San Joaquin Inspired Pecan Meal Sourdough Batard

    This is similar to a bake I did a little while ago but I changed things up a little.  I used a much higher % of freshly milled whole wheat flour and a little less whole rye.  I also used some pecan meal and cracked wheat and eliminated the onions.

I am not sure how much the pecan flavor really comes through but you can definitely taste some nuttiness for sure and it gave the crumb an interesting purple haze color similar to when adding walnuts.

This one did turn out very nice with a fairly open crumb and thin crust typical to this style of bread.  The whole grain flours also shine nicely in this mix.  It passes the "You can eat it with some butter or cheese only test" and make a meal of it :).

I made batards but you can easily make baguettes or other shapes as desired.

Formula

Download the BreadStorm File Here.

Levain Directions

Mix all the Levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 8-12 hours or until the starter is nice and bubbly.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Dissolve the levain in the water, add the flours and mix to a shaggy mass. Cover and autolyse for 30 minutes.

Add the salt and pecan meal and mix to incorporate for 5 minutes on low if using a mixer.  Transfer to a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly.

Bulk ferment for 3 hours with stretch and folds in the bowl every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours. The dough should have expanded by about 50% and be full of small bubbles.

Refrigerate the dough for 18-24 hours.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and transfer it to a lightly floured board.

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and pre-shape as a round.  Cover the dough and allow to rest for 60 minutes.

Shape as batards and proof for 45 minutes, covered.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 500 degrees and after another 3 minutes lower it to 455 degrees.  Bake for 25-35 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 210 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 1 hour before eating.