Einkorn, White Wheat, Oat Groats & Sesame Sourdough

Hey Everyone! The day has finally come. After many months (years?) of hanging out on this site, I have set aside some time to sit down and figure out how to post one of my bakes. If it doesn't turn out well, know that I tried my best. If it turns out good, well, that would make my day! 

This bread is my own recipe, and was conceived for the purpose of using up some bits & pieces of flours, grains, and seeds. I'll call it a bag-end adventure, a phrase used awhile back by "Lazy Loafer" (our friend on this site), and a good description of how this bread came to be.

 RECIPE:

30 g     Raw hulled oat groats, soaked over night in room temperature water, drain well before using

250 g   Water

85 g     Sourdough of your choice, 100% hydration, fed  (I used 7-Grain)

136 g   White wheat flour

162 g   Einkorn flour

60 g     Bread flour

8 g      Salt

1/8 tsp  Instant dry yeast

DIRECTIONS:

Excluding the oat groats, add ingredients to mixing bowl in the order listed, mixing between the addition of the salt and yeast for a minute. Knead until moderate gluten development, adjusting hydration as necessary. The dough should be somewhat firm, and clear the sides of the bowl, but not climb up the dough hook and out of the bowl. Add the oat groats, and knead on low for 1-2 additional minutes, until groats are well incorporated. Remove dough to a lightly oiled, covered container. Bulk ferment on counter for 2 hours, with a stretch & fold every 20 minutes for the first hour (3). After two hours, put in frig to complete bulk ferment. Mine took about 4 hours. ( If this doesn't work with your schedule, you could skip the second hour on the counter, and go to the frig right away after your third S & F. Then you could probably finish the loaf the next day.) Pre- shape, directly out of refrigerator; then shape in 10-15 minutes.  Once shaped, spritz top with water, and dredge top in sesame seeds. (My seeds were leftover from a bag of sesame covered cashews, so there were also some bits of nuts in the mix.) Proof in baskets or however you like. This will probably not take long, unless your kitchen is very cool. Due to the use of the Einkorn flour, be extra careful to not over proof! I tried something a little different with this loaf, and did the final proof right in the cast iron pan it was to be baked in. Your oven should be preheated to 480 degrees. Bake covered (or with steam) for 14 minutes, then uncovered (without steam) and reduced temperature of 460 degrees, for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until desired doneness. Cool completely on rack before slicing, or even better, wait until the next day.

 I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of this loaf. It had good oven spring, and even a bit of BURST! Taste: Delicious, a pronounced wheaty flavor with no bitterness. Crumb: What I would call moderately open, moist, chewy, and slightly dense. Crust: Hearty, but not hard or tough, and extra tasty with all those sesame seeds. It's always nice when things turn out even better than you anticipate!