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Sprouted 4 Grain 2 Starter White Bread With Figs and Pistachios

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Sprouted 4 Grain 2 Starter White Bread With Figs and Pistachios

After last weeks; 7 starter 17 grain sprouted bred it was time to tame it down because we are out of white bread.  We love white bread but have found that one with multi sprouted whole grains really makes it taste so much better, plus it is much healthier – it even smells better too!

 

Lucy is a whirling dervish all her own when it comes to bread and keeping things simple or non-pumpernickel, without a bunch of add ins.  It is like pulling teeth from a very large wild great white shark.

 

After the levain had doubled from the 3rd stage feeding, it was retarded for 30 hours and then stirred down,  Once it had risen 25% it was add to the autolyse.

I was shocked when she came up with a 2 starter mix of rye sour and witch yeast, 3 sprouted grains of spelt, wheat and rye that made up 20% of the flour, a bit of durum semolina, pistachios and figs.  I about had a conniption fit of surprise.

 

This bread was perfectly hydrated with the soaking water from the dried figs used as the dough flour.  Usually we over hydrate the dough when the wet re-hydrated figs go in the dough.  It ends up a bit sloppy.

 

We did pat the figs dry with a paper towel before adding them into the mix but the big difference was using KA bread flour for the 0% of white flour.  It is much more thirsty and has way more gluten forming proteins

 

Since it is now ell into spring in AZ and the temperatures hovering around 90 F, we have moved to our warm weather bread baking methods.  The pre-fermented flour has been reduced to 10% from 15-20% in the winter.

 

We did sift out the bran from the sprouted 3 grains and fed that first to the starter to make the 3 stage levain.  That way the gluten cutting bran would be the wettest the longest and be in contact with the acid of the SD.  Bran also makes a sourer levain and resulting bread as well.

 

Once the levain was built we retarded it for 36 hours.  When to came out for the fridge we stirred it down and put it on the counter to rise again.  It too a bit over and hour to rise 25% and during this time we autolyzed the dough flour and fig soaking water, holding back 10 g, with the salt sprinkled on top of the autolyze ball.

 

When the levain was 25% higher in volume we then added the reserved 10 g of fig juice to the mix and pinched in the salt before adding the levain and doing 30 slap and folds to incorporate it and get a bit of gluten development going on.  We did 3 more sets of slap and folds, all on 30 minute intervals.

 

Then we started in on 3 sets of stretch and folds where the figs and pistachios were incorporated during the first set 4 stretches from the compass points.  All were done on 30 minute intervals.  Once the gluten developing and add in incorporation was done, we pre-shaped, shaped. Put it in a rice floured oval basket and then into a trach can liner for 16 hours of cold retard.

 

Once we got the dough out of the fridge it had risen to about 70% proof so we let it sit on the counter to warm up and finish proofing for an hour before firing up Big Old Betsy to 500 F for the pre-heat.  Once it beeped we let it heat away for 10 minutes to let the top and bottom stones heat up before putting the Mega Steam on the bottom rack.

 

15 minutes later we un=molded the dough onto parchment on a peel, slashed it quickly and slid it onto the bottom stone for 17 minutes of steam at 450 F – regular bake.  It sprang and bloomed OK and also developed some decent sized blisters that are so common for dough that is higher hydration, still cool from the fridge, made up of mostly white flour and subjected to Mega Steam.

 

After another 15 minutes of heat at 425 F convection it was a dark brown mahogany color that always happens when we use the hydration liquid from dried fruits for the dough water.  It read 207.5 F on the instant read thermometer when it hit the cooling rack.  Had I taken ot out of the oven when it looked done it would have been massively under baked at 150 F and would have been gummy in the middle.

 

We will have to wait for the crumb shot when it is fully cool.  While you wait, have a salad with that sunset and matching prickly pear margarita.  Not even a hint of sour inn this one.  The fig water was so sweet it cancelled out the sour completely ....and then some.  The crust went soft as it cooled too.  The crumb was open very soft a moist n=but gummy at all.  Non sourdough lovers would have no problem munching on this one.  Made  a couple of nice sandwiches with this one already and can't wait to try it out as a breakfast toast.with butter.

 

Levain Build

Build 1

Build 2

 Build 3

Total

%

Rye Sour

3

0

0

3

0.56%

Witch Yeast

3

0

0

3

0.56%

85 % Extraction Sprouted 3 Grain

0

0

22

22

4.12%

15% Extraction Sprouted 3 Grain

10

16

0

26

4.87%

Water

10

16

22

48

8.99%

Total

26

32

44

102

19.10%

      

Levain Totals

 

%

   

 Sprouted 3 Grain

51

9.55%

   

Water

51

9.55%

   

Levain Hydration

100.00%

    
      

Dough Flour

 

%

   

KA Bread Flour

375

70.22%

   

85 % Extraction Sprouted 3 Grain

54

10.11%

   

Durum Semolina

54

10.11%

   

 

 

 

   

Salt

10

1.87%

   

Fig Soaking Water

350

65.54%

   
      

Pistachio Nuts

75

14.04%

   

Dried Figs

100

18.73%

Wet Wt 122

 

 

 

    

Dough Hydration

72.46%

    

Total Flour w/ Starters

534

    

Total Water & Fig Soaker

401

    
      

Hydration with Starter

75.09%

    

Total Weight

1,170

    

% Sprouted 3  Grain

19.66%

    
      

3 grain sprouted flour is equal amounts of spelt, rye, wheat

  

 

 

Comments

mwilson's picture
mwilson

Hi Dab,

I always admire your baking philosophy. Adopting what is new and experimental. So hard for a disciplined guy like me. Your bread like all your baking is sure to be tasty. I'll be over in June and sure look forward to tasting your bakes first hand.

See you then... :)

-Michael

Reynard's picture
Reynard

I really like the look of this one. Have to confess, I always look forward to friday nights to see what Lucy has come up with. The girls have been muttering about a cranberry, raisin and pumpkin seed bread... I'm beginning to think they're in cahoots with Lucy LOL

Funnily enough, I'm also using durum flour in this week's bake - I found some in my local supermarket. Am in the middle of making a french-style white with a poolish and an overnight retard in the fridge - as per request of the parental unit.

90F? Spring? Blimey... We rarely get that here, even in summer :-p Still hovering around the mid-40s here, but my snowdrops are in full bloom, I've the odd daffodil flowering, and even a foolhardy early plum...

Hope the loaf tastes as good as it looks :-)

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

the wild flowers in Death Valley are blooming right.  They bloom every 10 years or so when we have an El Nino and more moisture than usual as a result.  Last time they bloomed was 2005.  I'm thinking about taking a trip over to see them.  That usually means we will have the desert blooming around here in another month, maybe earlier, since it as been unusually warm of late.  It's only going to be in the upper 80's this week so a bit cooler:-)

These baking apprentices and supervisors are all in cahoots if you ask me - and probably in something else too.  I think they are planing on world domination or possibly demanding better food, like crab or smoked brisket, for every meal.

We like this bread a lot and have already eaten a quarter of it.  Made some great toast with butter this morning and there was no need for any jam either,.  Glad you liked it and we hope yours turns out just a s good.

Happy baking Reynard

Reynard's picture
Reynard

Must be a pretty spectacular sight. I used to keep cactii, and when they flowered they were so colourful. Except, of course, Madam Poppy killed them all by peeing in the flower pots when she was a kitten...

Lexi must have been corresponding with Lucy over the "petwaves" on the subject of better food because she stole the pastrami off my lunchtime sandwich right in front of me. Never mind that there was a good dollop of mustard on it... Previous evening I found her helping herself to the parmesan.

Not surprised you've already eaten a quarter of that loaf - reckon that one will bake-again :-) Fruit loaves are one of those things that led themselves to be breakfast favourites.

My loaf came out of the oven an hour ago - it's currently cooling on a wire rack. It looks good, but the proof of the pudding will, as ever, be in the eating. Plan on using it for sausage sandwiches this evening. Always a nervous wait for it to cool when attempting a particular style of bread for the first time...

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

June now instead of dreading 100 F temperatures.  Make sure to bring some of that world class panettone with you or we can make some when you are here.  I was looking up some old recipes for enriched dough and found a 13th century panettone being mentioned as being served in a royal court but only during Christmas - it was a special holiday bread just like today - 800 years later.

It is amazing how old bread really is when it comes to recipes.  Not much new in mine when we find out the ancient Egyptians were making sprouted multi-grain bread using barm and SD for leaven in 2,500 BC.  All we are doing is taking care of ancient methods and keeping them from dying - just like all the bakers before us :-)

I'm always amazed how much different the crumb is when I use bread flour instead of AP.  This one is tasty and I think about Italy when I see it.  Must be the figs and durum semolina:-)  The Romans used to make similar bread I'm sure.

June isn't that far off and will be here before you know it.  Glad you like the bread Michael and 

Happy baking 

Isand66's picture
Isand66

She never fails to disappoint does she?  Love the crust and crumb on this one.  Looks like you achieved a nice moist crumb too and it must have tasted great.  I could use one of those cocktails even though it's only 9:00 AM here!

Happy Baking and all the best from Max, Lexi and the rest of the gang.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

could improve on it   Lucy says Warlock Yeast would not be better than Witch Yeast and, take it from me,  she would know so that is out.  Maybe 3% more water would be about it..  

Lucy put a lot of work into Lucy's Valentine Margarita.  She Paw picked 3 of the largest Prickly Pear Tunas I have ever seen and then aged them until they were perfectly ripe.  Their color when pealed and chopped is one of the most beautiful colors that nature can produce.

Then you have to make jam with it using Zulka Modena, a partially raw can sugar from Mexico.  But it starts nearly 2 years before when she made her own arancello by soaking orange and Minneola skins in grain alcohol for a year and then turning it into arancello with an addition of sugar syrup and letting it age for another year .  Freshly bottled in the middle 6 months old on the left sand 1 year aged n the right

  

Then the cocktail finally comes together with a fine reposado tequila 5 parts, 1 part aracello, 1 part prickly pear jam, 2 Mexican key limes, 10 parts water and 1/2 tsp of Zulka.  The perfect cocktail to sit by the pool with the one you love and watch the Arizona  sunset.

Lucy sends her best to her East Coast Pack Valentines.

Happy baking Ian

Ooopppssss...! forgot the 10 parts of water and that this makes one 16 oz drink.

 

Lazy Loafer's picture
Lazy Loafer

That is truly a beautiful thing! I bet it was wonderful for breakfast too. :)

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

healthier one for a white bread.  You are right it makes some great toast!  Glad you like it and 

Happy baking LL