The Fresh Loaf

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Grain levain bread

Bushturkey's picture
Bushturkey

Grain levain bread

I followed Hamelman's five-grain levain recipe, but used 3 grains: Rye, Oats and a sprinkling of roasted wattle seed (Acacia baileyana) as a hot soaker.

The flour is 50% high-gluten flour, 25% bread flour and 25% whole wheat flour. Hydration was 98% (!), but almost all the water got soaked up by the seeds.

The dough called for a liquid levain, spiked with a little instant dry yeast 0.4%.

I baked in tins for 15 minutes, then I took the bread out and finished baking on the stone. The crust came out nice and blistered, thin and crispy. The bread is delicious!

Grain levain - I've seen the bread dough arisin'....

Grain levain - I've seen the bread dough arisin'....(apologies to and acknowledgement of John Fogerty)

Grain levain out of the oven --someone's left their grain levain out in the rain

Grain levain out of the oven --someone left their grain levain out in the rain. I don't think I can take it, 'cause it took so long to bake it......

Grain levain crumb - the first crust is the crispiest....

Grain levain crumb - the first crust is the crispiest....

My apologies for the corny song lyrics!

Comments

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

I don't think I can take it, 'cause it took so long to bake it......

....and I never slash that grainy bread a--ga------a-----a-----in.

Looks tasty, 'r you gonna eat those crusts?  :)    

Mini O

Bushturkey's picture
Bushturkey

Very appropriate!!

I cut the bread and started eating the crust, when I rememebered that I cut it so I could take a picture of the cut bread and the cut slice.

I finished the crusts shortly after the picture was taken.And yes, it is delicious. The grains with a hint of that whole wheat flavour. Very good combination.

I retarded the loaves for a few hours in the refrigerator, before finishing the proving.

And yes I probably shouldn't have slashed before loading. I think the cold bread tins reduced the oven spring.

Or do you think I over-proofed the loaves? They certainly still had some spring left in then when I slashed them.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

but maybe you didn't need to slash them. Sometimes that happens too. Or maybe you could try to slash deeper, much deeper, like 2 cm deep. Did you tighten this loaf when shaping like you did with the olive levain? How deep was that slash?

Mini O