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Attempting to improve crumb - Hamelman's 5 grain levain

leslieruf's picture
leslieruf

Attempting to improve crumb - Hamelman's 5 grain levain

After reading Trevor Wilson's Crumb Mastery, I think I have to rethink a lot of my processes.  His explanations are so good and a lot of it makes a great deal of sense.  I don't understand quite all of it but hopefully this will come as I keep working on improving my bread.  

 So this week's bake was going to be just a 1:2:3 using sprouted grain, milled with  my new Mockmill 100.  But hubby stirred a bit and so I ended up making Hamelman's 5 grain levain.  Well, I had already mixed my levain about an hour earlier so I sat down calculated out how much of everything I needed.

Levain:

8 pm Wednesday: Took 30 gm refreshed starter and added 90 g water and 90 g flour.  So now I added another 3 g starter + 115 g water + 74 g flour and left overnight on the bench.

Soaker:

Added 267 g boiling water to 60 g cracked rye+60 cracked flaxseed + 50 sunflower seed + 50 g rolled oats and 4 g salt. covered and left overnight on bench

Main dough:

11 am Thursday: Milled 113 g sprouted wheat & 51 g nonsprouted wheat. 

11:30 am To the freshly milled wheat I added 320 g bread flour, 7 g gluten flour (to hopefully approximate hi gluten flour) and 11.9 g salt.  Added 169 g water planning to autolyse for a while. I then realized there was insufficient water to do this so went back and read the recipe.  ok now I see why it was too dry.  Recipe says to add everything and mix. So added 368 g levain and 493 g soaker and hand mixed until well mixed. Room temperature was 20 degrees C.  left to rest

11:50 am Gentle stretch and fold

 Re read recipe - Did I develop gluten enough? 

12:05 pm check gluten by gently trying to make windowpane in dough.  Think it is ok, dough was relaxed.  gentle stretch and fold

 13:15 pm. Another gentle check of gluten (I am nervous as this is quite a wet dough and Hamelman says moderate gluten development needed) followed by gentle stretch and fold

 14:30 pm very gentle stretch and fold, dough is getting puffy

15:00 I think I need to preshape as dough definitely puffier but I will have coffee first (fingers crossed, this is a lot less bulk fermented than I usually do so I think I will let it go a bit longer)

15:30 Tip out of bowl, scale and preshape into 2 boules using bench knife (a first for me)  Turn oven on to preheat along with DOs.

15:45  Dough seems to have some strength (this is what I was trying to achieve in this wet dough based in my reading of Crumb Mastery) .  Pat out into rectangle, fold in half then try do stitching.  Darn, its too strong, I could definitely feel that so I changed my mind and just folded over again so now (as he said) I had 4 layers of dough, pressed seam closed with base of hand, gently cloaked a bit and put into the banneton.  2nd loaf I just fold twice and gently rolled and cloaked too.  Gee, I got a whole lot of new expressions to use, and I understand what they mean! yay!!  Placed bannetons in large ziplock bags to proof. 

16:45 They had nicely proofed so turned out, scored and popped into DOs and into oven at 250 degrees C for 15 minutes lid on and 22 minutes lid off.  Internal temperature was 210 degrees F.

 One of these was for a friend so after dinner popped over with it.  They wouldn't wait and ended up eating the whole lot that night!  Crumb was moist and they just loved it.

I sliced and froze my loaf but we have had it for lunch several times since and it is really delicious.

 I learnt quite a lot from Trevor's book, lots still to learn.  I had the feeling that my doughs often lacked strength (without knowing that that was what was lacking) and spread more than I wanted.  This was a wet, sticky dough and normally I would have struggled mightily with shaping.  I did have to use more flour than Trevor seems to, but shaping went much better.  I will need to re read the book but from me it will score 5 stars!  his explanations are simple and readily understood.  Putting them into practice will be the thing though.

 Really happy with first step and a huge thank you to Trevor Wilson

Leslie

 

Comments

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

Succeeded! That looks amazing. A really delicious bread I've throughly enjoyed when making it. 

Looks perfect.

leslieruf's picture
leslieruf

I have only made it a couple of times before but never go this crumb. I was very exciting once the lid came off the DO. :)

Leslie

bread1965's picture
bread1965

Did you look at that crumb? Wow. I book marked this post and will have to give this a try. Your bread looks tremendous!

I'm making my way through Trevor's book too, so I get what you mean. His pictures of crumb are pretty stunning. His lace crumb is unreal (and I think it's pretty unrealistic that I'll ever achieve it). Like you though, I'm giving it a try and am tonight doing a pre-mix (four/water/salt) and will add the levain tomorrow. I realize how my 'use and abuse' of my starter has to end after getting into Trever's book. There is so much in his book that I realize I didn't understand or know to even think about.

So with that said, start with basics. How active was your starter? Trever talks about the starter as one of the most important aspects of the process to achieve an open crumb. Maybe describe how active it is to us.

I've been feeding mine, leaving it on the counter full time (normally lived in the fridge) and have been feeding it 1:3:3 and I get over a triple within about 10-12 hours (this suits my life better - I was feeding 1:2:2 and by the time I could get back to it t the end of a day it was already in decline, so this alone should be improving my bread). And it definitely smells MUCH sweeter and MUCH less sour than it ever has.

So how about yours?

leslieruf's picture
leslieruf

So yes I tested my starter as soon as I read the first bit. here it is 4.5 hours after refreshing. I put it in my yoghurt maker where water temperature started around 26-27 °c dropping to 24°c. 

 

the mother starter lives in the fridge and is about 65% hydration. I make an offshoot levain when I bake probably 1:2:2 or 1:2:3. I don't want sour bread.  I hadn'd paid too much attention to the smell, but I think monthly feed of the refrigerated mother would be good.  I can't bake too often as normally there is only two of us.  might have a prospective "customer" though for a small quantity - we will see.

Trevors book just explained so much, and I am so excited.  I am re reading The Bread Builders (Alan Scott and Dan Wigg) then will re read Crumb Mastery.  Putting it into practice and knowing when it is right, that will be the challenge - that and judging bulk fermentation"..

My next bake will also be premix style Trevor's  Champlain loaf!

happy baking bread1965

Leslie

 

bread1965's picture
bread1965

I wonder if using a warm bath to accelerate your starter's development versus letting time do it's thing is better, worse or there is no difference for/to the starter and then dough development.. Otherwise it looks great!

But really.. what a great looking bread you made! Well done!

 

 

leslieruf's picture
leslieruf

however, I just did this for the testing of my starter.  this bake I think I did the initial small refresh that way but the main levain build was over night bench temperature.  Generally, I just go with room temperature so in Winter may start earlier than I do in summer.  winter room temperature will be 20-22°c daytime, dropping quite a bit overnight. summer room temp can vary from 20-about 27°c. kitchen gets the morning sun :)

that bread is all gone :( but I learnt a lot and taste was great. happy baking bread1965

Leslie

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

I downloaded Trevor's book but haven't really gotten into it yet. I think that you just spurred me to it. It sounds like you got some great ideas from it which doesn't surprise me considering the source! =-)

leslieruf's picture
leslieruf

thank you, look forward to your next bake and your thoughts on this book

Leslie

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

the at crumb is really stupendous!   We love everything about it and would love to try a piece because we know how great this bread has to be!  Very well done indeed-  now I have ti get that book.  Well done and happy baking 

leslieruf's picture
leslieruf

yeah, lots of grains and good stuff!  I'm loving being able to mill grain even though I have not done much yet.  I think you were an influencing factor about sprouting and milling, so thank you again.

happy baking and enjoy Trevor's book.

Leslie