Larraburu two - variations on a classic San Francisco Sourdough
A couple days ago, I blogged on my bake of a San Francisco sourdough bread based on Larraburu Bros. recipe as described in the 1978 Cereal Chemistry article by Galal, et al., as cited by Doc.Dough. (See San Francisco Sourdough Bread using Larraburu Bros. formula [1].) It was a delicious bread, but it lacked the sourdough tang usually associated with San Francisco sourdough. This blob describes some modifications of the recipe. I hoped to retain the good qualities of this bread while increasing the sourness somewhat.
In summary, the modifications were:
Substitute some whole rye flour for some of the high-gluten flour in the sponge.
Ferment the sponge at a lower (room) temperature for a longer time.
Substitute some whole wheat flour for some of the AP flour in the final dough.
Compare breads baked with and without an overnight cold retardation of the shaped loaves.
For three 667 g loaves:
Sponge (Stiff Levain) | Baker's % | Wt (g) |
High-gluten flour | 90 | 81 |
Whole rye flour | 10 | 9 |
Water | 50 | 44 |
Stiff starter | 50 | 44 |
Total | 200 | 178 |
Mix thoroughly and ferment for 12 hours at room temperature.
Final dough | Baker's % | Wt (g) |
AP flour | 90 | 1017 |
WW flour | 10 | 113 |
Water | 60 | 678 |
Salt | 2 | 22 |
Sponge (stiff levain) | 15 | 170 |
Total | 177 | 2000 |
Procedure (Note: I actually mixed the dough in a Bosch Universal Plus, using the dough hook. I have left the instructions as if I had used a KitchenAid mixer. This amount of stiff dough would have challenged my KitchenAid. Also, I retarded one of the 3 loaves I made overnight in the refrigerator.)
Mix the flours and water in a stand mixer with the paddle for 1-2 minutes at Speed 1.
Cover the mixer bowl tightly and autolyse for 20-60 minutes. (I autolysed for 60 minutes.)
Sprinkle the salt on the dough and add the sponge in chunks.
Mix for 1-2 minutes with the paddle at Speed 1, then switch to the dough hook and mix for 5 minutes at Speed 2. Adjust the dough consistency by adding small amounts of water or flour, if needed. (I did not add either.) The dough should be tacky but not sticky. It should clean both the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly.
Ferment at 105º F for 2 1/2 to 3 hours in a humid environment. Stretch and fold once at 1 1/4 hours.
Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces.
Pre-shape the pieces round and cover with a towel or plasti-crap.
Let the dough relax for 15-20 minutes.
Shape as a boule or bâtard.
Proof at 105º F in a floured banneton or en couche, covered, until the dough slowly fills a hole poked in it with a finger. (This was in 30 minutes, for me!)
About 45 minutes before baking, pre-heat the oven to 480º F with a baking stone and steaming apparatus in place.
Transfer the loaf to a peel and score it as desired.
Transfer the loaf to the baking stone. Turn down the oven to 450º F.
Bake with steam for 15 minutes. Remove your steaming apparatus, and bake for another 25 to 35 minutes until the crust is nicely colored and the internal temperature is at least 205º F.
Turn off the oven, but leave the loaf on the baking stone with the oven door ajar for another 10-15 minutes.
Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack, and cool completely (at least 2 hours) before slicing.
This bread came out very dark for reasons that are not clear to me. Again, the “poke test” failed me. The loaves seemed ready to bake after 30 minutes in the proofer, but their oven spring and bloom seemed to indicate under-proofing. The crust was nice and crisp. The flavor was different from the first bake, partly because of the rye and whole wheat flours, but it was also very slightly sour – more so the day after baking. I would still categorize it as “very slightly sour.”
Larraburu SFSD, modified formula
Larraburu SFSD, modified formula crust
Larraburu SFSD, modified formula Crumb
I cold retarded one loaf from this batch for about 24 hours en couche, inside a plastic bag. Because of the apparent under-proofing problem described above, it then was warmed up at room temperature for about 90 minutes and proofed at 105º F for another 75 minutes. The smooth surface of the loaf which had been face down on the couche was significantly dried out. The couche had absorbed a lot of its moisture.
Because of my experience with the previous bake, described above, I baked this loaf at 440º F for a total of 30 minutes, leaving it in the turned off oven with the door ajar for 20 minutes. The oven spring and bloom were moderated by these changes. The color was pretty much perfect, to my taste.
Larraburu SFSD, modified formula and procedure
Larraburu SFSD, modified formula and procedure: Crumb
The aroma of the sliced bread was whole-wheaty and ... slightly sour. The crust was crunchy and the flavor of the crumb was decidedly sour ... very sour. It was a very different bread from the ones that had 1) not been cold retarded and 2) had been proofed for a very much shorter time at a warmer temperature.
I'm a very happy sourdough baker!
The next step will be to return to the original formula but use the present modified procedure.
David
Submittted to YeastSpotting [2]