The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Soaker / no-knead question

Edthebread's picture
Edthebread

Soaker / no-knead question

Hi everyone

I've had great success with the approach described in Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Bread book, where the whole wheat flour is mixed into a soaker overnight with no yeast, then combined with the levain the next day.  But I also love the convenience of the no-kneed approach, as I can do all the work the previous day and bake the bread in the morning. I wanted to try to combine the two techniques.

My question to you all is this - have any of you tried making a soaker and levain in the morning, then mixing them together in the evening, leaving to rise overnight then baking the next day?  This would seem to combine the best elements of the soaker strategy, liberating more maltose from the wheat before adding to the dough, and the convenience of the no-kneed.

I am wondering if you would still get the taste advantage of using a soaker if you subsequently leave it to rise overnight, as maybe the levain cultures, when mixed with the soaker, will just use up the sugars from the soaker and you will end up with regular no-knead bread.  Alternatively, maybe leaving the wholemeal dough overnight will achieve the same effect as the soaker, making the creation of a soaker ahead of time unneccesary.

Any input or experience welcomed!

 

 

SulaBlue's picture
SulaBlue

aside of a bit of flour, salt and water?

I have a friend who has used -some-, but not 100%, whole grains successfully with the no-knead method. She is not using a soaker however. Just everything in together and then into the oven the next day.

Perhaps start with one of the transitional breads and give it a go?