The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Toasted oat porridge SD - Freestyle :)

Ru007's picture
Ru007

Toasted oat porridge SD - Freestyle :)

The plan was to return some sort of normalcy to my baking this weekend. I was going to find a nice formula, dust off my scales and bake a loaf that I could actually say whats in it. .

It didn’t happen that way. I was running late and I needed to start the first stage of my levain build before I left for work so I ended up just throwing together some flour, water and starter. I think the last couple of bakes gave me the confidence to know that it’ll all work out.

I figured I should just carry on eye balling it for the rest of the loaf, so the second build was a bit more whole wheat flour and water. I didn’t make as much levain as last week, to help avoid over proofing. Retarded in the fridge overnight after it had doubled.

Toasted oat porridge SD is one of my favourite loaves, so I toasted some oats (eye balled that too) and poured in some boiling water (just enough to cover) and left it the fridge overnight.

Next morning, autolysed some whole wheat flour and unbleached white bread flour for about two hours while the levain and soaker warmed up.

Mixed everything (plus some salt) with some slap and folds (not sure how many). Then left the dough to rise.

I did two stretch and folds at the 60 and 120 minute marks (I think), then left the dough for another two hours. Pre shaped and rested for 25ish mins then shaped and placed in a rice floured basket. I left the dough to proof at room temp for another hour and half, before putting it in the fridge overnight.

Baked straight from the fridge (first 20mins with steam, next 40mins without)

 

This one is not at over proofed as the last one (I’m learning how to judge how much levain should go with how much dough). 

I'm happy with how this turned out. The crumb is soft and fluffy, thanks to oats and it tasted great. I'm especially pleased that I've learned how to eye ball salt, I've got it just right the last two times i've baked freestlye! 

I've very pleased with the taste. It tastes almost like it normally does, maybe a bit tangier. It might have a bit more whole wheat than usual, but i'm happy with it. I also think it could have done with a bit more oats, but that's an easy fix. 

Happy baking all! 

Comments

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

It is easier to butter and jam up too and you can put stuff between it like cheese, lettuce, grilled squash, grilled eggplant and tomato for the meatless.  Love the crust and crumb perfect for toast and sammys. Perfect with cheese and wine and today is national wine drinking day!  

Well dine and happy baking Ru!

Ru007's picture
Ru007

ideas for a veggie sandwich! You've got all my favorite things on your list. 

I didn't know there was such a thing as "wine drinking" day! Hope you enjoyed it! I'll definitely remember it next year.

Glad you liked the post Dab. 

Happy baking! 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

That is a beautiful loaf and one would never guess that you eyeballed the amounts! It looks absolutely delicious!

You have a great idea; toasting oat flakes. I always wondered if you could and know I know that it works so that is going to get added to my repertoire. 

Thanks!!

Ru007's picture
Ru007

The whole eye balling thing, takes some getting used to. I still have to keep telling myself to just "remain calm". LOL!

I'm having fun with it though. 

The toasted oats is great, I find it adds a great nutty flavour to the bread and you still get that great crumb texture that comes with a porridge loaf. 

Happy baking :)

leslieruf's picture
leslieruf

well done with winging it again, I haven't tried that, I'm to scared to :) the crumb looks great too. I love the way you make it fit around your work demands too.

Leslie

Ru007's picture
Ru007

Just tell yourself to remain calm (I had to keep doing that) after the first few bakes (that weren't all that great to be honest) things get easier, more natural. 

I hope you give it a go one day. 

My work schedule is crazy sometimes, if I don't make an effort to do other things, I just won't :)

Thanks for your compliment, much appreciated. 

bread1965's picture
bread1965

Ru.. Work and life have hijacked my baking life, so my oven's been cold for some time. But I'm lurking the daily new post mailings and just saw your post and bread. The dark crust and great crumb really caught my eye. I remember when you first joined the board and some of your questions/posts.. and thought, wow.. "you've come a long way baby".. you should be very proud of that loaf! Congratulations! The crumb - how moist is it? is it damp or dry.. it looks damp.. I've yet to make a porridge loaf, so wonder what the crumb is like.. Hope to get back to baking soon! Bake happy.. bread1965!

 

Ru007's picture
Ru007

You're very kind! I've loved being part of this forum. 

The crumb isn't damp, it is more moist than usual which is probably a combination of not knowing what the hydration is (so my baking time may have been a bit under) and I sliced it probably an hour too soon (I was hungry! LOL!). 

Here's what the crumb on the same loaf looked like when I actually measured things...

The texture of a porridge bread crumb is soft and fluffy, its not as chewy as regular sourdough loaf. It makes great toast too. 

Hopefully we'll see a post from you soon! 

Happy baking

Ru

bread1965's picture
bread1965

Great crumb! I was surprised by your description that the crumb is soft and fluffy! I would have thought the crumb to be denser (maybe because I'm thinking of a heavy dense breakfast porridge). It's on the baking bucket list! I actually baked my first bread in a long while - a Pane di Matera (similar to Pane di Altamura). I posted it in response to an existing thread on that bread.. It was nice to get back to it! bake happy.. bread1965!

Ru007's picture
Ru007

it took me three tries to get that crumb, the first two were exactly what you expected, more on the heavy side. That was because the hydration on the first loaf was too high and I didn't handle dough as well back then. Third time was the charm, it was definitely soft and fluffy! 

Happy baking. 

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Another great bake Ru!

It's amazing how it becomes second nature after a while to adjust your ingredients based on your experiences.

Looks like you got a great crust and crumb on this one.

Happy Baking.

Ian

Ru007's picture
Ru007

and i'm enjoying it so much.

After this loaf, I got an idea to just go back to my old formulas and try them without measuring. Just for the fun of it!

Thanks for the compliment Ian. 

Happy baking to you too :)

PalwithnoovenP's picture
PalwithnoovenP

Who would say this was eyeballed?! I'm so glad for your beautiful loaf and increasing confidence in winging almost everything!

Ru007's picture
Ru007

I'm definitely getting more confidence with each loaf! I think part of it is realising that a failed loaf isn't the end of the whole world and not taking the whole baking thing too seriously! 

Hope you're well? 

Looking forward to your next post. 

Happy baking 

Ru