The Fresh Loaf

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40% emmer sourdough

Ilya Flyamer's picture
Ilya Flyamer

40% emmer sourdough

I bought some emmer flour a couple of months just because I saw it and though "Huh never heard of emmer, I'll give it a go" - and then never tried it (except using in banana bread once). So I finally decided to try it. I recently got the book "Sourdough" by Lugg & Fjeld, and while it's not very advanced, I just followed their simple procedure and formula for 40% emmer sourdough (except added some slap&folds in the beginning until medium development, instead of simply relying on stretch&folds during bulk). I opted for 80% hydration, since it's a new flour for me, however from feeling the dough it could handle more. Here is the formula: https://fgbc.dk/11j5 Bulked for around 5-6 hours total, with not that warm temperature. Dough was nice to work with, not sticky and pleasant.

And my addition was coating the bread in sesame seeds before overnight retard, as I usually do.

Baked both loaves together yesterday morning on preheated steel, 25 min with steam, 15-20 min (until nicely caramelized) without, and with some convection in the second half of that. Got a decent but not huge oven spring. I love the reddish hue of the crust! Today the crust is not crispy though, but the crumb is soft and sort of slightly moist. Very nice flavour with a slightly sweet note.

Could have done a neater job scoring the boule, not very symmetrical.



Comments

Benito's picture
Benito

They look wonderful Ilya, much more oven spring than my most recent bake.  I’ve never tasted emmer and I’m not sure I’ve seen it in Toronto lately. You can never lose by adding a sesame seed crust in my book.

Benny

Ilya Flyamer's picture
Ilya Flyamer

Thanks Benny! I liked the taste of emmer, but it's not a super unusual/strong flavour. It has just a hint of extra sweetness compared to modern wheat I think.

Sesame seeds are always a winning addition!

Isand66's picture
Isand66

I’ve used emmer before.  It wasn’t one of my favorites but it’s not bad.  Your crumb looks excellent.

 

Ilya Flyamer's picture
Ilya Flyamer

Thank you! I agree, I was pleased with the result, but not necessarily something very special. To be fair, the miller (Doves farm) recommends it in particular for cookies, cakes or muffins, due to its slightly sweet taste.