A new loaf is born - Raisin Rye with Sesame and fennel
Still baking. Pretty much got it down to just my once a week routine and the occasional farmer's market. Every week I offer two varieties. One that is a levain bread and retarded in form. One that is baked in a pullman pan and cut into quarters (usually a rye). And then when I'm in the mood I'll throw in a baguette, rusitque, focaccia, or ciabatta.
This week I fiddled around with my 70% Rye with Whole Wheat (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/40116/some-recent-bakes [1]) to come up with a Raisin Rye. I went with a pairing of raisins, toasted sesame, and toasted fennel. A combo I've seen in levain loaves that I thought might be nice as a denser tinned loaf. I discarded the Whole Wheat for a stronger white flour and followed a Detmolder approach. The results are so very good. Plain it has a lovely tang from the staged fermentation with a lovely sweetness that cuts through from the raisins. The sesame adds a nice nuttiness and the fennel adds a lovely note. This one is in the books folks.
Since I'm here this weeks levain loaf was my "Ode to Rubaud". I've read much about him, watched the youtube videos, and gave his formula a go some time ago. My results were good but not great. I needed to adjust my approach as I retard in form and he does not. My take is more focused on the blend of fresh milled flours and the three build levain.. This time around I decreased my PF from 15% to 13%, added an extended autolyse (4 hours). I got pretty good results but they may be a tad over fermented. The lovely three build levain and extended autolyse makes this loaf mildly acidic, sweet, and earthy from the fresh whole grains. I'll come back to this one soon to find the proper timing.
Hope all is well in everyone's worlds
And here are some pics of the "Ode to Rubaud" from this past bake
Cheers
Josh