The Fresh Loaf

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Care to critique my Cranberry Walnut Rye Sourdough?

ciabatta's picture
ciabatta

Care to critique my Cranberry Walnut Rye Sourdough?

I'm fairly new at making sourdough bread.  my first attempt at a cranberry walnut version of this.  

Look for some input/feedback on the outcome.  overall I am quite happy with it but have some questions

This is 70% hydration.  AP flour plus 10% medium grind Rye, 20% rye levain. 3 stretch and folds with very wet dough. folded in cranberries and walnuts (both presoaked) after 2nd fold.

preshape and final shaped then put in fridge for 18 hours. scored and into DO at 475F oven. (the little runt in the back didnt have a DO over it, i could only fit two in the oven)  25 minutes covered, 30 minutes uncovered at 450F.

i cut open the little one about an hour after cooling, that's the one shown in the photo.  consistent crumb. very moist still,  crust is crackly.

my concerns/questions

- the crumb seems too moist.  did i cut it too soon?  should i have bake it longer? the crust could get a bit darker, but i like the color 

- i feel like the crumb could be more open.  is it due to my using AP instead of a stronger flour? or is it the rye flour? would i get more rise with whole wheat instead?

i just bought 50lbs of bread flour and 25lbs of whole rye after this started, so im looking forward to making lots of sourdough.  any comments, critiques, and other sourdough recipes appreciated.

-James

 

 

 

 

ciabatta's picture
ciabatta

very wet sticky dough. this was preshape. never got a good taunt skin on it. tried not to do too much dusting. i used rice flour. but finally gave in. as the scraper was sticking constantly

clazar123's picture
clazar123

That loaf looks to be perfection. How did it taste?

The stickiness is from the rye and rye levain and no amount of extra flour will counteract that. Handle with damp (not wet) hands and go from there.

Toasting the walnuts enhances their flavor and adds a little crunch.

The crumb looks perfect for a breakfast/dessert loaf, IMO. You want enough crumb for the butter/cheese to spread and to toast. I used to make a WW/Rye cranberry walnut bread and scented it with coriander/cardamom. It was sweetened with a little honey. Great loaf and that is what yours reminds me of.

Excellent!

 

ciabatta's picture
ciabatta

Thank for the encouragement!  I will now quit my day job and make these for a living. LOL.

Tasted pretty darn good. the DO ones had a much better crust than the cut open little one in the photo.

I just had to get used to the fact that this is a heavier (more moisture in the crumb) bread. Will try toasting the walnuts instead of soaking. 

Still much to learn and much to try.

James

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

why not just reduce the water in the formula?

If the 55 minute bake is not baking out all the water, just try using less water to start with.

ciabatta's picture
ciabatta

How long can you retard the sourdough in the fridge before the bake?  i'm going to try to do a 3x batch of these but i have to time it right for a night bake and have it ready to distribute in the morning.  normally, i final shape, refrigerate, and take them out in the morning to bake.  baking at night really throws off my schedule... i've been keeping them in there for about 12 hours... is it possible to push that to 20 hours?  will it over proof?  

Thanks,

James

icantbakeatall's picture
icantbakeatall

You can easily push it to 20 hours. I have been testing it out. I have made a few in there for about 60 hours. Today I'm going to try one thats been in there for almost 5 days, haha. It will taste a little more sour the longer you leave it in there.

Benito's picture
Benito

They can over proof if left way too long and if your fridge isn’t as cold as you think.  Fermentation continues eventhough we don’t see any rise because the gases produced are so contracted because of the cold temperatures.  If your fridge is 3ºC or less fermentation will really slow down, but again it doesn’t completely stop.

I guess the way to find out is to do what you’re doing and test.

ciabatta's picture
ciabatta

ok good to know that 20 hrs is ok.  my fridge is running at about 4C maybe a bit colder in the back.i'll use my normal schedule then and do an evening bake. 

many thanks.

James

ciabatta's picture
ciabatta

Second attempt at this with some changes.   Using Harvest King bread flour (the 50 lb bag i got) instead of AP. Longer bake at lower temperature 20 min covered, 40 mins uncovered. Found another Corning ceramic bowl to use as a third DO.

With the bread flour, definitely much much easier to handle the dough. i got window pane after the 2nd stretch and fold already. Was able to get a bit of skin on the preshape and final shape with use of little rice flour.  i did mess up on dividing the dough with evenly distributed cranberries and walnuts though. i think one loaf got 1/2 of them and i had to pick and place some back to the other loaves in preshape.  Not sure what's the best way to ensure even distribution when dividing the dough.

i spritzed the dough with water just before going in DO. i think that help create little blisters on the crust which i love to see.

Really wanted to push for a darker crust. i could use maybe another shade or two darker, but idk why it looked nice and dark in there but after i take them out and look at them again in a few minutes they look lighter.  maybe just lighting issues in the oven.

Next i'm going to try a whole wheat seeded sourdough... lots of research to do on that one.