Fermented Apple Loaf - a Story in Pictures
Hi All,
My latest fermented fruit loaf came out great, so I wanted to share. As Eric noted earlier, fermenting fruit is not for everyone, some people are uncomfortable with the concept, or concerned about safety. I'm having a good time with it, but "bake at your own risk" as they say.
The process took 6 days, counting an unfortunate error on my part. Ingredients:
1150g flour (whole wheat and white)
675g water
454g pureed apples with skin (washed :-)
140g raisins
100g honey
30g salt
Actually the numbers don't add up, I ended up with ~3000g of dough... I'm uncertain on the flour - I added things sporatically
Start:
Apples from a friend
whir them together with 300g water and 20g local honey. Let ferment in a warm place, like in the oven with the light on
Forget to check the oven before preheating. Melt plastic container. Discard and start over.
chopped apples before blending
an immersion blender wand works great
after 3 or 4 days there's lots of activity, bubbles and sweet alcoholic smell
After all the ingredients have been incorporated I left it outside on the deck all night to ferment. Here's the dough, nicely risen in the morning.
the dough was so sticky I wrongly let it proof on parchment paper. I couldn't get them free from it to turn onto the peel. I left the parchment paper stuck to the top and scored right through it. I wiped the score with a solution of honey and water. The next load is on a couche. Hopefully they won't stick. I used lots of flour and cinnamon as my non-stick agent. This is the first sojourn for my new proofing box. It's live with a heating pad under the plywood.
ready for delivery
They came out great. I'm really happy. Happy baking everyone!
:-Paul
The bread looks great but I really love how you coordinate your shoes with your apples. Same blush pink :o)
That tree is loaded, what kind of apples are they? weavershouse
That's my pal, Stirling, picking the apples. He'll be thrilled that you noticed his shoes. He has a lot of shoes, and hats, and scarves...
We think that the apples are Granny Smiths. The orchard is just a couple of miles from the house here. I love the local connection.
I distributed some loaves today and got rave reviews. That's a thrill.
:-Paul
http://chahiraelkhabira.blogspot.com/
I like your bread Pablo.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Jolly,
I loved your post. You inspire me. What a great idea it is to use sunlight to warm things. I will be doing that. I like to use the night for fermentation. I feel like the gentle warming in the morning that occurs while the dough sits outside is just right. Then I bring it inside and shape and proof.
Right now I like doing sweeter breads with the fruit ferments. I add about 100g of local honey to a 1.5Kg batch of dough and it's just sweet enough. I love using fruit that happens to come my way, e.g. peaches from a hitchhiker or apples from a friend. I'm thinking of more exotic things, though, I'm wondering if bananas would ferment in a useful fashion.
We're just about to leave on a two week trip to visit family in the states. I'm taking some starter to bake at their homes.
Thanks again for the great post.
:-Paul
really enjoyed sharing the process with you......i'm working on my wild yeasts this week....have 3 starters going.....all seem to be doing well can't wait to bake w/ them!
deborah