Don't change what works for you!
I learned a lesson this weekend! I changed how I usually do my add-ins and I think I ended up destroying my gluten network.
The whole baking thing this weekend was deemed to be doomed. It started off with an infestation of fruit flies that I have been battling for a couple of weeks. Well , quite a few got in my levain just as I was to do my second build. So I had to throw it out and start over again. I tried rushing it but it was definitely not happy and took its sweet time to do its thing.
Secondly, I read here that including fat when you "autolyse " the fat (recipe has butter in it) impedes the absorption of the water. So I did a true autolyse with just water and flour and ended up with a very stiff dough. I put in the add-ins (soaked oats and seeds) in at the same time as the salt and starter. I really think this is when I wrecked the dough. It was super difficult to incorporate everything evenly. It took a lot of work. I am not doing that again! I am going back to including the add-ins right at the beginning.
In addition, life (daughter, horse, saddle shopping) got in the way and I finished at 2 am. The dough felt weird and was ripping in spots. I carried on and proofed in the fridge. This morning, some of the loaves had ripped in proofing. I baked anyhow but I certainly didn't get much of an oven spring.
The other thing that surprised me was that the dough has an odd grey colour. I don't remember that from the last time i made this. Oh the recipe is the one that was insp by MutantSpace - Honey Oats.
So, lesson to me: Don't mess with what works for you!
Just a quick post of encouragement to remind you that it just makes you a better baker - of course this is also the way you discover breakthroughs. If you don't mix it up once in a while you never discover new things so don't get too upset (there's always another bake in queue)
to a very firm dough is something I prefer not to do. With my multigrain loaves I add the grains i.e soaker to the autolyse and it seems to damage the gluten less than trying to incorporate it later. it is of couse not a true utolyse as the salt is in there too but it works for me. I guess the issue would still be incorporating the butter (fat) but as the dough is not as tight (?firm) it might still be ok. Do you normally do it this way too?
Leslie
to your soaker...?
There was a thread that came through here just the other day about whether salt should be added to the soaker or not. Seems as though the consensus on that topic was... "it depends." LOL
I also do not do a "true" autolyse - I leave the salt out, but I add the starter/levain with the flour and water. But it still has the desired effect of making the mixing MUCH easier.
--Mike
the salt is added to the hot soaker and left overnight, apparently this is to reduce enzyme action during the soak. It always seems ok, and I never have trouble with this recipe. As I said, I found it really hard to incorporate the soaker later so now do it as part of the "autolyse". Otherwise, my normal autolyse is just flour and water. I add the salt later with the levain.
Leslie
My normal procedure is to include all the add-ins, whether they be seeds or a soaker, right at the beginning with the water and flours. The salt, and yogurt if I am using it, gets added with the levain which is usually an hour or two after I mixed the flour with the water and anything else I am using.
deleted.Leslie
nuts and seeds could interfere with gluten formation if added late, but when you use "soft" things do you think they could be added in later?
I'm thinking here of your fruit and olive breads that you've posted recently.
--Mike
don't give a lot of liquid back to the dough unlike the oat soaker I used in this recipe. If I had used lots of water initially, my dough would have turned into soup once I added the soaker. By putting the soaker in at the beginning, I can gauge the hydration better. With olives and fruit not releasing as much water, it is less risky to add those later.
end up? That change in the dough colour from your last bake seems really weird, and just doesn't seem like it could be attributed to the change in mixing timing. While I can definitely see it being more frustrating and difficult than you're used to, I know that you're more than skilled enough to get the adders mixed in later on without it doing weird things to the final dough... So weird, but I guess we have to expect occasional weirdness when dealing with living critters...
Hope you ended up with at least a reasonably tasty bread after all of the frustration - and are back to enjoying some relaxation (horse shopping? seriously? Oh wow - and you thought the golden was a lot of hassle ;) Judging by my sis-in-law's experience, you are entering a whole new planet of hassle!)
Looking forward to you posting a more happy, relaxed and "Danni" bake soon!
with an even moist crumb even if a bit tight and heavy. The grey colour remained in the final product. I don't think using part black sesame seeds would have done that as it hasn't in the past but who knows? Anyhow, hubby loves it and my friends were thrilled to get a free loaf (I chose not to charge for something I consider not up to my usual standard).
As to the horse, we are leasing an old girl (18 year old but she looks and acts years younger). I am not anywhere near ready to buy one. The daughter does need a saddle though and that is proving to be quite an education. Who knew that there were millions of saddles out there with a million different features and that they were priced from super cheap to "ouch, too rich for my budget!" And they all fit differently for both the rider and the horse. The learning curve is steep but I am learning fast. Hey, anyone out there selling a Laser Rendezvous Dressage 18" saddle or maybe something that fits like an N2 Cardhu but has an adjustable tree for a reasonable price? ;-) Haha!
Mind you I wouldn't expect anything else from you, your breads are really great!
Look forward to the next bake too!
Leslie