The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

(Mostly) White SD

Ru007's picture
Ru007

(Mostly) White SD

 

Hello friends! 

Nothing fancy happening here today. I really like white sourdough bread, but, adding a bit of whole grains makes it taste better to me. So I figured if nothing fancy is happening inside the loaf, I would challenge some of the habits I had developed when making bread. Just try something new and see what happens, right?

 

 I reduced the levain that I would normally use in a loaf like this to 12% prefermented flour. I was trying to slow down the bulk fermentation and see what that did to the taste. I’m very happy with how this loaf tastes. Result!! 

 

 I tried a different shaping technique, from Trevor J Wilson's how to make tartine style country bread video. I enjoyed the process. Normally, I wouldn’t dare rolling up my dough like that and would go for less a aggressive shaping technique, but I did it and the sun still rose today!! I just need to practice getting the right balance between getting enough surface tension and being gentle with the dough. 

 

 Oh and I decided to get a little creative with the scoring, see the little forest on the side?! Okay, it wasn't really my idea. I got the idea from instagram (@brooklynsourdough). 

Considering that getting the dough out of the bowl was a bit of a disaster, I’m happy with the crumb. In hindsight I think I should have let the bulk fermentation go for another hour or so or maybe left the shaped dough out at room temp for a little while longer.

 

 

Here’s the whole formula:

 

 

 

 

Weight (g)

Final dough

%

Levain (80% hydration)

            93

 

 

Water

278

320

76%

 

 

 

 

Flour

370

421

100%

Unbleached white bread flour

295

              295

70%

Whole wheat flour

 75

                  117

28%

Rye flour

 

                9

2%

 

 

 

 

Salt

9

9

2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total dough weight

            750

              750

 

 

 The method was pretty simple:

1. 1 stage 12 hour levain build. 20 g NMNF rye starter plus 50 whole wheat flour and 40g water2.

2. “Pre mix” the dough i.e. all the flour, water and salt is mixed the night before mixing chilled in the fridge for a few hours and set out to come to room temperature overnight.

3. I spent about 30 mins mixing the dough initially and then I did 4 set of stretch and folds, not quite hourly but they were done within the first 5 hours of the bulk fermentation. Then another 2.75 hours bulk fermentation (yes, things were slow because its cold here!)

4. Pre shape and let the dough rest for 30mins.

5. Shape and let the dough sit in the basket for about an hour before refrigerating overnight.

6. Baked at 250 dC for 20mins with steam and then at 230 dC for another 25mins.

Happy baking everyone! 

 

 

Comments

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Anyone would call this one about as nice as it gets,  Has to taste great.  Love the crust and crumb!  Well done and happy baking.

Ru007's picture
Ru007

Glad you liked it :) It really tastes great in that "real" white bread type of way. Yum... 

Happy baking to you too!!

Ru

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

WoW what a beauty....I would love to be able to bake that loaf! I shall go through your notes and learn! Kat

Ru007's picture
Ru007

You're so kind! I still have plenty to lean too, my new mantra is "just enjoy the process".

Looking forward to your next bake! 

Ru

hreik's picture
hreik

I'm betting it tastes wonderful and it's so versatile.  Such a pretty bake.   Perfect ear too!!

I'm a fan of mostly white, well fermented bread with some rye... and whole wheat.  Trevor's videos have helped me so much. 

hester 

Ru007's picture
Ru007

Having been raised on whole wheat bread, I only really became a fan of white bread when I discovered it in its sourdough (best?) form. LOL! But old habit die hard and I still prefer it to no be 100% white. 

I agree, Trevor's video's are amazing. I'm actually reading his book right now. He is a very good writer too! 

Thank you for the compliment. 

Happy baking 

Ru

leslieruf's picture
leslieruf

lovely crust and crumb, it has a very nice amount of wholewheat too. has to taste great!

happy baking Ru

Leslie

Ru007's picture
Ru007

Yeah, I always like to have a bit of whole grain or rye in there. I think its just how my brain and taste buds have been conditioned, I was raised on whole wheat so I guess its a habit! 

Thank you for the compliment! 

Happy baking

Ru

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

Perfect sourdough with an amazing oven spring, crumb and ear. 

Wonderful! Ru. 

Ru007's picture
Ru007

That was a such a lovely compliment, you're too kind :)

Happy baking

Ru

Elsie_iu's picture
Elsie_iu

I find the way you score to be distinctive from other bakers. It's difficult to tell what exactly that subtle difference is but your scoring seems to have a more elegant curvature? The leaves patterns on the side are lovely as well!

I just discovered Trevor's Instagram account through a friend's recommendation. The skills he demonstrated are really helpful to me too.

Ru007's picture
Ru007

That's very kind of you! 

Trevor is great. I'm reading his book (Open Crumb Mastery), its such a great resource. I've found it helpful as a guide for understanding dough and dough handling better. 

As for my scoring, I'm glad you like it. When I score, I try to get it done in one clean motion. I'm only just learning how helpful it is to get good surface tension. I still have so much to learn and so much I want to try though! Just enjoying the process! 

Happy baking, looking forward to your next bake! 

Ru

chockswahay's picture
chockswahay

Oh that's lovely!  Well done indeed!

(my sourdough has taken a bit of a dive recently, just not getting it right.....)

You have inspired me to keep going!

Ru007's picture
Ru007

It'll come right. There's plenty of great people here who could help you out too! 

Thank you for the compliment :) 

Hope to see you posting soon! 

Happy baking 

Ru

 

PalwithnoovenP's picture
PalwithnoovenP

your photography or your baking improved? I think both! Wow! Just wow!

Ru007's picture
Ru007

LOL! I also think its both. I've actually been reading a couple of articles and watching video's on food photography. Its a new hobby of mine! 

Happy baking friend. 

Ru

 

pul's picture
pul

Very nice looking loaf and intersting scoring the sides. 

Ru007's picture
Ru007

I'm glad you liked it. 

Happy baking

Ru

TomK's picture
TomK

and I love the extra scoring. It could become a trademark.

Tom

Ru007's picture
Ru007

LOL! How cool would that be, to have a scoring trade mark!

Glad you like it.

Happy baking 

Ru

Cedarmountain's picture
Cedarmountain

Wow Ru!  That is a really beautiful loaf of bread, I very much like the "forest" you scored on the side and that opening photograph captures perfectly the essence of what a great sourdough bread is all about... lovely crust, colour, spring.  And yes, like you, including a little bit of fresh milled grain in my "white" sourdough bread is a habit, taste preference!  You obviously have a lot of talent waiting to be expressed so keep challenging your bread baking habits with whatever piques your interest and creativity, there's lots to enjoy in every moment.  So good to have you back posting!

Ru007's picture
Ru007

You're so kind, I really appreciate the compliment! 

I'm trying to just enjoy the process :) It makes things a lot more fun and its so much easier to try new things! 

I'm so glad to be back! 

Happy baking 

Ru

 

 

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Ru, the last image where the bread is photographed on the marble counter top is professional. You could sell that image! It appears to be hovering on calm, still, waters. The reverse reflection, the gorgeous score, the rising ear, the blistered crust, the accent scored art is over the top. That shot stimulates the senses. It screams smell, touch, taste. <Great Shot>

Is it possible to photograph your loaf against the marble only? Could you crop out the wall next time? I’d like to see what that would look like. Now all you have to do is reproduce that masterpiece loaf :D

Dan

Ru007's picture
Ru007

I'm so glad you liked it!!

Hmmmm... I had a look at my counter and I think could get a shot without the wall in. That's a really good suggestion. I'll definitely give it a try with my next loaf! Now its all about getting the loaf right again! I had fun making this loaf so hopefully, I can get it to look good again ;)

Thank you so much for the kind words :) I'll let you know how it goes! 

Happy baking 

Ru

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Great bake Ru and beautiful photography as well.

So nice to see your bakes again and hopefully more to come.

Regards,

Ian

Ru007's picture
Ru007

You're so kind. I'm glad you liked the post! 

Happy baking 

Ru

bread1965's picture
bread1965

Ru.. nice to see you posting again!  That is one might fine looking loaf.. not only have you seriously improved your baking chops, but you're also one very good photographer.!!  That loaf is as good as it gets! Well done!

Ru007's picture
Ru007

Thank you so much. I'm so happy you liked the post! 

Happy baking 

Ru