The Fresh Loaf

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Caramelized Onion Sourdough with Parmigiano-Reggiano and Italian Herbs

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Caramelized Onion Sourdough with Parmigiano-Reggiano and Italian Herbs

I have had a number of breads that include onions bookmarked, but never got around to trying them. So this is my attempt at this.

1. Caramelize 3 diced onions in 1 tbsp each of butter and olive oil. Since I quadruple my recipes, this took me 3 hours! Normally, it takes 45 minutes to an hour. Set aside to cool. I prepared mine a few days ahead and put them in the fridge. I let them come back to room temperature before using them.

2. Autolyse 650 g unbleached flour, 50 g freshly milled buckwheat flour, 252 g freshly milled red fife flour, 50 g freshly ground flax seed, 1 tbsp and 1 tsp of dried Italian herbs (the plan was to use 2 tbsp but I didn't have enough), 50 g freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese and 700 g of water. I found putting in 600 g of water first, mixing and then adding the last 100 g to work really well in mixing the initial dough. Due to other things interfering, I let the dough autolyse for about 3 and half hours. Wow! I was very surprised at how supple the dough felt after this. I will have to not be afraid of autolysing for longer than a couple of hours.

3. Mix in 30 g plain full fat yogurt, 72 g of caramelized onions (or all that you got from step #1), 20 g salt and 275 g of 80% freshly fed levain. My levain is usually rye and unbleached flour but I have a bag of whole grain Rogers Whole Wheat flour that I need to use up so I am feeding my levain that instead of the rye. I find things are a bit slower but that is okay. I use my levain once it has tripled.

4. Do 3 sets of folds 20-30 minutes apart and leave to double. This took 5.5 to 6 hours. The wholewheat instead of the rye does slow things down. Or it just might be because it is much colder here... who knows. The dough will be ready when it is ready.

5. Divide into 729 g boules, pre-shape, let rest 15 minutes and do a tight final shape. I then put them in bannetons, covered them and then put into the fridge to proof for ~10 hours.

6. The next morning bake as usual in Dutch ovens for 25 minutes at 450F, uncover and then at 425F for 22 minutes. 

They smell fabulous! Unfortunately, they are all promised to other people, I even had to give away the loaf that I was saving for us so no crumb shot unless one of my friends sends one to me. 

 

Comments

craigalancarr's picture
craigalancarr

Awesome.  Thank you so much.  I have the basics down and am now branching out and this will help tremendously

 

michaelwinn's picture
michaelwinn

Do you bring the refrigerated dough up to room temp for a couple hours before baking? Also, what is the maximum amount of time you would leave the dough in the refrigerator? I'm just thinking in terms of baking it a day or two later. Is that possible, or do you advise keeping to the precise 10hr stay and then baking it? Thanks for any info! My family is excited to try this recipe. My wife just caramelized the onions while I was at work.  

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

right out of the fridge. I haven’t tried baking more than 14-16 hours later but if you have your fridge at 38 F or colder, the yeast becomes dormant so you should be fine. The bread will have more tang and you may not get the best oven spring but who knows? I definitely am interested in what happens if you retard it that long. It will still make delicious bread! 

michaelwinn's picture
michaelwinn

Thanks Danni3113! I appreciate the information. If I happen to wait 14-16 hrs, I'll let you know. I think I'm on schedule for a bake tomorrow evening when I get back from work, but I was just wondering if there was flex room as far as the times. I hope mine come out as nicely as yours! :) Thanks again!

enespana's picture
enespana

Still in the beginning stages but can’t wait to try this recipe down the line. I notice a number of recipes use yogurt and I’m curious about that. How does the yogurt work in the process?

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Is to tenderize the crust. I had friends complaining that the crust was too chewy and this helps to make the crust thinner and more tender. It’s just something that I stumbled upon once when I threw leftover yogurt in the dough. 

SweetHoney's picture
SweetHoney

Hello!  I just Had this bread for lunch, it’s delicious!  The interior is so soft, I love it as toast without butter.  Thank you for the easy to follow instructions and recipe.  

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

So glad you liked it! It looks great!

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