Naturally Leavened Breads
Has anyone tried making so-called "Naturally Leavened Breads"? I am not talking about sourdough breads, but about breads that contain no leavening whatsoever and still rise. There are descriptions of such breads in some of my books, such as "Breadtime," "Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book," and the "Natural Tucker Bread Book." I was intrigued by these breads and decided to try my hand at one, "Manuel's Seed Bread," from Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. I can't exactly say that this bread was a huge success.
Manuel's Seed Bread
As this side picture shows, the bread had definitely risen somewhat. However, when I sliced into it, it was rather dense:
Manuel's seed bread crumb
The flavor is okay but not great. I can't help but think that I may have done something wrong. I was wondering if anyone else had tried such breads and could tell me what their opinion on such breads is.
I've also written about this bread in my blog, here, where I also include the recipe should anyone wish to attempt to make it.
I had a batch of a whole grain dough that I wasn't sure if I had yeasted or not, and since I had so many other things going on, I didn't bother re-yeasting it. After about 2 days, it had doubled, not smelling alcohol-y at all. I'm not sure why, but I pitched the dough then. I wish I had baked it just to see what it was like. I think that if I had initially yeasted it at all (which I doubt), then I somehow killed most of the yeast, the tiny bit remaining taking a loooong time to raise the dough. I think though, that I forgot to put the yeast in, and all the yeasties in the whole grains made it rise by itself (I used Wheat Montana flour, which I've found to have an abundance of wild yeast). It's an interesting idea.