Two Grain Sourdough (Rye & Wheat)
I've been actively experimenting with my sourdough this week, trying to come up with various sourdough sandwich breads. This one makes the mark, I think.
I'm trying my best to try out whole grains, including rye, oats, and whole wheat. I'm trying to cut down on the purely white bread I consume, and I'm also trying my hardest to get a good amount of fiber into my diet. This bread has the benefits of being 35% whole grain flour, and has just the right tang to work for a beef or turkey sandwich.
Rye flour makes up 10% of the whole grain flour and whole wheat makes up the other 25%. For the rest of the flour I used normal King Arthur bread flour. My hydration was somewhere between 70-80%, and the bread was impossible to knead by the normal method...I just folded. A lot. The initial rise took almost 6 hours, and the proofing went for 1.5 hours. I made two small boules.
I'm pretty happy with how the texture of both the crust and the crumb turned out on this bread. I think the oven could've pre-heated a bit more, though, to give me more crunch on the bottom, but the top is right as it should be.
The starter used was fed up as I normally feed my starter, at about 100% hydration.
If you want the recipe, I'll post it. Otherwise I'll keep working. :)
That looks really good.
I would like your recipe if you don't mind.
As I wrote it down:
41g stone ground rye flour (I used a relatively light rye)
103g stone ground whole wheat flour
240g bread flour
280g water
210g starter (at 100% hydration)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
12g salt
The night before baking, mix your rye and whole wheat flour with 120g of the water. Let sit, overnight, on the counter. I also fed my starter for this bread and let it sit overnight as well.
Place starter, soaker (with the wheat and the rye), and the rest of the water (160g) in your bowl. Mix well. You probably won't get it completely incorporated together, but it helps to bring the rest of the bread together. Add the oil and the salt, then the bread flour a little at a time until you get a dough that's sticky and hard to work with.
Turn out onto your kneading surface and fold, as you would if you were working with a lower-knead dough, about 30 times. You'll feel the dough start to come together better and firm up, but it will still be very sticky. This is how I knead this type of bread. Fold throughout your bulk rise, as well, a few times. I think I folded 3 times, but do what the dough tells you. The last couple of hours of the 6 hour rise I let this have was just in my oven with the light on.
After bulk ferment is done, preshape and let dough sit for a few minutes. Shape your loaf (or loaves) and allow to proof for at least 1.5 hours, if not two. I think two would've been better for this bread. Preheat oven to 425 and bake, with steam, for the first 10 minutes, then down to 375 for the remainder. Cool to just warm before cutting.
They look quite delicious...another recipe to add to the list.
I think I'll have to open a bakery just to try all the different breads I'm seeing here.