Nancy Silverton's Walnut Bread
Nancy Silverton's Walnut Bread is one of my favorite breads.
It takes 3 days to make it, but it's worth the effort.
Here it is in BBGA format, but first let me anticipate 2 questions:
- Why did you include a build process for the white starter? Doesn't it just call for 170 g of white starter?
- Yes, but Nancy's white starter is 145% hydration white starter. If you want to build this bread verbatim, you need 145% white starter. This is how to build 170 g of it in a 3-build process.
- Can I use 170 g of my 100% hydration white starter (and skip the 3-build process)?
- Yes. I've done so before without problem. Skip the 3-build stages and go directly to the sponge stage, where you'll use 170 g of your starter to build the sponge.
Enjoy!
FORMULA.
Click spreadsheet for larger version.
PROCEDURE.
SOURDOUGH BUILD 1
- Seed Culture - 25 g
- Flour, Bread - 9 g
- Water - 12 g
- Mix and ripen for about 3-4 hours.
SOURDOUGH BUILD 2
- All of SOURDOUGH BUILD 1 - 47 g
- Flour, Bread - 17 g
- Water - 25 g
- Mix and ripen for about 3-4 hours.
SOURDOUGH BUILD 3
- All of SOURDOUGH BUILD 2 - 89 g
- Flour, Bread - 33 g
- Water - 48 g
- Mix and ripen for about 3-4 hours.
SPONGE
- All of SOURDOUGH BUILD 3 - 170 g
- Flour, Whole Wheat - 230 g
- Flour, Dark Rye - 100 g
- Milk - 30 g
- Water - 400 g
- Salt - 2 g
- Barley Malt Syrup - 20 g
- Mix all ingredients and ripen at room temperature for 5 hours.
- Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
FINAL DOUGH
- All of SPONGE, 952 g
- Flour, Bread, 624 g
- Water, 170 g
- Salt, 20 g
- Walnuts, 400 g
- Sugar, Granulated, 4 g
- Oil, Walnut, 30 g
- Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C).
- Roast walnuts for 10 to 13 minutes. Set aside to cool.
If mixing with a stand mixer:
- Mix water, sponge, sugar and flour (with the dough hook) on low for 4 minutes.
- Dough will be wet and shaggy and will not clear the sides of the bowl.
- Cover and rest 20 minutes.
- Add salt and mix on medium for 5 minutes.
- Add walnut oil.
- Mix on low for 2 minutes or to an internal temperature of 65 F (18 C).
- Add the roasted walnuts and mix on low until incorporated, about 2 minutes more.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and knead by hand for a few minutes.
- Lightly oil a bowl.
- Form the dough into a boule, place in oiled bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
If mixing by hand:
- Mix water, sponge, sugar and flour in a large bowl and mix by hand (with a large spoon) until all ingredients are combined.
- Dough will be wet and shaggy and will not clear the sides of the bowl.
- Cover and rest 20 minutes.
- Add salt.
- Knead by hand for 1 minute. Rest for 10. (Wet hands if dough is too sticky).
- Knead by hand for 1 minute. Rest for 10.
- Knead by hand for 1 minute. Rest for 10.
- Add walnut oil.
- Mix until dough reaches an internal temperature of 65 F (18 C) and/or is fully developed. Dough will be tacky, but not sticky.
- Add roasted walnuts and mix until fully incorporated.
- Remove dough from bowl and knead by hand for a few minutes more.
- Lightly oil a bowl.
- Form dough into a boule, place in oiled bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
- Remove dough from refrigerator. It should have doubled in size. If not, cover dough and leave it at room temperature until it has.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Cut into two equal-sized pieces (~1100 grams each).
- Form each into a rough boule and rest for 15 minutes.
- Form each into a tight boule.
- Place each boule, smooth side down, into floured proofing baskets.
- Sprinkle each with flour.
- Cover and proof until it's 1.5x its original size (or to an internal temperature of 62 F (17 C)), about 2.5 hours.
- Preheat oven to 500 F 1 hour before baking.
- Use SylviaH's Steaming Method [2] to steam the oven.
- When loaves are fully proofed, lightly dust them with flour and carefully flip them onto a baker's peel.
- Score with a sharp razor or baker's lame in a reverse 'C' pattern about 1/2 inch deep (13 millimeters) deep.
- Place loaves in oven.
- Reduce oven temperature to 450 F (232 C).
- Check loaves after 20 minutes. If baking unevenly, rotate. Remove steam pans.
- Continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes more, for a total of 40 to 45 minutes.
- Remove loaves and cool on wire rack.
- Crust should be nut brown, with a nut brown interior.
IMAGES.
(These photos are from a 2010 bake. I may have posted a few of these before. Sorry if I did!).
FILES.
- The formula in an Excel 2007 spreadsheet [3]. (File can be opened with Google Docs, Open Office, etc.).
- The formula in a PDF file [4].
SOURCE.
- Modified formula and procedure. Silverton, Nancy, and Laurie Ochoa. Breads from the La Brea Bakery: Recipes for the Connoisseur [5]. New York: Villard, 1996. p. 75-79. Print.
- Formula format. The Bread Baker's Guild of America. Formula Formatting. [6]
- Steaming method. SylviaH's Oven Steaming - My New Favorite Way. [2]