40% Whole Durum Boule
Sometimes you have to back up to move forward. I have tried to make 100% whole durum bread a couple times and couldn't achieve a good density or crumb structure even if I was happy with other things. I found myself decidedly confused by the durum - did it want a long ferment so that the dough could develop without a lot of manipulation, or did it need a short ferment because it develops much faster than regular wheat doughs? I decided to back up in the percent of durum and then move forward stepwise to see what I could learn. So last night and today, I made a sourdough boule with 40% whole durum flour. Even though I was only at 40% I tried to use the gentle methods that durum seems to need, so I mixed everything by hand, stretched and folded in the bowl with my hands, and generally did whatever I could not to frighten the durum. I also retarded overnight for convenience sake. Hydration is 68%. Prefermented flour is 23%. I used my regular wheat with 5% rye starter. Here are some pictures of the result:
Next up: 60% whole durum boule.