levain v. jailbreak
This is something I wanted to try the moment I read Another Girl's post about jailbreak bread.
I baked two identical pains au levain, the first a recipe I have always liked – the della fattoria version posted to this site about seven years ago by dmsnyder -- and the second an identical one made à la jailbreak.
In other words: the same flours, levain, water and salt, the same amounts and proportions. Just different processes – one traditional, a stiff levain followed by a final dough mix, the other with all the ingredients dumped into a bowl together at the start.
I under-fermented both of them and didn’t shape them particularly tightly, which meant that they spread more than they sprung in the oven. But here they are. 
The standard recipe is topped with millet and the jailbreak bread is topped with oats. I did this so I could tell which was which, but also to prevent them from sticking to the identical bowls in which I proofed them.
Thoughts:
1. The standard version got a bit more oven spring.
2. Though they’re both really tasty, they’ve got subtly different flavor characteristics. The standard version is more grain-forward – with the sweetness of 62% bread flour, 28% whole wheat, & 10% rye bursting immediately in every bite – and the crust is bit more crispy, which adds to the flavor hit. The jail-break version achieves the same sweetness, but it doesn’t have the initial hit: the wonderful grain flavors emerge in your mouth after you’ve been chewing for a while. And the crust isn’t quite as firm or savory.
For sure, a single experiment is not the last word. If I attempt this again, I would probably go for a larger amount of starter in the jailbreak version to jumpstart fermentation. Or perhaps I could just give it more fermentation time. And, for both breads, I would take better care not to skimp on shaping.
Still, the real great thing is, my partner and I have two slightly different breads to eat this week.
Rob
I’ve used the formula exclusively for my last several bakes. The crust is super crisp and the wheat/ grain cereal taste and fragrance are very present from the get go. Fermentation is of course everything. I posted my formula most recently on multigrain minimalist. Adding the extra water after autolyse is extremely beneficial and really up the grain % as well. Do add ins. It’s impossible to mess up this “ no levain” hands off mostly” bread. Yours are beautiful!
thanks, tr! I'm thinking of trying something akin to your multigrain minimalist approach. But I don't have yeast water. Can you offer thoughts on what the yeast water adds and I might need to do to compensate if I don't have it?
Rob
The quality of the crumb is incredible with YW great freshness and tenderness . There isn’t any sourness with YW which for some is a plus and others a minus. YW likes warmer fermentation times which again can be a plus or minus depending on your home baking situation.
I don’t know that you can compensate for not having YW. It’s easy to make one I always use apples but others use raisins.
I have used the 40g of starter up to 100 g and this last I used 70g I couldn’t see any difference. The add ins that I call my Trinity make a huge difference in flavor and fermentation times as well.
I am also a firm believer in the Lam-Bass that I have used the last couple of bakes since I gave my Kitchen Aid mixer to my daughter. Lamination on very wet counter with more water drizzled over the dough surface as I am patting out to a large rectangle then folding letter style or rolling up like a sausage and shaping into a boule. Let rest 30 min then repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 Lam-Bass . This is after the initial 1 hr autolyse of everything. It’s easy to incorporate at least 100 gm or more of water for a 1000 g batch. I’m going to be very diligent this next batch to see how far I can push the hydration.
Hope this helps you. Try a couple different amounts of starter and try the add ins and push the hydration and get a YW going. Lots to explore!!! c
Another baker breaking out of jail, the pressure is on the rest of us to try to break out as well 😜. Rob, they both look good, I’ll be interested in your next iteration!
Benny
And having good success with it. My recent blogs pertain to it although under a slightly different title. To get a fair impression you should wait until it doubles in size with visible bubbles on top before shaping. You will find it will have more strength and be easier to shape. It works best with the 80% hydration.
Don
Hi Rob, I like the way you applied the technique to a different formula and I like the idea of a side by side comparison so you can really experience the difference in the breads. I've been thinking about different flour mixes or adding seeds, nuts, dried fruit, herbs, etc (as mentioned in the original formula on the KAF website) to mix things up a bit. Don and Caroline have both been doing cool things with the formula and getting great results, and now you are expanding on the theme in a completely different way. So much creativity! It will be fun to see the results if you decide to take your experiments farther. In the meantime, you have a couple of great looking loaves to enjoy!
thanks all for the encouragement.
for the next dueling boules experiment, inspired by Caroline & Don, I'm going to try a mixed grain spelt bread with add-ins.
Watch this space.
Rob
Innovation is the name of the game. After all is said and done it isn’t possible to duplicate anyone’s bakes since there are so many variables at work. Getting ideas and then making it your own is what keeps most of us baking and learning. This is a great classroom where all experiences are welcome. c
As promised, here's my latest twin-boule comparison.
Inspired by Caroline and Don, I made a spelt bread. I based it on a recipe from ThePerfectLoaf, but stuffed it full of apricots, toasted pecans and toasted millet (these add-ins were undoubtedly inspired by Sarah Owens' Lumberjane). My one big departure from the original formula was that I decided to experiment with a rye malt scald to jumpstart fermentation. So dropped in 25 g of rye malt (in a scald with 50 g of boiling water) and 25 g of rye flour and cut back the amount of high extraction flour (and the amount of water) by 50 g. I also upped the innoculation of starter in the jailbreak loaf, adding twice as much sourdough as I used in the levain.
The visual result is similar to the pains au levain I made last week: the levain loaf had appreciably more oven spring while the jailbreak boule is significantly smaller and denser.
spelt bread.jpeg
spelt crumb.jpeg
But the big surprise is the flavor. The jailbreak boule simply tastes better than the levain bread. It has more complexity -- an entertainingly light sour bite that enhances the fruit, nut, seed sweetness. The levain bread is kind-of lame. The jailbreak bread is a walk on the wild side.
Rob
Definitely wild! Where do you get the rye malt? I’ve never experimented with the malts except the diastatic/ non- diastatic malt for bagels.
I am impressed with your creativity and so glad to hear you experienced increased flavor profile. I have bagels rising will post tomorrow. They are YW levain bagels a first as I haven’t seen them posted anywhere. Will see how they do. c
thanks!!!!
I stopped at a home brewing store and found pale rye malt, aka diastatic. My thought was that it would add sweetness to the dough and crispiness to the crust -- tho I can't really say it did either. I also had hoped the addition of a little rye would add a kind of spicy funkiness, but again, I don't really sense it at all.
I'm looking forward to your bagel post.
rob