The Fresh Loaf

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White Levain; Moscow Rye; Stollen Slice

ananda's picture
ananda

White Levain; Moscow Rye; Stollen Slice

White Levain; Moscow Rye; Stollen Slice

The long-awaited delivery of logs arrived on Sunday, so I re-fired the oven on Monday to get some heat into the brickwork, then fired again yesterday and set-to early on a full day of production.   My new delivery of flour only arrived late on yesterday, so I had to make Gilchesters’ White breads, as opposed to my more favoured Farmhouse loaves.   By close of play I had 14 white loaves [2 @ 1200g, 4 @ 800g and 8 @ 600g finished weight], plus 8 Moscow Rye @ 800g and 2 slices of Stollen yielding 36 finger pieces in total.

Here are the formulae:

  1. 1.    Gilchesters’ White Levain

Wheat Levain Refreshment:

Day/Date

Time

Levain

Bread Flour

Water

Total

Temp °C

Monday 19 November

06:00

40

300

180

520

20

Monday 19 November

11:00

520

500

300

1320

20

Monday 19 November

16:00

1320

500

300

2120

18

Monday 19 November

20:00

2120

1275

765

4160

18

 

Material/Stage

Formula [% of flour]

Recipe [grams]

1. Wheat Levain

 

 

Marriage’s Organic Strong White Flour

35

2520

Water

21

1512

TOTAL

56

4032

 

 

 

2. Final Dough

 

 

Wheat Levain [from 1 above]

56

4032

Gilchesters’ Organic Pizza/Ciabatta Flour

65

4680

Salt

1.6

116

Water

47

3384

TOTAL

169.6

12212

 

 

 

% pre-fermented flour

35

-

% overall  hydration

68

-

FACTOR

-

72

 

Method:

  • Build leaven as described.   Ferment the leaven for 1 hour ambient after the last refreshment, then leave overnight in the chiller.
  • In the morning take the leaven out of the fridge first thing.   Make an autolyse with the flour and water for the final dough with DDT 28°C, and leave covered for one hour.
  • To mix the final dough, divide the leaven and the autolyse into 2 and mix 2 separate mixes in a 20 quart machine with the dough hook.   Use the delayed salt method, adding the salt after 7 minutes of mixing on first speed.   Scrape down, add the salt, then mix a further 8 minutes on first speed.   DDT 26°C.
  • Bulk ferment for 2½ hours.   Stretch and fold after 1½ hours.
  • Scale, divide and mould.   Rest 15 minutes and prepare bannetons.   Re-mould and put into bannetons.
  • Final proof 2 hours.   Tip each loaf out onto the peel and score the top.   Bake in a wood-fired brick oven.
  • Cool on wires.

There is a sequence of photographs below which cover most of the process.

 

Autolyse, above

Ripened levain, above

White dough off the mixer, above

White dough after 2 hours bulk fermentation, above

Same dough after Stretch and fold, above

14 dough pieces, pre-shaped, upside down and resting, above

Final Shape, above

Scored and ready to load to the oven, above

Baked Miche, above

A basketful!

2.    Moscow Rye

I have posted the formula for this on my blog many times.   I made 7600g of Paste.

 3.    Stollen Slice

This is baked as a tray-baked slice with a layer of marzipan through the middle, then cut into fingers, as opposed to baking as individual loaves.   I used a “ferment and dough” method; the end-product was really special.   This is the formula and recipe to make 2 slabs:

 

 

 

Method: FERMENT AND DOUGH

Material/Stage

Formula [% of flour]

Recipe [grams]

1. Ferment

 

 

Strong White Bread Flour

30

240

Water @ 38°C

46

368

Yeast

7

56

Sugar

5

40

TOTAL

88

704

2.Final Dough

 

 

Ferment

88

704

Strong White Bread Flour

70

560

Milk Powder

5

40

Salt

1

8

Sugar

5

40

Butter

20

160

Eggs

10

80

Spice: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardemom

2

16

Sub-total

201

1608

Sultanas

37.5

300

Raisins

5.6

45

Glacé Cherries

25

200

Mixed Peel [90% fruit on flour]

21.9

175

TOTAL

291

2328

 

 

 

Raw Almond Paste

 

 

Ground Almonds

32

256

Golden Caster Sugar

32

256

Egg

6

48

TOTAL

70

560

 

Oven profile: bake in a convection oven at 160°C for 40 minutes, or in the wood-fired oven as it begins to drop from baking lots of bread.

 Method:
  • Whisk all the ingredients for the ferment together in a steel bowl.
  • Cover with cling film and set in a warm place for half an hour.
  • Mix all the ingredients, except the fruit and the marzipan, together with the ferment in an upright machine with a hook; 2 minutes on first speed and 6 minutes on 3rd speed.   DDT 28°C.
  • Rest for 15 minutes, then cut the fruit into the dough with a scotch cutter.
  • Bulk proof 20 – 30 minutes.
  • Scale and divide into 4 x 580g pieces; mould round and rest 15 minutes.
  • Line 2 small baking sheets with silicone paper.   Pin out each dough pieces to a rectangle the size of the baking sheet.   Place one dough piece on the base of each baking sheet.   Top this with a thin layer of raw almond paste, then place the second dough piece on top of this to make a sandwich.   Brush each top with egg, and scatter 100g of flaked almonds on each slab as a topping.
  • Final proof 50 – 60 minutes.
  • Bake as oven profile.
  • Baste with a layer of melted butter, then dust with icing sugar.   Allow to cool and repeat.   Allow to cool completely on wires, then dust once more with icing sugar.
  • Cut each slab into 18 fingers for serving.

 

A couple of photographs to complete the post

 

I am offering some of these items for sale in our local village hall on Saturday morning.   I will now be adding Eric’s Favourite Rye to the offering.   So, I’ll be baking again on Friday, and would like to encourage others on TFL to join with Floyd and myself over the weekend; bake for Eric.

 

Very best wishes

Andy

Comments

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Love the way you do stollen too.  I see you use sober fruits, so does that mean you don't age it?   It looks delicious.  We  won't be baking for Eric this weekend since baking on weekends are strictly forbidden around here but I do have a special Chacon to bake up in his honor and named after him, that has a brown and tan 6 stand round challah in the middle and his rye famous surrounding it as a massive bialy.  It will be on the bake list shortly. 

Nice Baking

ananda's picture
ananda

Hello dabrownman,

Thank you for your very kind words.

The stollen are on sale tomorrow at an event in out Village Hall.   I don't feel at all confident that my version of Stollen would age well.   Most stollen I see contain all sorts of additives which I know quite a lot about, and choose not to use...but you know that already

I look forward to seeing your post about the Chacon you plan to bake in Eric's honour

All good wishes

Andy

Franko's picture
Franko

Hi Andy,

The Gilchesters look marvelous with beautiful scoring and bloom on all of them! Your neighbours are in for a treat with either of your breads but I'd be packing home at least 2 of the Gilchesters and a dozen slices of Stollen if I was able to attend. That's a nice presentation for Stollen I've never seen before and sounds delightful. I'll have to file that one away for future reference.

I'm going over Eric's Favourite Rye formula currently and hope to have a loaf of it done on Saturday to honour our good friend and colleague lost to us much too soon.

All the best,

Franko

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Franko,

Thank you so much for your generous comments.   I am really looking forward to continuing to test out the local market and spend time with the local community again tomorrow.

My take on Eric's bread is baked, and, I'll be posting on it in an hour or so.   Savoury; rye, caraway and onion!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with too

Very best wishes

Andy

Mebake's picture
Mebake

All breads look well crafted. Baking White SD, Rye, and stollen all in one day, and in the same brick oven takes huge experience, and you have plenty. 

I was curious as to why are the Gilchester SDs somewhat pale? Do you not bake them boldly, or you don't add steam in your brick oven?

Anyway, they all look beautiful!

Khalid

ananda's picture
ananda

Hello Khalid,

Many thanks for your kind comments.

My brick oven sits out on my patio; it has no roof on it, and it is really difficult to achieve sustained top heat in the oven without excess bottom heat.   They are difficult beasts to tame!

I do use steam, but I have to bake the loaves according to the heat I have managed to retain in the brick.   However, I did manage to bake 22 loaves and 2 trays of stollen here.   How long would that take to achieve in a home electric oven?

That said, the pale tops of the loaves are really exagerated in the photographs.   I am very poor with the camera, unfortunately.

Very best wishes to you

Andy

varda's picture
varda

for the step by step Andy.   All very impressive.   Now back to Thanksgiving preparation.   -Varda

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Varda,

Thank you very much for taking time out to comment.   I do hope you had a really great holiday

All good wishes

Andy

breadsong's picture
breadsong

Hi Andy,
The scoring looks so good on your Gilchesters loaves - bold cuts that bloomed so nicely in the WFO. And the stollen slice! What a lovely way to bake this - perfect for sharing with a crowd.
Your Moscow Rye has such a beautiful color! I did try making a coriander-flavored version - loved the process of combining the sour and scald to make the incredibly fragrant sponge :^) - following your November 14 post.
In the final mix I erred in scaling out out whole rye instead medium rye, so learned a lesson about underhydrating the paste, and the resulting effect on final proof and behaviour in the oven.
Here's how it turned out  
Thank you so much for the Moscow Rye formula - the flavor is wonderful! and I really enjoyed the process of making it...and will be making this one again.
Wishing you the best with your Friday baking, in honor of Eric - very special bread you are making for your Saturday market customers.
- breadsong

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Breadsong,

Thank you so much for your very kind words about all the products I have posted on here; it is much appreciated.

The crumbshot of your lovely rye bread shows that it is very open for a 100% rye bread.   The Moscow Rye formula actually uses 50% Light Rye flour, which is 0.997% ash.   I know Andrew Whitley now promotes a 100% wholegrain Russian Rye bread, but I have always struggled to obtain a strong, yet "light" crumb unless there is some element of Light Rye in the formula.   Medium Rye is rare in the UK.   However, the Bacheldre wholegrain rye and the Shipton light rye I use allows for any rye bread I have wanted to make so far.

All good wishes

Andy

breadsong's picture
breadsong

Hi Andy,
Thank you so much, I'm relieved you thought it turned out OK :^)
You must get a beautiful rye blend with the Bacheldre and Shipton flours.
There is a mill (True Grain) closer to where Franko is that mills a 75% extraction rye (I use this in place of medium rye).
Next time I make this, if using whole rye, I'll add a bit of water ('let down the paste')?, to help the paste rise during final proof. I extended the final proof hoping for some additional height - but still, the paste wasn't moving - after about 20 extra minutes proofing I put the bread in the oven, not wanting to push it. The loaves actually shrunk a little bit during the bake - found some interesting reading in this thread about that!, noting your very helpful comments in with the others!
Many thanks,
:^) breadsong

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Breadsong,

It is difficult to give fair comparison of flour % extraction rate with ash content.   However, a typical white flour, industrially produced in the UK, would have an extraction rate of c.72%; the ash content might be around 0.6-0.65 [very much an estimate].   The Light Rye I use is type 997, so an ash content of 0.997%.   I suspect the ash content would be lower in the 75% extraction flour you have sourced.

Regarding water absorption, I would recommend you exercise caution if you decide to add extra water to your final paste.   The formula already calls for 85% water on flour.   If you choose to add extra water then you are asking more of the paste in the baking cycle.   It's a dilemma, I fully admit.   To get the best proof from the paste it needs to be wet.   But you have to be able to bake your loaf out.   Anything over the 85% mark and that becomes very challenging.

I am glad you found the discussion you reference on txfarmer's post; useful stuff.   But it is so true; if the dough has gone over in final proof, then there is always the risk it will shrink during baking...and rye is much more prone to this than wheat.   In personal discussions, Nico and I have come to agree that temperature is probably the most significant aspect to work on...not easy for those of us who live in colder climes!   However, the beauty of the 3-stage Auerman process is that there is every chance to create the sponge warm...say 28-30*C.   When it comes to the final paste, what about warming your flour?   That is a trick we were taught to use when making muffins [griddle muffins, not sweet ones].   If you can maintain the warmer temperature, then the fermentation rate is maintained...that is the real secret.

All good wishes

Andy

breadsong's picture
breadsong

Hi Andy,
I really appreciate your words of wisdom, regarding the balance between hydration/baking out, and warming the flour - a really good idea!
Many thanks,
:^) breadsong

ananda's picture
ananda

Thanks Breadsong

Andy

PiPs's picture
PiPs

Nice to see your oven getting a workout Andy,

For me the stollen is the pick of the bunch today ... I LOVE STOLLEN! ... and this way way of presenting it is really clever.

I wish I had time to bake Eric's Rye but my oven has been dormant for the past week and probably will be for another week yet ... SO busy that I don't even have time to think about bread .... now that is saying something, because that's normally all I think about :)

Always enjoyable to watch the fine baking others though ... so please carry on :)

Cheers,
Phil

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Phil,

I have a couple of days' baking next week to look forward to as well.

Sometimes you have to take a break from it to do other things.   But I know you'll be back to bake soon, and I always enjoy reading through your posts and feasting on the photographs of what you make.

The Stollen is great; I am looking forward to offering that up in the Village Hall tomorrow.

Thank you for your generous words

All good wishes

Andy

hanseata's picture
hanseata

As usual your breads look great, and the slab Stollen is an interesting concept, I'm always fighting with forming several individual Mohnstollen (Poppy Seed Stollen) from one dough without getting odd shapes.

Do you ever add rose water or bitter almond oil to your almond paste to make it more like marzipan? In Germany I can buy bitter almond oil (Dr. Oetker), I remember that we could get actual bitter raw almonds in the grocery store, when I was a child. Here in the US I've never seen any.

Happy baking,

Karin

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Karin,

Thank you for your ever-generous comments.   I was considering making your Mohnstollen, as I have long-admired them.   However, trying to sell the real Dresden Stollen is difficult enough as so many people in the UK are duped into buying cheap alternatives available in supermarkets.   The trend towards buying the real thing is, however, moving in the right direction.   Hopefully next year for the Mohnstollen?

Selling it in slices, or, fingers, is a good idea.   The almost 2.9kg in the formula yielded 36 pieces which I sold at £1.60 each [$2.56], and the work involved is probably less than making the traditional shapes.   However, I have now added some orders for the Stollen loaves, and will make those just before Christmas.

I'd love to find bitter almond oil in the UK.   Almond oil is probably most commonly found as the base for massage oil.   I live in an area of the UK where local food has taken a reasonable hold, but access to more cosmopolitan ingredients from afar is somewhat more restricted.   And what is sold as marzipan is usually laced with cyanide [sorry, almond essence].   I try to avoid that of course!

Very best wishes

Andy

 

hanseata's picture
hanseata

I'll probably have some orders for Stollen coming in, and since they are so expensive with all the rich organic ingredients, the selling them as "Fingers" is a good idea.

Unfortunately you are right, the cheap stuff in the supermarkets could turn you off from wanting any Stollen.

Speaking of strange additives - I was shocked when I saw Dan Lepard listed glycerine as ingredient for his Stollen recipe.

Best wishes,

Karin

ananda's picture
ananda

Karin,

Dan is known for his cakes as much as his bread.   Glycerine seems intrinsic to much cake in the UK.   I don't get that I'm afraid.

A

Juergen Krauss's picture
Juergen Krauss

your stollen.

Juergen

ananda's picture
ananda

Thank you Juergen,

I already have orders from family and friends for the Stollen, and am hoping to take more at the Market on Friday.

Very best wishes

Andy