Columbia with spelt recipe
For the last couple days I have been experimenting with the Columbia recipe from Glezer's book. At first I was trying to get the long cold ferment to work but I decided to try switching out the WW for spelt and take a different tack. I don't care for the flavor of the ww component called for in the original recipe. It could be the KA WW flour I'm using is a little course, I'll come back to that later.
So what I did is eliminate the WW and replace some of the 600g of the KA AP with 150g of spelt. I kept the rye and wheat germ for texture. This is what the component list looks like.
- 275g levain from active starter as called for. I have been using 45g of starter, 70g water, 160g AP flour mixed and kneaded for inoculation of firm levain.
- 450g King Arthur AP flour
- 150g Spelt flour plus I added an extra 25g for the increased ability to absorb water noted here.
- 15g Rye
- 20g wheat germ
- 20g Barley malt syrup
- 450g warm water
- 16g salt
I mixed the malt syrup into the final water and added the salt to the flours for better distribution of the salt. Mixing the final dough by hand using a dough whisk took just a few minutes, after which I kneaded maybe three times and did 3 French Folds. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, covered and fermented at room temp until doubled, about 4-5 hours. Gently divided, rested and formed into a 2# and 1# boule and placed into a coiled basket for final proof, about 2 hours.
I baked on a dusted cookie sheet preheated to 500f and reduced to 440 after loading/steaming. 15 Minutes of steam vent blocked in my ELECTRIC oven(do not EVER block a gas vent) and 15 minutes of dry heat. I tried propping the oven door open with a steel spatula for the last 3 minutes. I think the crust was perfect, my wife said it was harder to eat and to crispy. Today, the next day, it's dry and clear outside and the crust is no longer crispy. The bread is delicious however.
I would have liked larger holes but certainly the flavor was great anyway. My shaping and slashing were my usual "take a chance" results. I'm still trying to learn how to use the 1# coiled oval basket I recently bought. The round one was slightly better.
I added the spelt because I was interested by all the comments here about the great smooth flavor with nutty undertones and after taste. I'm not disappointed, the flavor is much better to my taste than the original formula with WW. The best way to describe the flavor is that there isn't an overwhelming distinct taste that comes out but rather it's the nutty sort of after taste that grabs you. The crumb is fairly soft and easy to chew with a very pleasant aroma. Keep in mind this is my first try at spelt so I will have to play with percentages and methods now to maximize the best flavors but I'm hooked. This is a keeper! The final cooked weights were 14oz and 1lb 14 oz.
One other thing I want to mention. I have come to learn that my bread tastes better if I cooked longer than I used to when I started this journey. It's NOT like popcorn, where if you burn just one kernel the whole batch tastes foul. The shade of golden or brown may be determined by the malt or sugars in the flour but overall, the bread needs to be started HOT, then reduced some and cooked for appearance as well as internal temp.. I worry less about internal readings than external color these days. If you use reasonable heat for the loaf you are cooking, one takes care of the other.
Eric