sprouts

The last bake was so nice and this one is very similar except for a few differences that….. made a difference.  The sprouts, seeds, nuts, prunes and dough flours were nearly identical except we ran out of barley berries.

Yeast water replaced the SD starter.  The YW levain used white whole wheat flour as half of the mix instead of the home milled whole grains of the previous bake.  The amount of whole grains and the hydration was increased 5% to 59% and 74% respectively.

The first 15 minutes of the bake was at 500 F instead of 450 F (because we forgot to turn it down after the pre-heat) and the resulting total bake time was reduced 15 minutes to 35 minutes.  We think the higher initial temperatures reduced the spring and the higher hydration caused the chacon to spread more as well.   The openness of the crumb was affected in that the usually large holes of the yeast water were muted .

Another change was that instead of putting the dough into the basket right after the  S& F was complete and then allowing the dough to ferment in the basket, on the counter for 1 and ½ hours before being retarded, this dough was allowed to ferment in the bowl for 1 ½ hours before being placed in the basket and then it was then immediately retarded.

Both bakes had a 40 hour retard and a 4 hour warm up on the heating pad before baking.  Instead of using decorative knots in the chacon we used balls instead since the dough was too slack to make into ropes without adding some flour. 

We were going to add some aromatic seeds like coriander and anise but forgot to put them in.   I thought that if we just put them on the top they would burn after seeing the color of the crust after yesterday’s bake. 

One thing we noticed was since the dough was much wetter it absorbed the rice flour in the basket so the white surface outlines of the last bake were mainly gone and we had a better picture of the deep, dark, mahogany color that must have been under the white on the last bake.

The crumb is more moist than the SD as was expected since YW makes a more moist crumb in bread than SD for some reason.  Glad we baked this to 206 F instead of 203 F like the SD version since it was still moist and soft.

The crumb is as open as the SD but the largest holes are in the YW version.  The most uniform holes holes are in the SD.  I never thought I would say this but, the YW multi-grain bread is more tasty, at least to my pallet which is quite unlike the Brownman I know and my apprentice loves sometimes :-)  Both breads are terrific ans some of the best that have come out of this kitchen.

Formula

The last two bakes were a lower and then a higher percentage of whole grains  and more complex that this one at 48% whole grains.   We also used the KA mixer on speed 3 to knead the dough for 8 minutes instead of using French slap and folds and we baked the bread in a DO instead of on a stone with steam.

The rye sour and YW combo levain consisted of dark whole rye and water that was built over 10 hours with (2) 1 hour stages and one of 8 hours. After the levain had doubled we refrigerated it for 12 hours and then let it come to room temperature the next day for 2 hours as we autolysed the flours.

The AP, spelt, whole wheat, rye, potato flakes, oat flour ground flax seeds, baked potato, malts and Toady Tom’s Toasted Tidbits were autolysed with the Baltika #6 Porter and home made red wine vinegar for 2 hours before combining with the salt and the levain in the KA for kneading.

The dough was rested for 20 minutes and then 4 sets of S&F’s were done on 20 minute intervals.  The caraway and coriander seeds along with a new ingredient; caraway leaves and roasted re=hydrated onions were incorporated on the 3rd set.

The rye, spelt and ww sprout chits were incorporated on the 4th set.  Don’t forget to start your ww sprouts 48 hours ahead and the rye and spelt seeds 24 hours ahead to make sure they all chit together and are ready when needed.  Also take the 1 T of dried onions and roast them for a couple of minutes at 350 F to get them dark, not burned like I did the first time,  and then re-hydrate them in 3 T of water 4 hours ahead of time.

After the 4th set of S&f’S the dough was allowed to develop and ferment for 1 hour before being pre shaped and shaped into a boule and placed into a rice floured basket inside a trash can liner where it was allowed to ferment for another hour before being retarded for 8 hours in the fridge.

The dough was then allowed to come to room temperature and ferment and develop some more on the counter the next day for 6 hours since the temperature in the kitchen is only 67 F. 

The oven was preheated to 450 F.  The basket was upended into the cold DO, poorly scored (can’t seem to ever do it right in a DO), and placed into the hot oven that was immediately turned down to 425 F where the bread steamed itself for 25minutes.  Then the lid was removed and the bread baked for another 20 minutes.

10 minutes after the lid came off the bread was removed from the DO and continued to bake directly on the oven rack.  The bread was also rotated 180 degrees every 5 minutes until it reached 205 F on the inside.  The bread was allowed to crisp on the oven rack for 10 minutes with the oven off and door ajar before being moved to the cooling rack.  It sure smells tasty.

The crumb came out open and moist with a great chew due to the sprouts.  The taste was very good.  Instead of the dominate onion taste like last time, we had a caraway flavor that came through due to the caraway leaves and not the caraway seeds.  This is what Americans would call rye bread even though rye only makes up about 27% of the flours used in the bread.  We really like the way this bread tastes.  It is complex and earthy.  The combination of whole rye being twice as much as whole spelt and WW and the whole grains making up 50% of the flours is one we like very much.  The YW and SD levain combination also helps to lighten the crumb and open it up thanks to the YW while still getting a SD taste to come through too.

Formula

We were out of red and white rye malt when we made out last batch of SD multi-grain bagels with sprouts.  Since our multi-grain bakes that we like the best have been a combination of spelt, rye and whole wheat we decided to make a batch of red and white  multi-grain malt using these 3 grains.

First soak the berries in water for 3 hours and then sprout them for 3-4 days between two layers of damp kitchen towels covered in plastic.  I re-dampen the towels ever 24 hours so they don't dry out.  When they look like this:

Then dry them in the oven on a rimmed cookie sheet.  Start out at 150 F, no higher in order to make diastatic white malt.  Any higher temperature and you will kill the enzymes you just made by malting.  Once dry,  about an hour or so,  take half the berries and grind them into white malt. 

Take the other half of the berries and continue to bake them starting at 200 F and raising the temperature 25 F every 5 minutes until you get to 350 F.  Watch them carefully so they don't burn.  Grind them into red non diastatic malt when they are cool.  Red malt adds flavor and color to any bread.  You should get red and white malts that looks like this:

Yesterday when I woke up and saw Phil’s post on Word Bread Day I knew we had to get cracking in order to get some kind of bread at least started on this world wide day devoted to bread.  Phil’s and Ying’s fantastic posts this week using figs seemed like a good place to start - not that my attempt would add up to half of their masterpieces.

Phil’s had anise and Ying’s had hazelnuts top go with the figs.  We can’t find hazelnuts for sale locally but we did have pistachios - one of the most overlooked nuts to include in breads.

Method

We also like sprouts and got some rye, WW and spelt berries soaking for 3 hours first thing even before we got the SD levain started and then got them sprouting between paper towels covered in plastic wrap.

This levain was a Desem and Rye sour SD combo since we combined our seed for both into one 4 days ago.  The levain totaled 220 g and used whole rye, WW and whole spelt for the flours.   The levain was a single stage build of 4 hours when it doubled.  The levain was 18% of the total weight and 40% of the total flour weight – pretty much our recent standard.

While the levain was building we also did a 4 hour autolyse of the flours (whole rye, spelt, wheat and some AP), salt and the 2 malts with the liquids, in this case water and a little coffee.  The 35 g of coffee was left over from breakfast and we hate throwing anything away food or drink wise.  We can’t find any difference in the bread of when the salt goes in the autolyse - before or after - so we have been putting it in at the beginning or at the end if we forget to put it in the beginning.

Once the autolyse and the levian came together we did French slap and folds for 10 minutes before resting it for 30 minutes in an oiled Tupperware tub.  We then did (3) S&Fs on 30 minute intervals and incorporated the add ins during the last S&F.  We like combining the two gluten development methods when there is a higher percentage of whole grains, over 42% in this case and higher hydrations 83% here.

Once the 2 hour fermentation with S&F’s was complete we put in the fridge for a nice cool 37 F retard of 14 hours. In the morning we warmed it up for an hour before pre-shaping and final shaping it into a boule and placing it seam side up in a well floured basket.  This is a sticky dough so some flour on the hands really helps in this regard.

Once shaped and in a basket we bagged it in a trash can liner and let it final proof on the counter for 2 hours before firing up Old Betsy to 500 F for a 45 minute pre-heat with 2 of Sylvia’s steaming Pyrex loaf pans with water and towels in place.   Total final proof was 2 and ¾ hours and it had risen above the basket.  

When we went to un-mold the dough on a parchment covered peel the basket slipped and half the dough never made it to the peel.  We tried to lift the part that didn’t make the move with a scraper and slide it further on the peel while sliding another piece of parchment under it but the middle stuck to the peel.

The middle of the loaf deflated and we should have immediately turned it into a Fendu since the middle was the most severely disfigured.  We slashed it instead and tried our best to get it off the peel without doing further damage.  But alas, 2/3rds the height in the basket disappeared as it was pulled apart to spread faster than oil in a hot iron skillet.

Still, the bread managed to recover to half its basket height in spring while under steam for 15 minutes after turning the oven down to 450 F when the bread went in.  At the 15 minute mark the steam was removed and the oven turned down to 425 F - convection this time.

Every 5 minutes the mishap prone boule was turned 120 degrees every 5 minutes there after over the next 15 minutes until it read 208 F in the center when tested.  The boule was allowed to rest on the stone in the now off oven and the door ajar for 10 minutes to crisp the skin.  It was then removed an allowed to cool before being used a Frisbee by my apprentice and her buddies in the back yard, well she wanted to play with it .... 

This bread smells great, looks unusual and the crust is unique as a result of the harsh un-molding technique that we will definitely use more often to coax some individuality and character in out breads.  Plus we are already tired of having stuff turn out perfect every time now that peace and perfection have broken out in the world after Bread Day!  This bread plain tastes amazing.  The anise is subtle but comes through.   The sweet figs go so well with pistachios.   The crumb, even though the holes were 1/3rd what they should have been still is light and airyand it  just looks stunning with the contrast between the 2 kinds of figs and the green pistachios.  This is one of those breads we make over and over again.  Thanks to Phil and Empress Ying!  Well done you two!

We originally made this bread for the dentist but am now unsure how much more pain I sould suffer over this bread.   If it cuts well and has at least one hole bigger than a pea, then we will cut off the best part for the Pain Miester and take our chances.  So this bread is called Pain Maître douleur - Pain Master Bread.

 Formula

Just ate this one plain before the apprentice could get at it.

When we baked our version of hanseata's ungodly, great and wonderful bread, we said at the time that it was the best bread we have ever baked or tasted here:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/28806/hanseata%E2%80%99s-wild-rice-sd-w-yeast-water-multi-seeds-prunes-beer-and-sprouts

 We were not exaggerating more than usual and we still feel this way.  We finally got to the other half of this huge loaf that we froze right after it had cooled after coming out of the oven.  We actually cut this half in half, knowing how good it was,  and still have a 1/4 loaf of this fine bread in the freezer. - and you don't - but you should!

with DaCarrrot and DaMinnieMarm jams.

Love grilled pak choy sum and Mexican grey squash with a fine pork sandwich.

My apprentice decided to feature this bread again with its various uses we have put it too since defrosting it rather than throw it in with the other breads we have been eating for lunch this past month.  They will be shown separately.

That's some aged cheddar there without any writing.

You just have to make hanseata's bread one time and you will be forever hooked and adding it to your top 5 favorite list that has 15 breads on it :-)

Feta, aged cheddar and brie, with a little dijon mustard, make for a nice grilled cheese for lunch.

After the last white bread bake using the Pharaoh’s Mastaba, we went back to a 67% whole grain; rye and wheat bread with rye and wheat sprouts and a variety of add-ins and seeds including wheat germ, flax, coriander, pumpkin, hemp, rosemary, chia, cumin and red rye malt baked in another variation of the Chacon.

 The Chacon is quickly becoming a favorite bread shaping method.  It is a fun way to make bread with as many variations as one can conjure up and imagine.  This time we used a plain knotted roll in the middle of the basket and surrounded it with a plain two strand braid that was twisted (Twisted Sisters).  Then we added the remainder of the dough which contained all the add ins and sprouts as a disk to the top – which will become the bottom when tipped put of the basket.

This gave us a new but handsome boule shape that had no add-ins in the finish top and all the add-ins on the bottom.  It will be like having two different breads in each slice.

The Chacon came out of the basket easily and it slid into the mini oven, without slashing, just as well and onto my new ceramic tile / stone - which quickly broke when we threw water onit by accident before closing the door to steam.  No worries, the tile only cost 88 cents and I have 11 more of them.  In the back of the mini, we used Sylvia’s steaming method with a Pyrex 1 cup measure half full of water with dish rag in it.

 The stone worked well and the Chacon was very brown and crunchy when it came out of the oven and it smelled wonderful too.  The boule cracked at each twist of the sister and at the knot seams.  We just love the way the Chacon cracks almost exactly where we want it to and think it should instead of willy nilly.  

 The crumb shots and tasting will follow after the Chaon cools.  The formula and method follow the pix’s. 

 Method

The method was similar to our recent bakes with (3) - 4 hours each, 12 hour SD levain build.  This time it was not retarded overnight because we used some sliced onion in the build that made it smell more sour than normal.  The flours were autolysed with the wet and salt for 12 hours in the fridge too.  We have been adding the salt in with the autolyse recently and cannot tell any difference when we do it this way.  Forgetting to add the salt days are now over.

After soaking in water for 4 hours, we placed the seeds to be sprouted on 2 damp paper towels covered with another and wrapped in plastic on a plastic cutting board.  Half way through the 24 hour sprouting period, we re-dampened the top towel and covered it back up.  The seeds were sprouted in 24 hours. 

 We mixed the dough with the autolyse with the KA for 8 minutes on 2 and  2 minutes more on KA3.  The dough was then moved to an oiled, plastic covered bowl to rest for 15 minutes before doing 5 sets of S&F’s every 15 minutes on a floured work surface.  When the S&F’s were complete the dough was left to develop and ferment for 1 ½ hours before going into the fridge overnight for 8 hours.  In the morning the dough was allowed to come to room temperature over 1 ½ hours on the counter.

 The dough was then portioned into (3) 150 g pieces for the knotted roll and the 2 strand, ‘twisted sister’ braid.  In a rice floured basket the knotted roll went in first in the center, then the twisted sister went in around the knotted roll.  The remainder of the dough was flattened out gently and all the sprouts and add ins were incorporated.  Once the add ins were incorporated evenly, the remaining dough was shaped into a boule and allowed to rest for about 5 minutes until it had relaxed.

 It was then flattened into a disk the width of the basket and placed on top of the roll and braid to make the finished Chacon in 3 distinct sections.

 After a 2 hour proof it had passed the poke test and was ready for the mini oven stone and 12 minutes of steaming at 450 F regular bake.  The steam was then removed and the mini oven turned down to 425 F convection this time.  The Chacon was rotated 90 degrees every 5 minutes.

 After the 2nd rotation the oven was turned down to 400  F convection.  20 minutes after the steam was removed, the bread was done – 32 minutes total.  It was allowed to cool with the oven off and the door ajar for 10 more minutes before being moved to the cooling rack.

After having such a nice loaf turn out from the last Chacon bake, we thought we would do everything we could to mess it up – and we did mess up more than half of it without much difficulty at all.  These things happen when you try new things.  Not to worry when we can learn from near disasters.

 We took a more difficult but very nice 90% whole grain formula and decided to try it out in the Cuisinart mini convection oven  we want to use for summer baking.   The problem is that space is limited, steaming is harder and keeping the steam in difficult.

 So we decided to try baking this loaf 2 different ways with steam and see which one performed better.

One was using the broiling pan that came with the oven, putting water below and baking the bread on the perforated cover.  The other way was to bake the bread on the broiler pan bottom and put a stainless steel mixing bowl over the top.

The spare tire.

 We also wanted to try out some different patterns for the Chacon as well as try out a new shaping method that would help in spring.   We did two folds and crimps (like shaping baguette) for the outside ring instead of one.

The loaf steamed with the full broiler pan and the water below, we decorated with flax seeds and bran stuck to the loaf with egg white.  One the other round loaf we used 3 smaller knotted rolls instead of one in the middle and left it undecorated under its steel steaming lid that acted like a cloche.

The winner was unmistakable.  The cloche, steel lidded loaf, performed much better as far as spring goes.   But, after removing the steaming lid my apprentice forgot to move the loaf up a rack level and burned the bottom of it.  OOPPPSSS!   The other loaf didn’t have any spring at all - but was not burnt.  Between the two, we got zero decent bread but would if you could cut the good bottom one of them and switch it to the other better sprung and looking top.

 Now we know that the mini oven will work fine in the summer to make bread when plugged in outside by using the cloche and the apprentice has learned her lesson.

The method for this bread was the 3 day process and similar to this bake:   http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/28806/hanseata%E2%80%99s-wild-rice-sd-w-yeast-water-multi-seeds-prunes-beer-and-sprouts#comments

3 stage levain YW and SD combo starter, overnight retard of the starter, 24 hour autolyse for the flour and the liquid using whey water from yogurt making this time, 1 1/2 hour ferment/development followed by overnight retard for the dough with final proof the next day in rice floured baskets in a trash bag.

We also used walnut oil and crushed walnuts for a separate paste like Phil did for his Walnut and Sage bread and put walnuts and pumpkin seeds in the bread too with the sprouts.  – Thanks Phil!  We preheated to 500 F regular bake and then did a regressive temperature baking profile.  After 2 minutes 450 F.  After 15 minutes, remove steam or cloche and turn oven down to 400 F convection.  Turn loaf 180 degrees every 5 minutes until done about more 20 minutes or 35 minutes total until temp hits 205   the center of the loaf.   Leave in oven to crisp for 10 minutes with oven off and door ajar.

See how the purple color comes out under inside artificial lighting - The walnut oil paste finally shows itself. 

As you can see the crumb is nice and airy even with 90% whole grains in this loaf.  The power of YW shows.  The crumb was moist.  The crust stayed crisp and crunchy even hours later.  Tuns out the dark crust came from reusing the parchment paper from the Croissant bake - butter transferring to the crust and turning dark. It didn't taste bad nor was it tough or hard to cut - just dark - and extra tasty.  The Chacon curse was partially lifted.  This is one great tasting bread too.  We love all the whole grains, add ins, nuts and sprouts.   The whey water makes this breadhave a deep SD flavor that builds over time.  The Chacon has it's new formula now too. 

As a final note we did pinch of 100 g of fermented dough right before it went into the fridge to use as a starter for a pizza and pide for tonight’s dinner - turned out very well.  We will make that a separate post though.

The formula follows the pix and we won’t have crumb shots for 24 hours.

Hanseata’s wild rice bread looked so enticing we had to move it up to the top of the bake list.  To her recipe, which hardly needed any changes at all if one of us was sane and not barking, we used high alcohol ice beer for most of the water and upped the hydration about 10 %.  We didn’t use all beer for the liquid because it had to pass quality control to make sure it was not spoiled in some way.  It actually took two or three tastings just to make sure, but it finally passed.

We also added hemp (since wild rice is a grass), anise, fennel and coriander seeds, as well as, some prunes for their sweetness, cleansing reputation and black color to go with the wild rice.  For the balsamic vinegar we used a pomegranate flavored one.  Last but not really last we added some rye, WW, spelt and barley sprouts to go with the beer.  We also add some molasses and honey to go with the barley malt and some home made red and white non-diastatic and diasatic malts.   Then we moved the salt to 2% or we thought we did after we remembered we forgot to add it.  So, all in all, only a few minor changes were required.

 The batard doubled in the proofing basket coming all the way to the top after it doubled in the fridge overnight too.  The spring in the oven after a slightly deflating diamond cut was also good.  The batard only sprawled 1” in length and ½“ in width after coming out of the basket.

 The crust took on a dark brown color as expected, the bloom was good and was still unexpectedly a little crunch after it cooled.  This is the best slash job we have managed to date.  The crumb was fairly open for so much stuff inside, very moist due to the YW and the texture was just the way we like it. The sprouts, wild rice and seeds gave it an nice nutty, chew and flavor but the hemp seeds were a crunchy contrast and unexpected.  Don’t soak your hemp seeds for this bread!

 One can’t really make out the prunes other than a very slight sweetness throughout.  The anise, coriander and fennel smell and taste were muted, but noticeable, also way we like it.  A medium SD tang was also there and very nice.  Don't know what it would taste like without the beer.  All in all, this is the best looking and tasting bread I have ever been fortunate to make.  It is a delight to eat plain, toasted and buttered.  I’m guessing it will make some kind of special sandwich.   This bread takes 3 days to make but it is worth the waiting.  It is an A+.  Thanks Hanseata for the inspiration.  Formula and method follow the pix's.

This bread made for a nice ham and cheese sandwich for a lazy Saturday lunch with some of favorite lunch sides.

Method

Sprouts - The first thing to get started are the spouts.  Soak the seeds for 5 hours and them sprout between - damp paper towels covered in plastic wrap. Reserve unti;l needed about 24 hours.

Starter - Then get the combination YW and SD starter going in (3) 4 hour builds totaling 12 hours.  It should double after the 3rd build between the 8 and 12 hour marks.  Refrigerate overnight.  This bread can be made with SD starter alone just double the amount of starter.

Autolyse - Take all the flour and add all the beer and water, less 25 g of the water, add the malts, honey, balsamic vinegar, molasses and the VWG mix well and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Cook - the wild rice on low for 1 hour in at least twice as much as water as rice.  Reserve the cooked rice in the refrigerator.

Reconstitute the chopped prunes in 1 T of hot water and grind the seeds slightly in a mortar.

Then next morning combine the autolyse, the reserved 25 g of water and starter in the mixing bowl and knead with the dough hook on KA 2 for 5 minutes.  Add the salt (donlt forget like I did) and knead on KA 3 for 3 minutes.  Knead an additional 2 minutes on KA 4 for 2 minutes.  Move dough to a well oiled, plastic covered bowl to rest for 15 minutes.

Do 6 sets of S&F’s every 15 minutes on a floured work surface putting the dough back into the oiled covered bowl each time.  On the 5th S&F add in the sprouts, seeds, prunes and cooked wild rice.   After the 6th S&F form dough into a tight ball, place into a oiled bowl, cover with plastic and let rest on the counter for 1 hour.  Retard  the dough in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning remove the dough from the fridge and let come to room temperature – about 1 hour.  Form into the shape you desire and let proof on the counter for 2- 3 hours in a plastic bag, or until it passes the poke test.  Mine took 3 hours total out of the fridge I formed the dough into one large 17” x 6” batard.

45 minutes before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 500 F regular with steaming method and stone in place.  Bake the bread for 15 minutes with steam, the first 4 minutes at 500 F,  then 11 minutes at 450 F regular bake and then for another 20 minutes at 400 F convection until internal temperature reaches 205 F.  Rotate the bread every 5 minutes 90 degrees.   Leave door ajar with the oven off and the bread on the stone for 12 minutes to let the crust crisp.  Move to wire rack to cool to room temperature.

We were inspired by Varda’s recent Priests Hat  Altamura Style Bread Revisited here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/28663/altamura-style-bread-revisited 

and thought we would convert it to our new, nearly normal, 3 day, multi-grain with sprouts and seeds process – no nuts this time.  We reduced the semolina and added some; rye, 6 grain cereal, white WW, AP and bread flour. 

 I suppose we like the way the dough was shaped the most and what drew us to this take onAltamurastyle bread.  With our college age daughter home for the summer, she wanted to learn how to bake and cook so when she moves off into her apartment next year she won’t starve.  So she learned some French slap and folds and regular S& Fs on this loaf.   But didn’t make it out of bed early enough to do the unusual Altamura Priest’s Hat shaping.

 The dough rose well during the 20 hour retard period in the refrigerator and, after coming to room temperature the next morning, it nearly folded itself into the hat shape.  At about 2 ½ hours it was ready for the oven having passed the poke test.

 The crust browned very nice and dark, the way we like it, the seeds and sprouts were popping out here and  there.  Best of all the crust was very tasty. The crumb was fairly open with all the whole grains, seeds, and sprouts but the taste and texture were just great.  We really like how this bread tastes.  The SD tang was deep and complex so the 3 day process worked.  Can’t wait to taste it tomorrow.  Formula and methods follow the lunch shot.

It took years of genetic engineering to get a home grown heirloom tomato color to match Green Rooibos, Honeybush, 4 Fruit Tea but even longer to get the same tonato to match the shape of Altamura 'Priest's Hat' Bread.

Method

Start the sprouts by soaking the berries in water for 5 hours then spread them out on a damp paper towel, cover with another paper towel and then cover in plastic.  Set aside to sprout until needed – about 1 ½ days.

Start the SD levain build by following the 3 builds 3 hours apart and then refrigerate overnight.

Start the autolyse by combining the flour and water in the mixing bowl, cover with plastic and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Remove the levain and autolyse from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature - about 90 minutes.

Mix with a dough hook, the levain and the autolyse in the mixing bowl on KA 2 for 4 minutes add salt and continue kneading for an additional 2 minutes .  Place in a well oiled bowl to rest for 15 minutes.  Do a few minutes of French slap and folds and let rest for 15 minutes, then do 4 S&F on 15 minute intervals.  Add the sprouts and seeds on the 3rd S&F and allow to rest for and ferment for 1-2 hours after the 4th.  Form into a boule and refrigerate overnight.

 Remove from refrigerator and allow dough to come to room temperature – about 90 minutes.  Flatten gently into a 8 x 18 rectangle and form into a priests hat by folding in half  from the short end and sealing the top edge.  Then fold up from the short end again but only go ¾ of the way up sealing the top and sides.  Allow to proof on parchment paper, on a peel, inside a trash bag until it passes the poke test about 90 minutes.

 Preheat oven to 500 F with steaming method and stone in place for 45 minutes.  Slide hat onto the stone and turn the oven temp down to 425 F after 4minutes.  Allow to steam for another 12 minutes.  Remove steam, turn down to oven to 425 convection this time, and allow bread to bake turning every 8 minutes, 120 degrees, until center reaches 205 F.  Turn off oven and leave on stone for 10 more minutes, with the door ajar, too allow skin to crisp up.  Move to wire rack to cool completely.

No, No, No - My apprentice is not a nut!  This is a slightly more simple formula trying to achieve a balance between taste and holes.  Taste always wins out over holes and appearance in my book.  It has to taste good first before going to other wanted crumb and crust attributes.

 Sadly, when throwing boiling water into the hot cast iron skillet, water splashed onto the stone where the bread had just been placed - after sliding it off the peel taking the parchment paper with it.  No problem.  I will just tilt the stone and let the water run off.  But alas, the bread slid off onto the oven rack making a mess of some very nice bread up until that time.  Found a spatula and mooshed it back on the stone as best  we could but was left with a loaf that didn’t spring as well as it should and developed a strange knob hanging off the side of it.

It did taste great though and the WW, Bulgar and hemp sprouts came through and the texture of the crumb was further enhanced with the pistachio nuts and sunflower seeds.  The rye is subtle and WW is pronounced.  The crumb holes were OK even though they suffered the worst of the oven loading and steaming ordeal.  Formula and Method follow the crumb shots.

 Multi-grain SD w/ Multi Sprouts  2 Nuts and Seeds Somewhere 

 Method

 Do the sprouts first by soaking them for 5 hours and then letting them rest on (2) damp paper towels, covered with another and plastic wrap and reserve until needed..

 The  method is similar to recent bakes.  A 3 stage SD levain build only this time the stages were 3 hours apart.  With the AZ kitchen temps hitting90 Fa 9 hour build was more than sufficient to get a strong levain.  Instead of rye based like last time, this one was more WW and AP flour based to fit the bread we were after for this bake.  The dough was more AP Bread flour and White WW than usual to go with the levain.

 We added some honey as it pairs so well with WWW.   Had some Hemp, WW and bulgur sprouting but WW was all that sprouted so the other 2 were a soaker.

 Autolyse the flours, the VWG and the diastatic malt,  all the water, less 10 g, 24 hours in the fridge and retarded the levain for 12 hours, all in hopes of bringing out the sour.  The next morning we kneaded the autolyse and levain with the added 10 g of water by hand  before kneading on KA 2 for 8 minutes with the dough hook.  Added the salt and knead for 2 more minutes on KA 3.

 Transferred the dough to a well oiled bowl since this is a high hydration dough and let rest for 20 minutes.  Do 4 S &F’s on a floured work surface, at 20 minute intervals- about 4-6 turns each depending on how the dough feels.  When it tightened up it was time to stop.  On the 5 th S& F fattened out the dough and incorporated the sprouts and nuts.  Do 1 more S&F for a total of 6.

 Let rest on the counter for 1 hour.  You may need longer if your kitchen isn’t 90 F.  Then refrigerate for 24 hours.  Take the dough out of the fridge and let it warm up for an hour.  Pre-shape by dragging the boule’s skin tight and then let rest for 10 minutes.  Shape and place in your favorite boule final proofing container - mine is a cloth lined basket that is well floured with rice flour and AP mixed 50-50.  But, you can make what ever shape suits your fancy.

 Let bread rise in a plastic bag until it passes the poke test - mine took 2 hours at 86-88 F.  Get oven ready at 500 F with steam and stone 45 minutes before bread is ready to bake.  Turn out of the basket onto parchment and peel, slash your favorite way and place on the stone with steam for 15 minutes turning temperature down to 450 after 5 minutes.   Remove steam and turn oven to 425 F convection and bake until the bread is 205 F in the middle.  Turn off oven and leave bread on the stone for 12 more minutes with oven door ajar to dry out.

 Move to a wire cooling rack to completely cool before cutting.