Einkorn Country Loaf
EINKORN SOURDOUGH
OVERALL FORMULA:
Flour : 100%
Water : 68.18%
Salt : 1.8%
FORMULA:
Flour : 100%
Water : 65%
Salt : 2%
Levain: 20%
RECIPE:
Bread Flour : 450g [12.6 % protein] (90%)
Wholegrain Einkorn Flour : 50g [10.6% protein] (10%)
Water : 325g (65%)
Salt : 10g (2%)
Levain : 100g @ 100% hydration 50:50 bread & wholegrain einkorn flour (20%)
LEVAIN BUILDS:
Night before… 10g starter + 20g water + 20g flour (10g bread flour + 10g wholegrain einkorn).
Left to mature for 10-12 hours at room temperature.
Morning of… 50g starter + 50g water + 50g flour (25g bread flour + 25g wholegrain einkorn).
Fermented for 6 hours at 27°C (80.6°F)
Use 100g in the dough.
METHOD:
Autolyse the flour and water for 30 minutes.
Flatten out the dough, sprinkle the salt, fold the dough over and flatten the dough out again.
Add the levain then fold and squeeze the dough till incorporated.
Gently develop the gluten by using the “Rubaud Method” as described by Trevor Wilson.
Transfer to a well oiled bowl and bulk ferment for 5-6 hours giving the dough a stretch and fold the first 3 hours and resting for the remainder.
Pre-shape and bench rest for 20 minutes.
Shape into prepared banneton and final proof in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.
Bake using your usual method.
I’d be happy with that! I liked seeing you put the protein level of your flour. Is the bread flour the one you usually use?
Leslie
I try to go for as good a quality as possible but the flour changes according to availability and circumstance. I tried a local supermarkets flour last time and while it said strong bread flour I really didn't have much success with it. This one, while not exactly too strong, is good quality and I've had success in the past. Both are from Doves Farm.
I've put the protein percentage so everyone gets a clearer picture of what I'm using. Helps to avoid confusion. So my bread flour is more like a North American AP flour. The available Einkorn Flour is quite weak in gluten. Closer to a cake flour. I believe the North American einkorn flour is closer to 12.6% protein. I found out the hard way following their recipes. I have found a way to make 100% einkorn bread but with my own recipe not with the Jovial recipes which didn't work for me. This is why I have decided to include the protein percentage.
Thanks for sharing that Abe, can’t wait to try it! Lovely!
I do hope you like it.
Einkorn in there. Just the right amount in there not to be too noticeable and make the loaf too Einkorny. I like to keep it less than 5% but you went 3 times that.....But I'm nit a real fan. I find it inferior - taste to handling it is lacking. It is a 2nd division flour rather than a premier one in my book but I do put it on most of my multi-grain breads for sure - but I try to add it last:-) Very nice crumb on this one too.
Well done and happy baking in balmy London!
It's amazing how just a little Einkorn can change the feel of the dough. When you're kneading it's sticker than when you come to do a stretch and fold after a rest. Einkorn doesn't like to be over worked. Handle it too much after a rest and it turns sticky again. It holds itself together well but should it come in contact with a surface that isn't floured or oiled it turns into glue. A fascinating grain. I thought I'd use a little einkorn in a mainly bread flour dough to see if a little goes a long way. Like Rye I think it does.
Regards from London :)
Never baked using einkorn, so I have no idea how it tastes, but the color is absolutely beautiful.
Congrats
Some people like it and some don't. It's a funny grain to handle. Like the "rye" of the wheat family. This is how nature created wheat before humankind cultivated modern wheat as we know it. A totally different beast. Taste can be bitter due to the high mineral content and it's very sticky. Just a touch in a mainly bread flour dough there is a noticeable difference.
I do happen to like einkorn. If doing a 100% einkorn loaf I do no knead. The less you handle it the better. For this one a gentle knead with some stretch and folds was fine.
I tried it I did a full 100% loaf - would never do it again but sometimes I think having a disaster like this can help you understand the grain better. To lechems point, pul, this stuff redefines sticky and bitter is a great way to explain the flavor. Despite all that it is an intriguing flour - ever time I see a post about an einkorn bake I'm intrigued to see what the baker came up with - this is a good one !
Einkorn can be nice and I've come a long way since first trying. TBH I've had to come up with my own methods of handling it - as little as possible! I do have my own 100% einkorn recipe if you wish to try it some time.
It's so beautiful. I wish I was there to taste it. Gorgeous looking loaf. Well done.
hester
A very nice loaf which was a pleasure to make from start to finish. Had some einkorn which I hadn't used in a while so came up with this.
I, like dabrownman, don't have very fond thoughts of einkorn. It smells good and tastes really odd in excessive quantities but this like fantastic. Great job !
Don't do it too often though but every now and again I delve into it.
Thank you Kendalm.
Nice bake Abe. I find the pronounced pigmentation of your 10% einkorn crumb interesting. When I was exploring ancient grains a few years back, I baked and posted 10% and 20% einkorn loaves that didn't look particularly yellow (perhaps Pantone 127U or paler), in the photos or in real life as I recall. Maybe it's a photo artifact -- your camera or my monitor. Is the crumb really that yellow (Pantone 122C)? If so, your UK einkorn would seem to have substantially higher carotenoid levels than the grain I was milling back in '15.
Happy baking,
Tom
It is actually darker. Not the best photography and lighting but the colour is present. It's actually more dark, than yellow, for such low percentage wholegrain. It's looks more like a 30% wholegrain wheat I'd say. When I've done a 100% einkorn you can really see the yellow hue in the crust. But not as much in this bake. The mineral taste is very pronounced! Yes, I believe the Einkorn is different here as the north American recipes (mainly jovial) for Einkorn don't seem to work on the local grain. I've come to the conclusion that the protein here is lower but the mineral content higher. Btw there no such thing as white or AP Einkorn in this side of the pond. It's just 100% wholegrain and that's it.
Thank you Tom.
P.s. If you look at the far right of the slice (the darker edge) it looks like that all over. Here is a more accurate photo colour of a 100% Einkorn sourdough I did a while back. So you can compare and contrast.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/49433/100-wholegrain-organic-einkorn-sourdough-tangzhong
Abe, it occurred to me after I commented that your bake is all bread flour in the background whereas mine had other whole grains that probably masked einkorn's pigments. That and the imprecision of digital photography.
fwiw, I realized a year or so ago that my attempts to develop a formula that produced a rich yellow crumb with einkorn, durum or maize all ended up with compromised flavor (einkorn, durum) or texture (all three) compared to 100% Triticum aestivum. We don't eat bread with our eyes and crumb color has since taken its proper back seat to other priorities.
Happy baking,
Tom