The Fresh Loaf

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100% Spelt, bake 2

justkeepswimming's picture
justkeepswimming

100% Spelt, bake 2

I used the same recipe as last time (see blog with details here), but used DanAyo's procedure for baking artisan bread in a loaf pan (his helpful thread is here). 

A "Cliff's Notes" version of what I did, beginning last night (started levain build before bed) thru today: 

Built levain, mixed dough, kneaded 10 min, rested dough 10 min (during clean up), shaped, rose in pan 3.5 hours (Aliquot at ~ 70% increase), baked at 425F (edit, in a 8 in x 4 in pan) for 40 min to internal temp of 208. Now it's cooling, crumb shot tomorrow. 

It was certainly easier and required less babysitting or watching. For everyday sourdough sandwich bread, this couldn't be much easier! My freezer needs replenishing, I may do a whole wheat loaf in a day or so. And next time I may  score it to control where it opens a little better. (That split at the top of where the pan was goes all the way around the loaf.)

And for anyone interested in trying spelt flour, I am currently using this sprouted spelt flour. I found it at our local Sprouts market. I usually prefer to mill my own but decided on a whim to give this a try. My starter really loves it! 

Edit to add crumb shot. Not too bad, though I think the hearth bake for this recipe that I did a few days ago had a little better crumb. The crumb on this one is kind of smooshed on the bottom and a little up the sides of the loaf.

My guess (from the split around the top of the loaf, and the top crust is drier than usual) is the crust set before oven spring was finished. It tastes great - a nice chew, not crumbly at all, and made our late PB&J lunch quite nice. I will definitely do this again, it really simplifies things. Next time I'll try spritzing it with water, &/or scoring before baking. All in all, a successful experiment!

Mary

Comments

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

What a good looking loaf, Mary!

Bet the crumb is nice. This is because once the dough is mixed, shaped, and panned the dough remain undisturbed.

HeiHei29er's picture
HeiHei29er

Looks like a great loaf Mary.  Love the color of it.  Just looks hearty and mild at the same time.  Hoping the crumb turns out good for you!

Benito's picture
Benito

Mary it does look excellent.  I find with my loaf pan breads unless I brush an egg wash or water on the top of the dough just before baking I will get splits as well.  If you want to avoid that, you can always score it.

Benny

justkeepswimming's picture
justkeepswimming

Great idea! I will do that next time. 

Thanks Benny! 

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Mary the drums are rolling (Drum Roll)...

Waiting on that crumb shot. I am interested to see how the 100% spelt baked up.

Danny

justkeepswimming's picture
justkeepswimming

You know, I am not a movie person at all, but for some reason I keep remembering movie snippets the last few days. This time it was these drums from Jumanji, lol. ? 

Benito's picture
Benito

Very nice crumb Mary, perfect for a sandwich I must say.

Benny

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Nice crumb, and the crust browned evenly all around.

Do you bake enough at one time to freeze for later?

justkeepswimming's picture
justkeepswimming

So far I bake 1 loaf at a time. It's just the 2 of us, so we don't go through it as fast as a family would. We enjoy some the first day or so then I slice/freeze the rest. Bonus discovery: Made PB&J on frozen slices for a recent road trip. It worked great! Perfectly thawed and fresh right out of the cooler with no soggy areas. 

I enjoy the whole process - experimenting and making a variety of flavors. Baking 1 at time let's me play a couple times a week. And if I make something that doesn't turn out as desired, it's only 1 loaf.

Bonus discovery re frozen bread: Made PB&J on frozen slices for a recent road trip. It worked great! Perfectly thawed and fresh right out of the cooler with no soggy areas. 

Our picnic view: