oven is quite accurate from independent measurement so I know that's not the problem.
My experience with Tartine 3 loaves so far is that the crumb is very moist. I think this is one of the advantages of making such a high hydration loaf.
I'm a bit jealous of your crumb; many of my T3 loaves have come out rather flat and dense. Even when they're not terrible, I still wish they were loftier and more open. But even when they're disappointing in appearance, they still taste pretty good.
I think having the high heat to start is important to getting the oven spring. If you want to dry it out more without darken the crust too much, try doing some time at the end of the bake at a lower temp such as 375F or so, maybe starting around the 40 minute mark. Try giving it 10 or 15 minutes, maybe as much as 20, at this lowered heat.
That's something else to try, sure. If the oven and the cast iron pot are preheated to 500 the bread will definitely get its oven spring, even if you turn it down immediately. My concern is to keep the bottom from getting black vs dark brown.
Re the crumb, I've been baking Tartine loaves for years and I can't remember one not coming out with dramatic oven spring, never flat. I always attributed it to the very lively starter with 50/50 wwf/apf mix. I always use King Arthur. What do you use? Is it super lively? The flour may be the difference.
If you're worried about the bottom getting too dark, you could just take it out of the pot once it's solid enough. Maybe 3/4 of the way through the bake, to make sure you get enough of the radiant heat benefit? Then you can just put it out on the oven rack maybe for the drying out period.
My starter is very lively as well. I've had pancake loaves with a lovely honeycomb structure sometimes. I suspect improper gluten development and/or overproofing. I've been thinking to do a post at some point to get some help, but for now, I'm taking a break.
Nice looking loaf even if you were banished from the house for a short time :).
So did smoking the rye berries cause the bread to have a smokey flavor at all? I have never heard of smoking the berries as I know usually you would smoke the flour itself.
Ian
Thanks, Ian!
I tried the berries prior to making the bread and the smoky flavor was quite strong. Somewhat less in the final product but there are a lot of flavors going on. I really like this bread and am going to start a new batch shortly! (And this time I'll do the smoking outdoor.)