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So I made a loaf of bread last week. I think I really need to knead longer and/or ferment longer. My starter seems to rise just fine, but even after several hours, the bread itself doesn't rise as much as with commercial yeast. My house is 76F. I would put it outside but our screens are torn and the squirrels would chomp on it.

For today's bake, I'm trying out a multigrain loaf for a possible upcoming community bake.

134g Bread Flour (25g in starter)

133g Whole Wheat Flour (25g in starter)

13g Rye flour

60g Oat Flour

60g Cornmeal

30g Malted milk powder

1 T Olive oil

8g Salt

100g Starter (50/50 water/flour mix)

Mix ins:

10g Sunflower seeds

20 grams Pecan pieces

20g Bulgar wheat

320g Liquid

         50g water in stater

        40g hot water for soaking the bulgar wheat

       200g hot apple cider for soaking the whole wheat

What I did:

Day 1: fed starter, left it out until puffy, then put it in the refrigerator overnight.

Day 2: Soaked the bulgar wheat and whole wheat for 2 hours. Bulgur had absorbed all its water. I mixed in everything but the mix-ins in my mixer until it formed a ball (about two-3 minutes). Let rest for 30 minutes, then mixed on low/medium for about 3 minutes then turned out onto table for hand kneading. Kneaded until  smooth-ish (see picture, probably kneaded more). Let rest for a bit (I don't know the exact time). then stretched it out and added mix-ins and did gentle stretching and folding to incorporate without tearing the dough. I realized at this point I had added too many pecans, but it didn't look like enough when I measured them out, hence the 20g instead of 10g pecans pieces.

Left out on  counter for 2 hours, shaped into a loaf, put into bread pan, then put in refrigerator at about 3:30pm.

Day 3: 7:30am Took pan out of refrigerator. At 11:57am it was noticeably bigger, so I preheated the oven to 325F (dark pan). Scored bread and put in cold oven. Oven came up to temp at 12:05pm. Started timer for 30 minutes.

Dough had a sandy feel while kneading, I might soak the cornmeal next time.

Pictures still to come, but I'm pretty sure I didn't knead it enough since that seems to by my self diagnosed problem with bread.

Almost qualifies for Paul's CB but not quite 

This bread idea was thrust upon me when a fellow bee keeper at a bee buddy meeting  gave me some SPENT GRAIN from a mash that he had done earlier that day for a stout brew.  I had used SPENT GRAIN before in bread and it was excellent so not wanting to waste it i knocked up  2 doughs the next morning one was a ricotta cheese and olive bread that i already had planned and the other was this Brewers Spent Grain.

i decided to do a long Bulk Fermentation of 4 hours for this one and most likely an overnight retard in the fridge. i worked out my desired formula and then used that to work out thedough size and ingredients list

the formula was set out as follows

 FLOUR 100%   

SALT 2%

MALT2%

BREAD IMPROVER 0.5%

CANOLA OIL 4%

FRESH COMPRESSED YEAST 1%

SPENT GRAIN 20%

WATER / STOUT  60%

I then decided on a dough that would yield 1 x 750g  and 2 x 500g loaves so i needed 1750g of dough . i tally up the total percntages in the formula which was  189.5%

i then divide the total dough required 1750 by 189.5 the toatal percntage figure and it gives me the value of 1% for this particular recipe. In this case it was 9.234 

i then go back to the formula and apply that to each ingredient   which gives ne the recipe

FLOUR 100%                                                         924g

SALT 2%                                                                  19g                                      

MALT2%                                                                  19g

BREAD IMPROVER 0.5%                                     4.5g

CANOLA OIL 4%                                                    37g

FRESH COMPRESSED YEAST 1%                      10g

SPENT GRAIN 20%                                             184g

WATER / STOUT  60%                                        554g  (50/50)

As a quick check if you add up all the ingredients it should be very close to your desired yield.

i also used the same formula to give to Stewart and the recipe that would yield him 1000g of dough, ive included that too for comparison.its at the end of this post.

This dough mixed up nicely  and finished at the ideal 27c It was placed into a large stainless steel  saucepan that i now use for my bulk fermentation as the larger doughs have outgrown my Tupperware containers, It works well and the lid prevents any skin forming. The dough was finished mixing at 12.00 mid day  and was spot on ready at 1600 it was then scaled , handed up and given a good amount of bench rest before final shaping with the larger dough piece going into a banneton and the other two direct into heavy round 9" pans that i picked up brand new as part of a job lot at a bakery auction. All the dough containers were slipped into plastic bags to prevent drying and went into the fridge  at 17.15. 

Just prior to going to bed  at 10.30 i decided to take a peep at the sleeping beauties only to discover the bigger girl  was ready for the dance,the smaller ones looked like they were behaving . So bed time was delayed the oven cranked up to as high as it would go. The errant Banneton lady was striiped bare onto some baking paper  and lowered into the Romertoph clay baker,   I elected not to score as the plumpness of her form hinted that she might object and disappoint me.  So claybaker lid on and into the oven that was still coming up to temp.  

My thoughts turned to the disparity of the dough pieces and satisfied myself that the cane Banneton probably gave some insulation to the dough piece which was also a bigger mass for the cold of the fidge to penetrate as well as the smaller pieces sitting direct in steel pans conducting the cold quicker and more efficiently to slow the fermentation process. Not bad for brain cells that should have been turned off in slumber. The lid came off after 15 minutes, i usuall do 10 but seeing as the oven was not fully hot at the commencement seemed a good choice the lid removal revealed a nice looking loaf  and pleased me that i had forgone my bed. The oven was now dialed back to 210C for the remainder of the bake. As soon as it was onto the wire rack, oven off and light out, BED.

I was late to bed but up early, oven on  full blast again and the other two were brought from the fridge, again  they looked fairly full proofed and i did look to score and even did a little run of the blade but thought Nah! and they went in as they were i did employ the terry towel steam tray for these two for 10 minutes and it did temper the oven being on at full blast. Once the steam tray came out the dial was set on 210C.  They all looked good smelled amazing and the large loaf was destined for consumption after the seniors living longer living stronger keep fit class.It got polished off in no time and enjoyed by all! Unfortunately no pictures of its lovely open soft crumb

      the 750g loaf unscored 

from the other side showing its natural tear

all 3 loaves

together again

Stout is responsible for the colour as its white flour in this dough

inside story

The dough below is the same formula but adapted for Stewart who gave me the Spent grain as he wanted to make a 1 kg dough

Walnuts and pecans are my two favorite nuts and what's not to like about cherries? This one has all of my favorites in one bread except for cheese (I'm baking a bacon cheese bread as I type this :)).

I also added some fresh milled Spelt flour and high extraction whole wheat (Rouge de Bordeaux) freshly milled as well along with some KAF Artisan Bread flour. A small amount of purple sweet potatoes roasted and mashed was also added. You could also use mashed regular potatoes as the potatoes just add a little extra softness and help the bread stay fresh longer.

I milled the whole wheat in my MockMill200, sifted with a #30 sieve, re-milled and then sifted with a #40. For the Spelt I find it necessary to only sift once and re-mill at the finest setting.

This bread was chock full of flavor with all the nuts and cherries and made an amazing grilled cheese sandwich. I also enjoyed it toasted with some cheese or butter.

Formula

Levain Directions 

Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.

Let it sit at room temperature for around 6-7 hours or until the starter has almost doubled. I used my proofer set at 76 degrees so it took around 5 hours for me. Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Soak the cherries in water for about an hour or more if you are using dried cherries. Strain them well before adding to the main dough. If you are using fresh cherries make sure to hold back even more water in the main dough and adjust as needed.

Mix the flour and liquids (leave about 50 -70 grams to add after the first mix), together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  After 30 minutes or so  add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), mashed potatoes and remaining water as needed and mix on low for 5 minutes.  Note: If you are using the Ankarsrum mixer like I do, add your water to the bowl first then add in the starter and flours.  After your autolyse add in the salt and potatoes, and remaining water and mix on low to medium low for 15-20 minutes.

After the dough is fully mixed you can either add the nuts and cherries to the mixer until it is incorporated or take the dough and spray some cooking spray on your work surface. Spread the dough out into a rectangle and laminate the dough with the add ins.

Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 1.5 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours or if using a proofer set at 80 degrees for one hour.  Remove the dough and shape as desired and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap Sprayed with cooking spray and let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.  (I use my proofer set at 80 F and it takes about 1 hour to 1.5 hours).

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for around 35 minutes or until the breads are nice and brown and have an internal temperature around 200-210 F. 

Take the bread(s) out of the oven when done and let them cool on a bakers rack for as long as you can resist. 

Test bake #1

Formula: Hayden heritage grain mill cookbook.

The original formula called for pecan & lemon zest. I substituted almond, and anise oil.

The players are assembled.

The butter and sugar are creamed. Anise oil and vanilla extract added

The dry ingredients are added with care not to over mix. Finally the slivered almonds are added to the batter.

After a 30 minute room temperature rest the batter is divided.

The two portions are shaped into 6"X3" cylinders. 

The shaped cookie dough goes into the preheated oven (350°F) for thirty minutes.

After thirty minutes in the oven, they smell amazing. I fear my shaping needed to be tighter. After a fifteen minute cool down while the oven is still on, I will attempt to slice them. Then back into the oven to toast.

Not to bad. I hope they are not too crumbly. Now for a toast of 10 minutes on each side. By the way,they taste as good as they smell.

The end game.

The shape needs work to look more traditional. However, I like it!