36 hours+ sourdough baguette with increased whole grain - how much is too much?
Yet more variations on my 36 hours+ sourdough baguette formula. ((original recipe here [1], 3 earlier variations here, [2] 3 more variations here [3]) I love the taste of wholegrain, also like the nutritional value, but mostly I actually just love the rich sweet fragrant taste. I also love baguettes for their light, airy, cool crumb, and thin crackly crust. I want to use as much as wholegrain in my baguettes to maximize the flavor, at the same time still maintain the light mouthfeel. In another word, I don't just want a heavy wholegrain bread in stick shape - that's neither a baguette, nor a good wholegrain bread (they tend to have thicker/chewier crust, and the stick shape is just too much crust IMO). Since I am making these 36 hour sourdough baguette every week, I put a bit more wholegrain each time, and observe the results.
1) 20% wholegrain
AP Flour, 400g
barley flour, 25g
ice water, 325g
salt, 10g
rye starter (100%) 150g
-Mix flour, ice water and autolyse for 12 hours.
-Mix in salt, starte, then follow the basic 36 hour sourdough baguette formula here [1].
There are 75g of rye flour in the stater, along with the 25g barley, the whole grain ratio is 20%. The lightness of these baguette is similar to a white flour one, with much improved flavor. However, 5% of barley didn't contribute too much in term of taste, rye starter did most of the work, can't say it's much different from my usual rye starter baguette.
2) 30% whole grain
AP Flour, 350g
barley flour, 75g
ice water, 325g
salt, 10g
rye starter (100%) 150g
-Mix flour, ice water and autolyse for 12 hours.
-Mix in salt, starte, then follow the basic 36 hour sourdough baguette formula here [1].
Barley flour ratio is increased to 15%, along with the 15% rye in starter, this batch is super flavorful. I just love the earthy sweetness of barley flour, and it's much more detectable here. The bread did feel "heartier" and "heavier" but still qualify as "delicate".
3) 45% wholegrain
AP Flour, 275g
barley flour, 75g
whole wheat flour, 75g
ice water, 340g
salt, 10g
rye starter (100%) 150g
-Mix flour, ice water and autolyse for 12 hours.
-Mix in salt, starte, then follow the basic 36 hour sourdough baguette formula here [1].
15% each of ww, barley, and rye, hydration is increased to 83% (from 80% for the previous two). Rich whole grain flavor, each of the ww, barley, rye provides a different dimension. Looking at the picture, they still have open holey crumb, but, they do taste "heavy". The main culpit is the thicker crust. Even though the crust is still crispy, but when they are thick, the chew is different, even the airy crumb can't offset the "dense" feeling.
I think even more water may help, since the dough felt tighter than usual, and my scoring came out beautiful - a sure sign that the dough was not deadly wet.
So far, I like the 30% one the best, the 45% tastes great, but a bit heavy to my taste - it still qualify as acceptable baguettes though. I wonder what would happen if I increase the wholegrain even furthur.
Submitting to Yeastspotting [4].