June 16, 2016 - 4:58pm
Sour Wholemeal Spelt bread
Does anyone know how to consistently avoid spelt wholemeal bread that has a sour taste? I don't get it on every bake. I have not been able to understand why sometimes the bread is sour and others not.
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Monitor the builds and the amounts of starter, temps and length of fermentations in both starter and dough. And end result. That should give you the subtle differences and answers to your Q.
Usually the longer it ferments the more sour it becomes, also the smaller the amount of starter the more sour it becomes and a shorter time between feeds (smaller feeds) leads to a milder sour. Also.... too warm and too cold temps can increase sour.
You also might want to nail down if the sour taste is more cheesy sour or citrus sour.
Would you please provide some more information on your process for making this bread? It would be helpful for those who can offer help, as well as those who can learn something from the conversation.
The taste is bitter but it is an after taste rather than one noticed at the time of eating. This recipe cause the bitterness to be very slight and it is not noticeable with a spread on the bread.
The 60% hydration is because I am using English spelt. Even with that level of hydration the dough was too loose to follow steps 10 and 11. Instead I put the dough into silicon moulds for another hour and then baked them as per 14.
Ingredients
980g wholemeal spelt
60% hydration = 980*.6=645ml
2 T. apple cider vinegar
2¼ tsp. yeast
10g salt
2T (2*14g) honey
1T 15g molasses
Instructions
Mix the flour, water, and apple cider vinegar in a stand mixer or large mixing bowl until combined.
You are desiring a fairly stiff dough that pulls away from the sides.
Cover with plastic wrap or a towel
Let sit overnight, about 12 hours.
After 12 hours of soaking, add salt, yeast and sugar to the dough.
Using a dough hook, knead dough for about 5 minutes, adding more flour if needed. Depending on the humidity and other factors, I sometimes have to add ½ cup more flour. You are desiring a sticky yet manageable dough.
Cover, put in warm over (hot for 60sec) and let rise one hour.
Scrape out half of the dough onto a floured surface.
Gently press out into a rectangular shape.
With floured hands, roll up dough, starting at one of the short ends.
Tuck under the ends.
Repeat with second loaf.
Put shaped loaves in loaf pans, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.
After the second rise, pop the two loaves in a 177c oven for 30-40 minutes. You want a golden brown colour and it to sound hollow when you tap on the top
For pictures and detailed steps see:
http://wegotreal.com/soaked-whole-wheat-bread-recipe/
A couple of guesses here:
Shooting for an actual 60% hydration is only accurate if the other liquids that you are adding (cider vinegar, honey and molasses) are not considered. Adding them into the equation brings the "hydration" closer to 72%. I would think that if the flour is going to absorb the liquid ingredients (and it will) they would be a factor in the hydration equation. This may account for some of your handling issues late in the process.
Tara uses cups and ounces for measurement and you have converted to grams (excellent). Actual conversions like this may take some time and experimentation to perfect.
If I were going to autolyse that long I would add a pinch of the yeast, hydrate the (now) poolish closer to 100%, reduce the amount of vinegar, cover, and let it sit out in a 27C environment for the 12 hours. In my limited experience that is a long autolyse, even with refrigeration, and since you haven't added any activating agent (yeast or starter), I am not sure anything is being gained from that long of a soak.
The sour in a sourdough is the result of lactic and acetic acids. Vinegar is acetic acid and a tablespoon of vinegar equals 15 grams. Each loaf weighs about 850 grams so the amount of acetic acid equates to around 1.8%. I would be surprised if a sourdough levain generated that much acetic acid during a respectable maturation period but I could be wrong. In any case you are adding sour to your formula.
It is possible that the vinegar you are using may come in different strengths. If you recently purchased a bottle it might be a tad stronger or weaker than the last one.
Not much advice on solving your intermittent issue here but I would agree with other commenters here - keep it simple, experiment in moderation, and comment on your experiences.
Good luck!
I would investigate where that's coming from. Check, smell and taste all your ingredients separately.