WatertownNewbie's blog

A year or so ago, Troy (aka HeiHei29er) posted a recipe for a Lithuanian bread.  At the time I baked it a few times, but it had been awhile, and I felt that a revisit was needed.  Besides, we have some neighbors down the street from Lithuania, and I wanted to bake them a loaf (but after baking one for my wife and me to reacquaint myself with the recipe).

A simple preferment (starter, rye flour, and water) sits overnight, and a scald the next morning combines several of the ingredients (red rye malt, rye flour, caraway seed, ground coriander, blackstrap molasses, and water) that give the bread its distinctive flavor.  The final dough contains the preferment and scald along with more rye flour, some whole wheat flour, a little salt, some honey, and water.

After mixing, a bulk fermentation, and a final proofing in a loaf pan, the bread baked for 45 minutes at 465F.  Here is a top view of the loaf.

The crumb is somewhat dense, but very soft and easily chewable.  The flavor is impeccable.

If anyone wants the full recipe, please simply ask.  I found a Brod & Taylor proofing box helpful for maintaining a constant temperature during the stages. and I lined the loaf pan with parchment paper after learning the hard way that this dough wants to stick to the sides.

Happy baking.

Ted

This is a variation on the Infinity Bread from the recent Community Bake.  The original used emmer as the third flour, and in a subsequent bake I posted a bread with einkorn.  This time spelt became the third flour, and I am pleased with the result.  Not as much oven spring as with the other two, but that seems typical of spelt.  The flavor is great, and the crust has a nice crispiness.

For this bake I increased the amounts by 30% to achieve larger loaves, one of which was given to the crew at our local veterinarian office.  We kept the other, and here are photos of the two loaves as well as the crumb from ours.

The loaves weighed 1172 grams and 1145 grams and each was in the oven for 44 minutes.  Thanks again to PMCool for shepherding the Community Bake that began this adventure.

Recently I posted a blog with my revised version of Infinity Bread.  That version used emmer flour, and I commented that I intended to try the bread with einkorn in place of the emmer.  Here it is.

This is an excellent bread too, and in some ways I prefer the einkorn version over the one with emmer.  Of course, a few bakes with each will be necessary before I can conclude that, and in any event both versions are fine.

Here are the two loaves.

A friend received one of the loaves.  Here is the crumb from the one we kept.

Once again I thank pmcool for launching the Community Bake that resulted originally in the emmer bread and now this one with einkorn.

Happy baking.

Ted

This is as much for anyone looking for a way to bake with emmer flour as for any other reason, but that should be sufficient.  Emmer is a nice flour (mine comes from Barton Springs, but it is available generally).

For those who read my post in the Community Bake thread, you might recall that I mentioned wanting to make a few changes.  This bake incorporated a soaker, which softened the rye chops especially.  In addition, the soaker added some needed hydration to the dough.  Lastly, I did only two sets of stretch-and-folds.  All of these changes were for the better, and I see no need to make any more for the next few bakes (my opinion could always change, of course).

Here is a summary in case you are looking for a recipe involving emmer.

     Levain

Starter                        40 g

Bread Flour              100 g

Whole Wheat Flour  100 g

Water                       250 g

     Soaker

Rye Chops                50 g

Oats                          30 g

Sunflower Seeds      20 g

Water (boiling)        100 g

     Final Dough

Bread Flour                234 g

Whole Wheat Flour    233 g

Emmer Flour              333 g

Soaker                       all

Water                         470 g

Levain                        all

Salt                              18 g

I prepared the Levain as well as the Soaker the night before and let them sit at room temperature.  When the Levain was properly bubbly, I combined the Final Dough flours, the Soaker, and the water until they were rough and shaggy.  You might think that you need to add water to make the components into a single mass, but resist that urge.  The Soaker will provide the moisture.

Then I let the combo sit for a half hour before adding the Levain and salt.  For this step I employed Forkish's pincher method of mixing, and you will definitely need to work the dough to get the Levain thoroughly distributed in the Final Dough.  After mixing (I included eighty French Folds), the dough temperature was only 72F, and the kitchen was 70F.  I anticipated a little longer bulk fermentation.

After sixty minutes I did the first stretch-and-fold and then another an hour after that.  Thereafter the dough sat until it was ready for pre-shaping.  For this bake the total bulk fermentation was four hours and eighteen minutes.  The dough went onto the counter and was divided into two portions, both of which were pre-shaped into rounds.  After a twenty minute bench rest, one portion became a batard and the other a boule.  The dough went into bannetons (and those into plastic bags) and into the refrigerator for an overnight proofing.

After nearly sixteen hours in the fridge the bannetons came out.  The boule went into a Dutch oven heated to 475F, and the batard went onto a baking stone at 450F.  The lid came off the Dutch oven after twenty minutes.  Two aluminum pie pans filled with hot water provided steam for the baking stone.  Total baking time for each loaf was forty-eight minutes.

The trio of bread flour, whole wheat, and emmer seem to go well together.  This is a bread that I will bake again.  My wife and I kept the batard, while the boule went to some friends.

Here are the two loaves.

Here is the crumb from the one we kept.

Happy baking.

Ted

Earlier this year, Tony (CalBeachBaker) posted a bread made with einkorn flour.  I modified the recipe a tad, and this is my second attempt (these bakes were my first experience with einkorn).

For the levain, I mixed 3 grams of sourdough starter, 72 grams of einkorn flour, and 54 grams of water.  There is a soaker, and for that I mixed 48 grams of rye chops, 48 grams of sesame seeds, 120 grams of boiling water, and 2 grams of salt.  The levain and soaker sat overnight covered at room temperature.

After about twelve hours, it was time to combine the final dough ingredients.  These were 407 grams of einkorn, 329 grams of water, 8 grams of salt, and all of the levain and soaker.  I mixed by hand using a small plastic scraper, and the components came together fairly easily.  Three stretch-and-fold sessions spaced thirty minutes apart followed, and then the dough sat for a total bulk fermentation of two hours and ten minutes.

For those unfamiliar with einkorn, perhaps a word or two.  If you think rye is sticky, you haven't worked with einkorn, which is super sticky.  It also has no gluten strength, doesn't rise, and has no structure for shaping.  If some of you with einkorn experience can chime in with some tips or comments, that would be very much appreciated.

After dumping the dough onto a floured countertop, I shaped (sort of) by using a scraper to flop the dough onto itself and let it sit for five minutes.  Then I used the scraper and a bench knife to get underneath the mass of dough and plop it into a 9"x5" loaf pan that had been lined with parchment paper.  I smoothed the top of the dough with a spatula, and the loaf pan went into a plastic bag.  The proofing phase lasted about an hour and forty minutes, during which time I saw no rising to speak of, but the dough did settle nicely in the loaf pan.

Eventually I put the loaf pan into a 450F oven that has pie pans filled with lava rocks for steam, and the bake lasted forty-five minutes.  Watching the loaf expand during the bake was neat.

Here is the loaf, and you can see where the dough rose from its level at the start of the bake until the end.

The crust is tender, and the crumb is chewy with a nice flavor.

Given the slightly gummy center evident at the very bottom of the loaf, I think the next time the bake will be perhaps five minutes longer, but everything else seemed to go well.

Einkorn is one of the ancient grains, and I wanted to give it a try.  Glad I did, and there will be more bakes with it.

Happy baking.

Ted

This bread continues my adventures with rye bread, having done a couple of Borodinsky recipes as well as Lithuanian recipes.  The inspiration to give it a try came from the recent posting by alcophile, and I actually began this loaf before Benito posted his bake.  The process differs from almost anything else that I have baked and involves essentially a forty hour poolish followed by one hour for the final mixing, shaping, and proofing.

For the most part I followed the steps outlined in Stanley Ginsberg's recipe.  One deviation was to mix the final dough by hand, but I could feel the dough gain some strength as I worked it and do not believe that a hand mixing cost me anything.  The dough is fairly dense and could be done in a stand mixer for those who prefer that approach.  I also did not return the loaf to the oven after applying the cornstarch glaze.  The heat from the loaf itself seems sufficient to set the glaze.

Here are views of the top from an angle and of the side.

There were more cracks than in the other types of rye bread that I have made, and my general sense is that perhaps a slightly longer final proofing (mine was 43 minutes) might get the bread closer to its final height and avoid the sudden expansion from oven spring.  The loaf weighed 1537 grams, and the dimensions are 10" x 6-1/2" x 3".  Despite being fairly dense, the bread has a tender crumb and great flavor.

Here are views of the crumb and of a slice.

This is yet another rye bread that I will be baking again.  Thanks to alcophile for his posting and for the others who have baked this bread and shared their experiences.

Happy baking.

Ted

A few weeks ago, Abe posted a 100% emmer loaf.  Earlier this year I baked a 30% emmer loaf from a posting by leslieruf, and that was followed by one of 60%.  When Abe posted his, I was intrigued to give it a go.

Abe's formula involved a water yeast, however, and I have only a typical sourdough starter.  That began a few modifications to his approach (and an exchange of private messages with Abe, who was very helpful with his advice and suggestions -- thanks).  My first attempt was not bad, but I decided to make a few more changes before posting my result.  This is for those of you who want to bake a 100% emmer bread by using a sourdough starter.

Inspired by trailrunner and Isand66, I visited the Barton Springs Mill website and ordered some emmer flour.  The flour (along with some rye) arrived nicely packaged, and I will give Barton Springs more business in the future.

For the biga I found that a hydration of around 64% was needed (and aiming for 60% left some flour dry and unmixed).  I combined 20 grams of sourdough starter, 450 grams of emmer flour, and 284 grams of water.  As Abe commented, the result resembles wet sand.  It is easy to mush into a cohesive mass, which I left in a covered bowl overnight at room temperature.  To encourage the flavor, I left the biga for about fourteen and a half hours.

The next morning I combined the biga, 150 grams of emmer flour, 11 grams of salt, and 150 grams of water.  That was fairly simple, and after about eight minutes of kneading by hand (think of the Forkish pincer method) the dough seemed ready.  I took the temperature (72F) of the dough and covered the bowl.  After an hour I did a stretch-and-fold.  Abe waited a bit and then put his dough into the refrigerator, but I decided to do the bulk fermentation entirely at room temperature.  After another three hours the dough had expanded nicely, and I removed the dough from the bowl onto the countertop.

The shaping was essentially merely removing a bit of the gas and then forming the blob of dough into a roughly cylindrical form.  In my first attempt I had flattened the dough and then rolled it up, but this dough isn't sticky enough and doesn't bond at the interfaces, so that approach was a mistake.  The way I did it this time will be the one for the future bakes.  I loaded the dough into a loaf pan and covered it for the final proofing.

The dough had risen well in a couple of hours, and I decided to bake.  The loaf pan went into the 410F oven and stayed there for 40 minutes.  Abe had taken his loaf out of his pan to let the crust bake a bit more, but I opted to leave the loaf in until the end.  That doesn't seem to have hurt anything, so either way is probably okay.

Here is a view of the crust.

Here is the crumb.

My goal was a fairly tight crumb (similar to what Abe described), and perhaps a more open crumb is possible, but I am happy with this one.  The bread has a distinctive flavor, was nice the first day just sliced with nothing added, and was excellent the second day toasted with some butter.  Certainly not what you get with standard all-purpose flour.  This bread has the feel of an old world flour (which I suppose it should).  The loaf weighed 988 grams.

If you are after a 100% emmer bread, I recommend this one.  You have the option of water yeast (see Abe's post) or sourdough starter.

Happy baking.

After several years of thinking about making a loaf of Portuguese Sweet Bread, I finally did so today.  The recipe came from Bread Illustrated (produced by the folks at America's Test Kitchen) and is very simple.

All-purpose flour, instant dry yeast, and salt are placed in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Separately some water, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract are combined in a container that can be used for pouring and mixed until the sugar is dissolved.  On low speed with a dough hook the fluid is slowly poured into the mixing bowl until there is no longer any dry flour.  The speed is upped to medium-low until the dough begins to pull away from the sides, at which point some butter is added in small pieces.  When the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is elastic and sticky, the dough is dumped onto the counter, formed into a ball, placed in a lightly oiled bowl, and covered.

The recipe estimates that two to two-and-a-half hours will elapse while the dough roughly doubles, but my 78F kitchen saw a billowing dough mass after an hour and forty-five minutes.  The dough is then deflated, shaped into a boule, placed into a greased 9" cake pan, given a light spray of cooking oil, and lightly covered with plastic wrap.

When the dough is 1.75" above the lip of the cake pan, it is ready for the oven.  In my case that occurred after about an hour and a half.  Using a paring knife, I scored the dough around the circumference at the lip level of the pan (to create uniform oven spring) and then brushed the top with a wash of egg, water, and a pinch of salt.

The dough went into a 350F oven and stayed in for forty minutes (longer than the estimated 30-35 minutes in the recipe), but I wanted to hit the 190-195F range stated in the recipe and avoid an undercooked center.  Apparently this was fine based on the results.

Here is another view of the crust.

And here is the crumb.

What a soft crumb this bread has!  The thin mahogany crust is nice too.  If you are looking for a change of pace from your usual sourdough breads, consider this one.  I omitted details on the amounts so as to give a general overview of the bread, but if anyone wants the full recipe just let me know.

Happy baking.

Ted

A place where I order rye chops also has emmer flour, and I decided to get some.  Looking for a recipe, I found one on TFL by leslieruf.  By and large I followed his description, although there were a few fairly minor differences.

Instead of a starter build, I simply used 50g of my starter combined with 50g of bread flour and 50g of water for the levain the night before.  Overnight this did the usual of turning into a frothy bubbly mixture.  The next morning I put emmer flour (113g), bread flour (262g), and water (250g) into my 6-quart Cambro tub and worked them into a unified mass, which sat covered for 45 minutes.  The next step was to add  most of the levain (125g) and a small amount of salt (6.75g).

Leslie used a mixer, but I opted for working the dough by hand.  After a few minutes I had merged the levain and salt into the flour and water mix sufficiently that I felt comfortable dumping the dough onto a granite countertop on which I did 125 French folds (eighty-five and then a pause for a minute or two before the remainder) to build some gluten and strength.  The kitchen was 72F, and the dough temperature was 74F.

This is a soft dough (as Leslie described), not quite like ciabatta dough but tending in that direction.  Four stretch-and-fold sessions followed at thirty minute intervals, and the dough did gain strength during that process.  An hour after the fourth S&F I gave the dough another S&F and thereafter left it to sit while it expanded a bit and showed the presence of some bubbles.  For this I looked not only at the surface and sides but also lifted the container and looked at the bottom, which I have found to be a reliable way to judge the growth of bubbles during bulk fermentation.  Total time for the bulk fermentation was exactly five hours.

The dough went back onto the granite countertop for a pre-shape.  Leslie had omitted this step, and I felt that 20 minutes was about right given the extensible nature of the dough.  Shaping into a boule was straightforward, but I needed to flour the top surface and my hands to keep the dough from sticking during that process.  Next time I will also be sure to flour my banneton sufficiently.

The banneton went into a plastic bag and then into the refrigerator for an overnight proofing, which lasted a bit over fifteen hours.  The dough had expanded a little overnight and was sticking to the sides of the banneton more than dough usually does (hence the reminder to flour the banneton a little more next time).  The dough was also a challenge to score as can be seen from the top view photo.  Nonetheless, I managed to get the dough into the Dutch oven and placed into the 465F pre-heated oven.  After 15 minutes I removed the lid, and the total baking time was 42 minutes.

The loaf weighed 649 grams, has a nice soft but chewy crust, and has a pleasing crumb.

Here is another view of the crust.

Here is the crumb.

Leslie remarked in his post that he could not really detect the emmer flour at 30% of the total flour and felt that more the next time might change that.  I agree, but the next time in addition to slightly increasing the portion of emmer I will likely also slightly decrease the hydration.  This recipe is about 71.4% hydration, and given the nature of emmer I am wary of reducing the gluten and strength provided by bread flour without also adjusting the amount of water.  (Leslie, did you bake this bread again with any alterations to your first bake?)

This was a nice alternative to my typical bakes, and I will definitely try it again.  Thanks to Leslie for posting his bake and giving me the opportunity to try a bread with emmer flour.

Happy baking.

Ted

Paul (pnguyen951) recently posted a recipe for a spelt loaf, and I decided to give it a try.

His recipe calls for 100 grams of a 60% hydration levain, and I maintain my starter at 100% hydration.  The evening before the bake I mixed 40 grams of my starter, 25 grams of bread flour, 20 grams of spelt flour, and 20 grams of water.  While he used a stand mixer for the initial mixing, my preference is to mix by hand when possible.  After a brief bit of moving the dough around in my Cambro tub, I went to slap-and-fold (French folds) and felt the dough was ready after 125 of those.  The total bulk fermentation was 5 hours and 25 minutes.  After the twenty minute bench rest I shaped the dough into a batard and put it into a banneton, which went into the refrigerator for an overnight retard that lasted a bit over 15 hours.

Rather than using my Dutch oven, I opted for the baking stone.  In addition, my wife and I like crispy crust, and the bake of 47 minutes produced a darker loaf than Paul's but a similar crumb.  Essentially my bake followed Paul's recipe (same amounts of ingredients, 15 minute rest after the initial combination, three sets of stretch-and-fold at 30 minute intervals, and oven preheated to 475F and then dropped to 430F for the bake).

Here is the loaf,

and here is the crumb.

This bread is really easy to make.  The hydration and bread flour counterbalance the tendency of spelt to spread, so shaping is not a challenge.  The spelt flavor really comes through, and I intend to bake this bread again.  Thanks, Paul, for posting this bread and for providing the recipe.