Apple Pecan sourdough
My family members do not usually unanimously vote in favor of any new bread I make, but this one got it right.
The apple adds localized moistness to the crumb and its tartness works well with the pecans. It is a bit tricky to fold in a large amount of pecans and apple cubes, but the result is almost like a sugarless coffee cake.
Ingredients
150 g of 100% hydration starter made with A/P flour
238 gr A/P flour
203 gr whole wheat flour
10 gr salt
290 gr lukewarm water
100 gr toasted pecans, each halve broken into 4 pieces
1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped into small cubes
Evening before baking day
Feed the starter so it is mildly tasting the morning after
Baking day
1. Mix well flours and salt
2. In a separate bowl, mix well water and starter
3. Combine flour mix and water mix. Work the dough until all the flour is wet
4. Start bulk fermentation: put the dough in a covered bowl inside an oven and turn on the light. The temperature should stabilize about 82F (28C) degrees. If it goes higher - turn off the light
5. Let the dough bulk for an hour. Use this time to toast the pecans and chop the apple
6. Mix the pecans and apple cubes into the dough. It is a relatively large amount and I find this method to work well: (a) flatten the dough into a larger circle; (b) spread the apple and pecans evenly over the dough and lightly press them in so they don’t fall (c) make initial layers by doing four or five folds one on top the other. For each fold, grab a corner and fold it to the center or other side on top of the previous folds. (d) round the dough without breaking it
7. Continuing bulk fermentation in the oven for several hours until the dough is about 1.5 times in volume. During that time, gently stretch and fold the dough on the countertop two or three time. Due to the large amount of pecans and apple, it is hard to do that efficiently in a bowl.
8. Pre-shape the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes
9. Shape and proof the dough
10. Score and bake - 20 minutes covered @ 480F, 20 minutes uncovered @ 450F