Monday's bake (country sour with local whole wheat)
hello everyone it's been awhile since my last post but I've still been baking 3-5 loaves a week and have been having more consistent results and I was quite happy with this bake. The formula was fairly simple:
I started the Levain with 20g active and ripe starter, fed 10g of my mother mix (80% AP, 15% WW, 5% RYE) and 10g H2O, then about 6 hrs later fed again 20g mix and 20g h20 and was left to rest until doubled (about 4 more hours).
The ripe levain was dissolved in 300g h20, then went in the 80g local whole wheat, a variety called Marquis, from an area about 2 hours to the south. I was quite happy with this flour and will be seeking it out again. Anywho I added an additional 320g bread flour (Central Milling company Artesian Organic from Costco) to bring the total up to 400g. Autolyzed for a hour and added the 11g salt and an additional 40g H20, pinched all together, stretch n folded at 30m intervals 3 times, doubled (hourish? I wasn't watching the clock) then preshaped, 30 min rest, shaped, into the basket and bag and into the fridge for 12 hours.
The next morning it was slashed and baked at 450 in a Dutch covered for 20 then uncovered for 20 more.
As I said earlier I was quite happy with the taste of this one, it had a pronounced sour without being overwhelming and the rise and crumb didn't seem to have any problems either and I tend to be a crumb critic.
I'd like to thank everyone on TFL with an extra thanks to DBM, Golgi70, and the long lost TXFarmer for all of their in depth posts, they've helped shape the bread I bake today.
Comments
Is it the Marquis from the Hindley Ranch? If so I think that is one of the varieties they grow that I too have liked. And if so you and I are almost neighbors. Why such high inoculations when feeding levain?
Cheers
Josh
We are neighbors (kinda) The high inoculations are mainly because the 3 stage levain is new to me. I've been feeding them at 50% the weight. This way I start with 20g and end with 80g, which provides me with the 20% levain. Still tinkering a lot, you definitely know I'm no professional. Is 50% too high? I'm flying blindly, I used to do a 1 stage build, but since your explanation of the benefits of the 3 stage I've been playing with them, still don't have a standard system.
You were feeding 2:1 (seed:flour) in your builds up to the dough. Just curious as to why such little food in the feeds.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/37569/help-me-understand-builds
This is a great thread where Mariana adds great voice behind the idea of mult-stage levains. And as she pushes to mention this is not including the refresh stages of dormant starters. I think that's a very important point. Dormant starter needs refreshing before moving forward if you want to control the balance of the culture (yeast population and ratio to LAB, fragrance, acid load) I believe the first step can be forgone if you keep a regularly refreshed starter and won't be changing hydration. (essentially the first build would be done). It's a good thread.
I feel like the first feed is to set the hydration.
The second to build the fragrance and colony of yeast
And the third to again promote flavor and particularly acid load.
Josh
I can't post additional photos. I know how to navigate the system to upload the photos, but when I select a photo and attempt to upload, the picture that appears is always a random photo from a previous post. I don't know what is going on. The black and white photo that appears at the top of this page shouldn't be there and is a year old. i suspect the problem is because I'm using an iPad? Any suggestions?
Pictures come up that have been deleted a long time ago. I can do the same thing a few times till it gets it right.
i got the bottom pic to post using the embedded url tab (looks like a mountain) but it only had 2 pics available and I usually use the other tab to upload the pics (looks like a tree). I still can't get it figured out.
She wants everyone to be able to bake a great loaf of bread just by reading the post and looking at pictures. I prefer a 3 stage levain build instead of a 2 stage. I don't think the levain is at full strength with 2 stages especially of the seed starter came out of the fridge. 20g is a lot of starter I prefer 8 g with the first build being 8 g each of flour and water, 2nsd stage 16 g each and 3rd stage 32 g each leading to a 118g levain which is just under 15% for an 800 gram loaf. Less seed means less starter you have have on hand and maintain - not that you have to worry about that baking as much as you do a week - lucky you!
I love the bold bake of thos one and that crumb is lovely. Well done and Happy baking.
Very nice bread there. Baking 3 - 5 loaves a week?? Damn, I'm jealous. The practice shows for sure. Keep these posts coming. Inspires us all.
You're right. DBM and Golgi70 are great help on this site.
John
Hi sorry for the late reply, I'm up late doing S+Fs and reading up on 3 stage Levains. Tinkering around again after a break from baking for a couple days after a failed take on a Tartine loaf and a burned fermented brown rice porridge that never made it into a loaf I'm warming up for more adventures/fails in sourdough land. Anyways, yes im usually baking 3-5 loaves a week, my family eats a LOT of toast and I usually just do variations of the same loaf. Thanks for the post, n keep em baking n burnin