The Fresh Loaf

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linder's picture
linder

We have a big pot of borscht to eat and wanted some hearty rye bread to go with it, so last night I mixed up the soaker and wild yeast starter for Rye Sandwich Meteil.  I had read on TFL that the bread had come out quite sweet for some, so I used only half the sweeting called for in the formula.  The bread 'rose' more sideways than anything else, but is still very tasty. 

I'm also wondering if some of the lack of rise was not letting it proof long enough (45 min instead of the full 60).  In any event - here is the loaf.  Any comments on how to achieve a better rise upwards are appreciated.  (Maybe I really do need to add some vital gluten?)Thanks.

 

jacobsonjf's picture
jacobsonjf

Locked up indoors while mending from some winter crud, Saturday night I took my recently refreshed liquid levain and made two preferments. One whole wheat and one whole spelt. Sunday morning I added them to some water, then added bread flour, salt, and yeast. Fermented, stretch fold, ferment, shape, proof, bake. Seems no matter what I do, the sharp edges of the spelt bran never soften. Energy bread,s surface I make using spelt, feels like 220 grit sandpaper. I fined nothing wrong with it, but find spelt is the only whole grain flour wwhere I experience  rougher the texture.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Varda caught the the original Pope's Hat was really a Priest's Hat and then we found out it wasn't and Priest's Hat either so we got a chance to fix that, inserting Priest's for Pope's and also fixing that to remove the Priest's Hat entirely and our spelling and grammer errors too.  Hope this clears up the confusion in a confusing way.

We were making a stiffer levain Italian style and decided to revisit another Italian bread – Altamura style like David Snyder did here

Pane tipo di Altamura from "Local Breads"

 

 This bread is also one where the whole multi-grains were going to be in the levain.  We also decided to go more Italian style with a stiff levain - 51%.  Since the whole grains  only amounted to 35% or so and not too much rye or spelt,  we thought a good 30 hour retard would really bring out the whole grain flavor and the sour too.

  

First off you simmer the soaker seeds for 3 minutes and then let them soak for 24 hours.  We would normally use the excess water at the end of the soak for the dough liquid but forgot to this time - so we saved it for the next bake.  Remember to rum a paper towel or two through the well drained soaker seeds to get rid of as much excess liquid as you can, otherwise, the dough will bee wetter than it already will be.

 

Nothing like a big picture of the reject :-)

The levain was made over (3) 4 hour builds and an additional 10 second one at the end.   20 g of the water in build 3 was added and mixed it at the 12 hour mark.  The levain was very stiff at 51% before this addition and so the normal doubling we look for went out the window.   We got 50% and that is normal for this levain type.

  

The rest of the ingredients, less the soaker seeds, were autolysed for 1 hour before mixing with the levain.   Then 10 minutes of French slap and folds followed.  After a 15 minute rest 2 sets of S&F’s followed on 15 minute intervals.  Then the soaker seeds were added and 2 minutes of slap and folds were used to rebuild the gluten structure and incorporate the seeds.

 

The dough was then allowed to develop on the counter for an hour in a well oiled covered bowl where the plastic was oiled too.  The dough was then retarded for 30 hours in the fridge at 38 F.  It easily doubled in volume while in the fridge. 

 

After removing from the fridge and letting it warm on the counter for 2 hours we took out first shot at shaping a Pane tipo di Altamura.  This turned out to be the pre-shape since it ended up looking like 2 ugly stuck together baguettes. Plus it wouldn't  fit on the mini ovens 12” square broiler pan. 

 

So we took another shot at the shape a few minutes later and it came out a lot better - but not at all like it should have if we were writing home about it.  But, it now fit on the top of the broiler pan too – a really good thing.  It then went into a trash can liner for final proof and was placed on a heating pad set to low with some kitchen towels on top of the pad.

 

After and hour it had popped itself open at the seam so we tried to fix that by re-sealing and we were almost half way successful. Another hour and it had puffed itself up well enough to bake.  Into the 450 F preheated mini oven it went after throwing a ¼ of water in the bottom of the broiler pan and heating one of Sylvia’s steaming cups for the vented top where the bread would bake. 

 

After 12 minutes of steam the Pane tipo di Altamura had sprung nicely so we removed the steam and turned down the oven to 400 F, convection this time.   We continued bake for 10 minutes rotating the bread 180 degress every 5 minutes.

 

This my new apprentice.  As I was hiking in Sabino Canyon in Tucson yesterday , this Roadrunner followed me on the trail for about 1/4 of a mile.  I didn't want to scare it off but as I took a few step he would take a few too.   Next thing you know he was walking with me as I hiked along. 

They are expertly camouflaged and if they don't want you to see them - you won't.  I already miss my new hiking buddy :-(

Then we turned the bread over on its top and continued to bake for 8 more minutes to brown the bottom when the bread reached 205 F in the thickest part.  The bread had baked a total of 30 minutes.  The crust was nicely browned and crispy but no huge bubbles which is the norm for baking this way in the mini.   The crumb went chewy and soft as it cooled.

The crumb turned out very soft and moist with chewy bits of soaker seeds - just liked we hoped.  The surprising thing about this bread is that it tastes great.  The grain flavors and sour are front and center.   It has to be one for best tasting crusts and crumbs we have ever managed and my new apprentice would have approved as much as old one did. 

Formula

Starter Build

Build 1

Build 2

Build 3

Total

%

SD Starter

22

0

0

22

4.80%

Oat

3

5

3

11

3.24%

Buckwheat

3

5

3

11

2.40%

Quinqoa

3

5

3

11

2.40%

Amranth

3

5

3

11

2.40%

Kamut

3

5

3

11

2.40%

Spelt

3

5

3

11

2.40%

Dark Rye

3

5

3

11

2.40%

Whole Wheat

3

5

3

11

2.40%

Millet

3

5

3

11

2.40%

Farro

3

5

3

11

2.40%

Water

30

2

22

54

11.79%

Total

82

52

52

186

40.61%

 

 

 

 

 

 

SD Starter Totals

 

%

 

 

 

Flour

88

19.21%

 

 

 

Water

65

14.19%

 

 

 

Starter Hydration

73.86%

 

 

 

 

Levain % of Total

20.09%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dough Flour

 

%

 

 

 

Red Malt

3

0.66%

 

 

 

Toadies

4

0.87%

 

 

 

Vital Wheat Gluten

10

2.18%

 

 

 

White Malt

3

0.66%

 

 

 

AP

350

76.42%

 

 

 

Total Dough Flour

370

80.79%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Salt

8

1.75%

 

 

 

Water

275

60.04%

 

 

 

Dough Hydration w/o starter

74.32%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Multigrain Scald & Soak

0

%

 

 

 

Buckwheat

20

4.37%

 

 

 

Rye

20

4.37%

 

 

 

WW

20

4.37%

 

 

 

Kamut

20

4.37%

 

 

 

Spelt

20

4.37%

 

 

 

Farro

20

4.37%

 

 

 

Total Scld & Soak

120

26.20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Flour w/ Starter

458

 

 

 

 

Water

340

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hydration w/ Starter & Adds

74.24%

 

 

 

 

Total Weight

926

 

 

 

 

% Whole Grain

36.24%

 

 

 

 

 

 

7ardys's picture
7ardys

I began baking bread in 2009 after being laid off from my job.  It was not a life long desire to bake bread.  In fact, I hadn't even spent much time in the kitchen at that point.  But somehow, I became enthralled with bread baking.  Might I even say, passionate about bread baking.  And because I suddenly had lots of time on my hands, I practiced almost daily.  Not necessarily baking every day, but reading about, or buying supplies for, or tending a starter for baking.    I credit Peter Reinhart's book, Whole Grain Breads with capturing my interest and leading me on to read other bread baking books as well.  For some reason, I kept track of each bread recipe that I made, along with my comments about what I learned, what went well, what didn't.  And I learned many "do not ______" next time.  It's been a fascinating thing -- this study of bread making.  And I am still such a novice. 

Along with being a novice bread baker, I may be even more of a novice internet user.  (Where have I been hiding, huh?)  I only discovered this site today!  A couple of weeks ago, I started a blog of my own about my breads which I call "Ardys 'n Bread".  That's my first name--"Ardys".  I've always felt it was an unfortunate name and probably spent the first 35 years or so, of my life, encouraging the use of nicknames.  Well, at last, my name seems to have come into its' own.   My blog site is http://ardrichards.wordpress.com.  I have been thoroughly enjoying writing about bread, and I've realized that my real goal with the blog is to reach out to other people who might be interested in making bread for the first time, and offering some guidance and practical information on the subject.  Little did I know that I should have been posting my blog with The Fresh Loaf.  Although I have to say, the work of the bakers that I have seen on this site inidicates that they are so far beyond me in experience , that I would have little to offer to this group.  

I am, however, glad to have found this site, and thank you all for welcoming me into the fold of bread bakers. 

P.S.  If you come across anyone by the name of "Ardys" (female name, Scandinavian) under the age of 60, I'd appreciate you letting me know that there is another one of us out there.  I have an aunt with my name, and many times people have remarked after meeting me, "I once knew someone by that name.  She was in her 80's."  I, myself, have never actually met another person with my name (aside from my aunt, and there was a neighbor lady named "Ardis" who died when I was a child).   I believe the name is a revision of the Norwegian name "Hjordis".  (should be a / through the O)  Are there any more of us out there?

Ardys 'n Bread

4akitchenblog's picture
4akitchenblog

Hi all,

I am new here and this is my first post on The Fresh Loaf!

Today I would like to share my first attempt at baking Sourdough Boule with Japanese Clay Pot.

Japanese Clay Pot (a.k.a. Donabe) is a symbol of comfort food for Japanese people.

(Oh, by the way, I am Japanese :-))

Family members or friends come together around the table and share a meal out of one pot, so that you can build a sense of closeness, warmness...

I live in Santa Monica, California and my all family members live in Japan...Therefore, I felt all warm inside when I happened to find this Donabe.

"I want to bake BREAD with this clay pot!"

This idea just popped in my head :-)

 

The best part of using a clay pot (of course, a cast-iron pan, too) is you don't need to create the steam in your oven.

Because a closed clay pot trap all of the moisture from the dough, and that creates STEAM you need to get a perfect crust!

It's like a "masonry oven" inside your oven, if you will.

 

Ok, let's bake Donabe-bread!

This is a Sourdough Boule made with 36 hours fermentation.

————————————

Sourdough Boule

Makes 1 small loaf

Submitting this post to YeastSpotting

————————————

Recipe

225 g Bread flour

162 g water

4 g Salt

67.5 g 60% Firm sourdough starter

————————————

Formula

266.3 g Bread Flour (100%)

188.3 g Water (70%)

4.8 g Salt (1.8% )

————————————

Directions

1. Making the preferment dough --- In a mixing bowl, combine Bread Flour, Water and Sourdough seed starter / culture. 

    Let it preferment at room temperature for 12 hours.

2. Meanwhile, mix flour and water, cover it with plastic and Autolyse for for 12 hours.

3. Next day, mix starter into the dough and slap & fold for 1 minute.

4. Add salt and slap & fold for 1 minute or until the dough becomes a rough ball.

5. Let it rest for  30 minutes.

6. 1 set Stretch & Fold (1 set = right over left, left over right, bottom over top, top over bottom)

7. Let it rest for  30 minutes.

8. 1 set Stretch & Fold

9. Let it rest for  30 minutes.

10. 1 set Stretch & Fold

11. At a cooler place, let it rise until the dough just starts showing the yeast activity, about a third in size.

12. Put it in the fridge for 18-24 hours.

13. Pull it out of the fridge and leave it out for 1 hour.

14. Pre-shape the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.

15. Shape into Boule and place into a mixing bowl lined with well-floured tea towel, seam-side up.

❉ Since I didn't have a round banneton, I used a mixing bowl lined with a tea towel and it just worked very well!

16. Final fermentation for 60 - 90 minutes.

17. 1 hour before you plan to bake, place your Donabe / Closed clay pot (must be completely DRY) on the middle shelf in the oven and preheat to 500°F.

 

18. Flip the bowl over so that the dough sits on the middle of a parchment paper.

19. Score the top of the Boule using a lame or a sharp, serrated knife.

20. Very very carefully open the lid (it's HOT!) and put the bread in the preheated Donabe, replace the lid and slip it back into the oven.

21. Turn the heat down to 480°F and bake the bread for 30 minutes with lid.

22. Turn the heat down to 450°F and bake for 10-15 minutes without lid.

23. Once the boule is nicely brown, turn the heat off and remove the boule from the Donabe and place directly on a rack in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

24. Let them cool onto a rack.

Here is my first Donabe-Bread!

It turned out super nice! I got an amazing crust and silky-fluffy-holey crumb.

To be honest, I was quite surprised by this result. 

Even though I knew this "closed clay pot (La Cloche)" method through this post on a website BREAD IN FIVE,

I was not sure if I could get the same result with this Japanese Donabe or not...

No baking stone? No steam? Really?!

Yes, it really works! Donabe-bread is a new comfort food for me!

Yuko



Raluca's picture
Raluca

I am back today, to tell you all about one of our favourite breads these days: Pain au Levain. I’ve baked this bread using one of Codruta‘s recipes and we loved it!

Time schedule:

Day 1: Make the preferment, leave for 8-12 hours at room temperature to mature. I don’t know exactly what the temperature in my kitchen is over night…I guess not above 21C.  I usually leave my preferment for around 12 hours until it’s nice and bubbly and has not sunk. You can test if it’s ready by putting a spoon of it in a bowl of water, if it floats it’s ready, otherwise it needs more time. This time I only left it for 11 hours.

Day 2: Make the bread

      • Mix the preferment with the water and flour.
      • Leave to rest for 45mins (autolyse) – The initial recipe calls for only 30mins, but I just couldn’t attend to it due to having some other stuff to do, so I’ve left it for 45minutes.
      • Add the salt and mix for 1 minute on speed 1 and another 3 minutes on speed 3.
      • Leave to rest for 50mins
      • Perform 1st stretch and fold
      • Leave to rest for 50mins
      • Perform 2nd stretch and fold
      • At this point we had to leave the house so I’ve put the dough in the fridge for 3 hours. The recipe called for another 50mins rest  and then the shaping, but I couldn’t do that. If you are at home, by all means don’t put it in the fridge just give it another 50mins rest after the 2nd stretch and fold and then pre-shape it.
      • I took the dough out of the fridge after the 3 hours, performed another stretch-fold and left it for another hour to come to room temperature. Skip this if you have done this the proper way with 3 – 50 mins rest sessions and 2 stretch and folds.
      • I shaped my bread in a batard shape and left it to proof in a floured banneton closed in a plastic bag for 2 hours 30 minutes.
      • Bake at 250C for 5 minutes then reduce the heat to 220C for another 35 minutes then bake for another 5 minutes with the oven door ajar. If you have a bigger oven you can try to bake it the proper way: 45 minutes in total at 230C with the last 5 minutes with the oven door open. 

Sourdough culture: I use a 100% hydration sourdough culture: 90% whole wheat, 10% dark rye.

Recipe for 1 loaf (aprox. 69% hydration)

Flour: For this loaf I used very strong Canadian white flour (that has 15% protein) and organic dark rye flour from Shipton Mill.

Ingredients for the preferment

Make it 12 hours before you want to start on your bread. The overall hydration of your preferment (including the water and flour in the sourdough culture is aprox. 60%). 

IngredientQuantityBaker’s %
Strong white flour53gr93%
Organic dark rye flour4gr7%
Water31gr54%
Sourdough culture14gr

24%

Method for the preferment

Dissolve the starter in the water. Add the flour and mix until well combined. Cover tightly with cling film and leave it to rest at room temperature for about 8-12 hours or as I said above: until it’s bubbly and floats. As I said I’ve left mine for 11 hours for this particular bread.

Ingredients for the bread

IngredientQuantityBaker’s %
Preferment102gr29%
Strong white flour333gr95%
Organic dark rye flour17gr5%
Water240gr69%
Salt8gr2%

Final baker’s percentage (including preferment)

IngredientQuantityBaker’s %
Flour407gr100%
Water271gr66.58%
Sourdough culture14gr3.47%
Salt8gr1.96%

Method for the bread

I dissolved the preferment in about 2/3 of the water and then added it to the flour. Mix and add the rest of the water until you have quite a weird and not smooth mass of wet flour coming together. Do NOT add the salt at this point.

I covered the bowl and left to rest for 45 minutes for the autolyse. As I said the original recipe calls for only 30minutes of autolyse..but I couldn’t get to it until after 45minutes. Still works.

When the 45 minutes were up I added the salt. I used the Kitchen Aid with the hook attachment this time: 1 minute on speed 1 and another 3 on speed 2. If you want to knead it by hand do it for about 10 minutes or so.

Transfer the dough to a clean greased bowl (I used an oil spray to grease the bowl), cover it with cling film and leave it to rest for 50 minutes. 

When the 50 minutes are up you are ready for your first stretch and fold.

I did my stretch and folds directly in the bowl, but you can either tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface or you can initially place your dough in a large rectangular container so you can do them directly in there.

Now cover the bowl again and leave to rest for another 50 minutes. Do another stretch and fold (the last one) and again leave to rest for 50 minutes. I couldn’t do that, as we had to go out so I’ve put my dough in the fridge for 3 hours. When we returned I took it out, performed another stretch and fold and left it to come to room temperature for another hour.

After this final rest you need to shape your bread. I shaped this one as a batard, not a great one, but getting there. I moved my shaped loaf in a floured banneton, placed it in a plastic bag that I closed tightly and left it to proof for 2 hrs and 30 minutes.

You will need your oven to reach 230C so start pre-heating sometime after the proofing period has started, depending on your oven.

To bake the bread I use a 3cm thick granite baking stone, that needs at least 1h20 minutes in a 250C oven to heat up properly.

So, after the 2hrs and 30 minutes of proofing, I tipped my bread on a baking sheet scored it with one good score and another 3 rubbish ones, but hey I am learning and put it in the oven. 

I also keep in the oven one of the trays, while it is pre-heating, so it gets hot hot. Then, immediately after transferring the bread on the stone, I add a cup of hot water to the tray below to create some steam and shut the door quickly.

You will need to bake this bread for 45 minutes at 230C. To get a nice crust open the oven door 5 minutes before the baking time is up, to release some of the steam. In my case as the oven is very small I baked it for 5 minutes at 250C then reduced the temperature to 220C for the next 35 minutes and kept it with the oven door opened for another 5 minutes.

Resulting bread:

This is now one of our favourite breads. It had a nice crust with a bit of crunch and the crumb was sweet and with a very nice chewy texture.

kmcquade's picture
kmcquade

Sometimes I look through recipes and don’t have what they require or just want to use stuff up that I have. Lately I have been enjoying my seed and grain breads, and mixed flour breads. I had some nice organic brown rice and some millet I wanted to use up. Personally, I think the hydration in dough is often the deciding factor in a quality outcome so I try to pay attention to that and try to determine it for recipes I review.

 OK, so first I needed to decide how much bread to make. For this experiment I figured I would start with a 1kg loaf just to test.

  • I was shooting for about 70% hydration.
  • I wanted to use my nice organic Starter about 30%
  • I figured about 1 cup of the cooked rice and millet would be a good amount
  • I wanted some milk contribution for softness
  • I wanted some organic brown sugar for sweetness

So here is the method I used.

So my initial plan was to use 500gm Organic AP flour

  • 150 gm. Starter (30% of 500)
  • 113.5 gm. cooked millet (about 4oz)
  • 113.5 gm. cooked organic brown rice (about 4 oz.)
  • 113.5 gm. Milk (about 4oz) (2% low fat  is all I had )
  • 2TBSP Brown sugar
  • 1.5 TSP Salt – just from experience about the right amount.

Also just to hedge by bet, I spiked with about ¼ tsp. instant yeast in case my starter is not behaving – I did feed the starter 2 times prior to use.

Water? How much water should I add?

Given a 150 gm. of a 100% starter, that means it contains 75gm flour and 75gm water

So my total flour was 500+ 75 = 575

For basic 70% hydration this would need .70(574) = 402gm water

 But,  there is already 75 gm. of water from the starter, and there is a lot of water in the cooked rice and millet ? How much you ask?

Well I assumed a 2:1 ratio because I used 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice

This would mean that if I used 113.5 gm. cooked rice  A little math shows that:

The rice was 37.83 gm. and the water was 75.66 gm.

Here is the math for those interested

                        R=rice , W = water.

(eq 1) R+W =113.5

(eq2) W= 2(R) (water is twice as much as the rice weight)

            Substitute EQ 2 into eq 1

(eq3)  R+ 2R = 113.5

            Solve for R

R(3)= 113.5

R= 37.83

W=2R = 75.6

 I was not sure about the millet, because I did not take exact measures when cooking it so I assumed that same 2:1 ratio  - and used 75 gm. for the water component of the millet too.

 Ok so now we have:  desired water 402 gm. – 75gm (from the starter) – 75gm (from the cooked rice) – 75 gm. (from the cooked millet)  = 177gm

But don’t forget I have 113gm of milk,  so 177-113= 64 gm. of water needed to get close to a 70% hydration.

So what happened – Theory meets reality.

When I mixed it all up the dough seemed too dry, so I needed to add another 30 gm. of water or so. I believe I overestimated the water contribution from the rice and the millet. What I should have done was precisely measure the rice and millet  and water separately. Even that, it’s hard to determine the amount of water evaporated during cooking anyway.

 If I just used my original estimates and added 30 gm. H20  I get a hydration of 64% which is about how it felt under my hands – close to the hydration of a French bread ( 65%) but of course heavier because of the grains . My final dough weight was 1,117 gm. pretty close to my 1,000 gm. initial goal.

 On to phase 2 – the dough was on the cusp of being able to hand knead vs. having to do stretch and folds  ( I might add ,all my breads are hand needed – no mixer) .  I let it bench rest for about 1 hour in a cold Seattle Feb kitchen and did a couple stretch and folds then placed in the fridge overnight.

Pretty sticky dough

 Day 2

Out of the fridge the next morning for a few hours because it is cold in our kitchen – then shaped and proofed if for about 1.25 hrs. Bake in a cloche 475F covered 15 min, uncover and bake for another 15min at 450. It still was not reading hot enough inside probably because of the rice and millet, so it took another 15 at 420. (I find I get a crispier crust if I progressively decrease the temps.)

Result See picts

Moist Chewy sweet crust with that nice millet essence and color.

 

 

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Okay, I'm back to my normal self again baking abi-normal breads.  I've made bread with corn flour before, but this time I wanted to use a slurry of roasted corn as well as use corn flour in the sourdough starter.  I also wanted to add some cheese and I thought some nice salty tasting Feta cheese would be a good combination.  The bread is just about to come out of the oven and I can smell the corn and feta cheese all throughout the house.  Not exactly a great thing to control my hunger while on a diet, but such is life.

This is a very wet dough, even though the overall hydration is only 72%, by adding the corn slurry it really increased the moisture content of the dough greatly.  I tried to bake this using a bundt pan mold from my wife's collection. I should have probably baked it in the mold but instead I removed the dough and it kind of flattened out and melded together into a big round blob shape.  I scored the loaf and it did get some good oven spring but next time I will bake it part of the way in the bundt pan and see what happens.

The final bread, while not resembling the intricate bundt mold I used, did come out great with a nice crispy crust and open and tasty crumb.  The bread is nice and moist and really came out amazing.

If you make this recipe, make sure to roast your corn first or you will lose that special sweet flavor that only roasted corn can impart.

I also used avocado oil which I am not sure what it actually added to the flavor profile, so feel free to substitute olive oil or any oil of your choice.

Directions

Starter Build 1

95 grams AP Flour (KAF)

55 grams Corn Flour (Bob's Red Mill)

50 grams Seed Starter at 65% hydration (If you use a 100% hydration starter you need to adjust the water amount and flour amount to compensate)

90 grams Water at room temperature.

Mix all the above ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 4-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Starter Build 2

75 grams AP Flour

25 grams Corn Flour

75 grams Water at room temperature

Mix all the ingredients into the starter from step 1 until they are incorporated.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 4-6 hours or until doubled.  You can then refrigerate for up to 1  day or use in the main dough immediately.

Main Dough Ingredients

425 grams  Starter from above  (Note: you will have a little extra starter from above so make sure to weigh it out)

350 grams European Style Flour (KAF, you can sub Bread Flour with a little bit of Whole Wheat)

100 grams Durum Flour ( KAF)

75 grams Potato Flour (KAF)

50 grams Corn Flour (Bob's Red Mill)

77 grams Feta Cheese

17 grams Seas Salt or Table Salt

22 grams Avocado Oil (substitute olive oil if necessary)

425 grams Water at room temperature

155 grams Roasted Corn Slurry (Instructions below)

Total Flour (Including Starters and Seed Starter)

802 grams

Total Water (Including Starters and Seed Starter)

576 grams

Total Hydration: 72%

Procedure

Roasted Corn Slurry

I used a grill pan to do this since I still have too much snow on the ground to get to my barbecue.  Either way, you want to shuck 2 medium ears of corn, spray on or brush on some olive oil and add sprinkle some smoked hickory salt, onion powder, garlic powder and cheese powder. Wrap in aluminum foil or if you have the husks you can wrap them back in the husks.  Grill for about 15-20 minutes until you have a nice char on all sides.

Let the corn cool down and cut the corn from the cobs and place 155 grams in your food processor and give it a whirl until the corn starts resembling a slurry.  You don't want to overdo it since you want some texture to the corn to remain.

Main Dough

Mix the flours, oil and 385  grams of the water 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.  Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces),and corn slurry and mix on low for a minute.  Add the rest of the water unless the dough is way too wet (note this is a very wet dough but you don't want soup).   Mix on low-speed for another 2 minutes.  Next add the cheese and mix for 1 additional minute.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl and with wet or oiled hands 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.  (Feel free to do additional stretch and folds if necessary).  After a total of 2 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.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.  As mentioned above I used a bundt pan mold.  I shaped the dough into 2 batards and placed both of them in the mold and sealed them together.

 

 Next I covered the dough with a moist tea towel.  The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

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.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

Isand66's picture
Isand66

   Every once in a while I feel the need to make a more simple bread; one that will make a great sandwich.  With that in mind I decided to make a version of a Pain Au Levain using some French style flour from KAF, whole wheat and some dark rye flour and toasted wheat germ in the final dough.

I used my normal over-night retardation procedure for the bulk rise and decided to use one of my new baskets I purchased at Good Will over the summer.  Unfortunately I added so much rice flour to the basket to prevent the dough from sticking that some of it got onto the bread itself and when I went to shape it I de-gassed the dough too much.  I was trying to get a nice tight skin on the dough and the rice flour was preventing this.  Lesson learned, but in the end while the crumb ended up a little tighter than it should have been, the flavor was nice and deep with a good crust.

Directions

Levain Ingredients & Directions

200 grams French Style Flour (KAF, or use AP Flour)

100 grams Whole Wheat Flour (KAF)

105 grams Seed Starter at 65% hydration (If you use a 100% hydration starter you need to adjust the water amount and flour amount to compensate)

178 grams Water at room temperature

Mix all the above ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Main Dough Ingredients

458 grams  Starter from above

350 grams French Style Flour (KAF)

50 grams Dark Rye (Pumpernickel Flour, KAF)

54 grams Toasted Wheat Germ (KAF)

17 grams Seas Salt or Table Salt (I used Hickory Smoked Sea Salt)

312 grams Water at room temperature

Procedure

Mix the flours, and 275 grams of the water 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.  Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces) and mix on low for a minute.  Add the rest of the water unless the dough is way too wet.   Mix on low-speed for another 3 minutes.  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 2 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.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.  I made 1 large batard shape but you can make boules or other shapes.  Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.  The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

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.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

.

bakingbadly's picture
bakingbadly

Long time, no see, TFL.

In summary I've been away, coping with a hefty workload and tending to personal matters. Of course, I continued baking---a tendency I doubt will be curbed or abandoned. Why's that? Because baking is my stress-reliever. (I'm sure many homebakers can relate.)

Without further ado, I present to you my latest experiment: Cumin Walnut Cheese Rye Sourdough Bread.

 

Believe it or not, this loaf (it's not a muffin, I assure you) was supposed to be Franko's 68% Rye Bread with Pumpkin Seeds.

*Lowers head in shame.*

Out of necessity and/or experimentation, I substituted the high-gluten flour with all-purpose flour, the pumpkin seeds with toasted walnuts, the caraway seeds with ground cumin, ommitted the non-diastatic malt powder, and incorporated smoked scamorza (i.e., an Italian cheese) into the dough.

 

In addition to the substitutions, I prepared an overnight soaker by combining the all-purpose flour and a portion of the iced water. (Anybody familiar with Txfarmer's 36+ hours sourdough baguettes?) According to my hypothesis, the hydrated soaker will develop its gluten matrix, amplify its sweetness, and strengthen the final dough.

False.

What resulted was a soupy dough, forcing me to abandon my original recipe and producing another on spot. While panicking, I processed several scenarios in my mind until a light bulb popped over my head:

"I'll pour the batter into tins!"

 

After pouring the batter-like dough into four separate tins, another idea sprung into my head. I liberally sprinkled ground walnuts atop---so much that a good sum didn't adhere to the dough.

Oh, what a waste...

 

I'm so, so glad it worked out---much better than I anticipated. Now, before I describe the flavours, let me bestow to you the reasonings behind the selected ingredients.

Walnuts pair well with rye. Caraway also pairs well with rye, but I felt cumin would better complement the walnuts. (Compared to caraway, cumin is more citrusy and pungent in flavour.) I've witnessed others on TFL add dried fruits to their walnut breads but I sought a savoury loaf. Thus, I specifically chose smoked scamorza, a semi-soft Italian cheese, for its milky, faintly sweet, and assertive smoky flavours, as well as its suberb melting quality.

Summarized flavour profile: 

Harbouring the distinct aroma of cumin, the unusually soft crumb tasted slightly sweet and mildly savoury (i.e., buttery and nutty), punctuated by a faint but pleasant tang. Further, such flavours were accompanied by a creamy and cool mouthfeel. My overall rating: Pretty darn good for a batter bread.

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For those who are interested, you may find the recipe below:

Rye Sourdough Starter

  • Medium rye flour [407 g]
  • Mineral water [407 g]
  • Rye sourdough starter, 100% hydration [27 g]

Soaker

  • All-purpose flour, Unbleached, Enriched [262 g]
  • Mineral water, Iced [ 205 g]

Final Dough

  • Rye sourdough starter [740 g]
  • Soaker [413 g]
  • Medium rye flour [123 g]
  • Whole walnuts, Toasted [104 g]
  • Smoked scamorza, Grated [93 g]
  • Sea salt [15 g]
  • Whole cumin, Ground [6 g]

Others

  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Unsalted butter
  • Whole walnuts, Untoasted, Ground

Total Baker's Percentages

  • Flour [100%]
    • Medium rye flour [68%]
    • All-purpose flour [32%]
  • Mineral water [76%]
  • Whole walnuts, Toasted [14.4%]
  • Sea salt [2%]
  • Cumin, Ground [0.8%]
  • Smoked scamorza, Grated [13%]

Instructions

  1. Mix starter ingredients; rest at room temp. for approx. 12 hours
  2. Mix soaker ingredients; chill for approx. 12 hours
  3. Mix starter, soaker, and medium rye flour; hand-knead for 5 minutes
  4. Add salt to dough; hand-knead for 5 minutes
  5. Add ground cumin and toasted walnuts to dough; hand-knead for 3 minutes
  6. Add grated scamorza to dough; hand-knead for 2 minutes
  7. Apply olive oil to bowl; pour dough into oiled bowl
  8. Bulk ferment for 30 - 45 minutes
  9. Butter tins
  10. Pour dough into buttered tins
  11. Proof for 30 - 45 minutes
  12. Sprinkle ground walnuts atop
  13. Bake at 230C / 446F (convection off) for 10 minutes, with steam
  14. Bake at 210C / 410F (convection on) for 30 - 40 minutes, without steam (rotate loaves every 10 minutes)
  15. Cool at minimum for 1 hour

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Want to know what I've been baking the past few weeks? Well, thankfully, you can scroll down to find out (sorry, only crumbshots).

Ontbijtkoek (Dutch-Belgian Breakfast Cake)


Cocoa Chocolate Coffee Sourdough Bread

 

Palm Sugar Financiers (French Almond Cakes)

 

Whole Wheat Multi-Seed Sourdough Batard

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As always, critiques and suggestions are welcomed.

Farewell for now everybody. Wish you all the best and have a happy baking. :)

Zita

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