Mebake's blog

I have eyed Hansjoakim's post : here ever since he blogged about using his excess ripe rye as a leaven for a Pain au levain with Wholewheat from Hamelman. Hans has generously posted his recipe, and i, sickened from my failures with liquid white levain, and attracted by the description of the flavor, finally decided to try it yesterday.

I used Waitrose Organic Strong white bread flour for 80% of the white flour, and 20% all purpose - plain flour. Whole wheat was waitrose organic plain flour, and Rye was Doves Farm organic Rye.

Brushed the flour off:

The Ovenspring was substatial. Was it the Rye? or i was growing impatient with my dough at 11:45 pm? fermentation was faster with this Rye leavened bread. Though i would add 1 hour more to the bulk fermentation. Final fermentation was 2 hours.

The Bread was chewy due to the 12.9% protein flour. The flavor was superb, as described by Hans! Thank you Hans for the solid recipe, this is one new favorite of mine.

Khalid

This is my second attempt at this recipe, my first attempt is HERE. I'am very content, as this is the best Pain Au levain i've baked so far. I've made changes to the Recipe and procedures as compared to the earlier attempt. The changes were:

1 - I increased the % of prefermented flour from 15% to around 20% (THANK YOU ANDY!)

2 - I was meticulous about the last 3 refreshments of the starter prior to building my levain (THANK YOU LARRY!)

3 - I used an all white starter, instead of the Mixed flour starter i used earlier.

4 - I stretched and folded (letter-wise) on a bench instead of in the bowl, twice.

5 - I milled the sea salt to a fine powder.

6 - I did not include a freshly milled WW flour, instead, i used a strong WW flour.

7 - I made sure the final dough temperature was 76F or 25C, by means of immersing my hands to mix the dough, which gave warmth to the dough.

8 - I patted down the dough to redistribute the fermentation bubbles after initial fermentation.

9 - I steamed the oven for 10 minutes, as the bread started taking color quickly.

10 - The doughs fermented exactly as per the book instructions, i.e. 5 hours Total fermentation.

11 - I divided the dough into two 1.5 lb pieces.

And this is how the breads turned out!

The flavor was Superb, with subltle acidity, and wheaty aroma from the wholewheat. This is a keeper.

khalid

This is the usual Hamelman's Wholewheat Multigrain, only i baked twice the recipe yield, and kept the hydration untouched.

Khalid

This is yesterday's bake: Hamelman's Pain Au levain With Wholewheat. I adhered to the recipe, save for the levain which was pre-maturely mixed, Ripe but not sufficiently so. This lead to extended final fermentation. Dough was mixed at 7:00 p.m. and the dough was in the oven at 2:00 a.m!! I feel you, Tim (breadbakingbassplayer). i've also increased the hydration to 75% from 68%.

The flavor is nothing much to talk about, just an ordinary pain au levain, with a wholewheat twist to it, certainly not worth all the time spent in preparation and baking.

I stretched and folded in the bowl (a la Shiao-Ping) in hope of obtaining the open crumb i desire in this type of bread, but this dough was dertermined to defeat me all the way to the end.

I wonder whether (20% baker's)Wholewheat addition to the diet of a Rye-bread flour - fed starter and levain, caused a stagnation in the fermentation speed of the dough! Any ideas?

The Wholewheat is from freshly milled Pakistani (Chapati Type) flour. Rye was doverfarm's and rest is a mixture of bread flour, and AP.

One final thing, though, this is the recipe for two large Loaves. I decided to bake one boule out of it, so the resultant weight of the dough was 1.8 Kg, Technically a Miche.

Khalid

This is yesterday's bake, a sourdough rye from Hamelman's "bread". I used dover farm organic whole rye flour, and sifted it to obtain something near to medium rye flour called for in the recipe. I followed Hamelman's instructions to the word, including the addition of yeast to the final dough. i have baked higher ryes before, so i was pretty comfortable with handeling the dough. This recipe is very easy to understand and bake, as opposed to other higher percentage ryes in hamelman's book. I used 12.9% protein strong bread flour from waitrose.

The sourdough levain was ripe in 8 hours at 26c. I chose to proof the dough seam side down in a brotform, and used a bamboo skewer to pinch holes in the batard.

This is by far the best rye i've baked. I'am now encouraged to bake this recipe again!

khalid

I thought i'd share my piece of illustration on the Stretch and fold in the bowl technique:

Khalid 

This wasn't my first Pain Au levain, but surely the best of the bunch. I have baked Vermont Sourdough with increased wholewheat, and Pain Au levain with Mixed Sourdough starters...Those were not successful as i was struggling with ways to please my starter.. But i loved this one! No wonder why so many TFL members bake it frequently.

I increased hydration to 75%. I did not retard the dough, it has a lovely faint sourness. I forgot to autolyze too. I stratched and Folded in the bowl 5 times during bulk fermentation (2.5 hours). Final fermentation was almost 4 hours! This is what happens when your flour is not malted from factory.

The Doughs spread flat in the oven.. but with the help of a 500F stone and plenty of steam, they balooned and came to life..

This is by far the best sourdough i have ever had to date. Crackly crust, soft chewy crumb, and an intoxicating aroma..!!

Khalid

I purchased some Pakistani Wheat (for Atta) , and i wanted to see how it fairs in Peter Reinhart's Wholegrain Recipes. I'am not sure of the protein content of This wheat, but i read that Atta flour is between 11.5% to 13% Protein. I milled the berries, and found them to be medium hard. The resultant flour made a coherent smooth dough, and delayed fermentation helped strengthen the dough even more.

Adding Milk, Butter and Honey, helped soften the dough further, and the result was a pliable soft dough that passed windowpane test.

PR's Recipe for this sandwich bread is a real winner, as this 100% wholewheat is transformed into a very fluffy and light loaf which was a true treat, especially when toasted!

I shaped my dough into a tight sandwich load in the manner that Txfarmer does hers as i wanted that shredable texture. My shaping needs improvement.

The flavor was Superb!

That is ,If My first attempt did yield anything close to a croissant. I Was inspired by Akiko's Post here about her great croissants adapted from Steve's Great website: Breadcetera, and i had to try my luck at croissants.

 This time, i have managed to retain the butter in the layers in the oven, and not ending up with a puddle of molten butter. The Dough lamination went on smoothly, But I had to let the dough chill in the freezer for 25 minutes per session instead of the fridge, due to my warm kitchen.

Chilling my dough in the freezer lead to a prolonged final proof (3 hours), which were not enough. I was too scared to allow the dough ferment in my warmer kitchen, as the butter may melt.

Finally, i actually had Croissants, with Butter in them, and a lovely flaky texture, though not as airy as Akiko Croissants, But Considerably light.

I promised my self to give Karin's Spelt Walnut Bread a Try, recipe here, and i finally did yesterday, and i was very satisfied.

i milled My German organic Spelt berries, so iam sure this added extra flavor. As butter milk is hard to come by in Dubai, i replaced Buttermilk in the soaker with yogurt. Next day, the dough come together nicely, was soft extensible and lively. Having learned from other TFL members that Spelt's Gluten is fragile, i mixed briefly, only up to the point where the surface of the dough is smooth and tight.

The Whole spelt also ferments 40% faster than regular whole wheat, so i had to keep an eagle's eye on it. It recieved 40 minutes bulk fermentation, and 35 minutes Final proofing.

It did not spring noticeably in the oven, but slashes opened up quite well. It was in the oven for 15 minutes with steam, and 35 minutes without at 350F.

When i cut into it this morning, it was very soft and aromatic. There was a sweet spicy aroma filling the house even afetr 12 hours of switching the oven off.

I tasted it.. and Boy was i impressed. This is one of thise breads that tastes, looks, and smells heavenly. I thank Karin so much for her recipe, and for her well balanced use of Spices..!

Now, Spelt will never sleep comfortably in my Fridge..

Khalid