Oat Porridge Sourdough Progress
I've stared tackling Robertson's T3, and most recently the Oat Porridge bread. The porridge created a two-fold problem for me: 1) the hydration goes through the roof and so shaping and proofing has been a pain (I don't have much experience in super high hydration doughs, so I took this obstacle in stride), and 2) incorporating the oat porridge into the dough evenly.
I first used conventional stone cut oats and those were the hardest to work into the dough. I would add them after the first or second S&F, and then spend the rest of the bulk period failing to spread them evenly into the dough.
Earlier this week and came across Bob's Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal. The oats are still stone ground but are much finer. In my latest attempt I cooked the porridge and then added it with my salt after a fake-autolyse (flour, water, and leavain.) I patiently let the dough bulk longer than usual at 4 hours ( I'm high altitude and hot house), and let the final proof overnight in the fridge. The results have been my best so far! The crumb was (Actually!) custardy without being gummy and the oats disintegrated and imparted a definite nutty flavor. Shaping super wet dough still needs practice and I think I will let the bulk go on a little longer next time. Regardless, this has been such a difficult bread to tackle and it's nice to see progress!
| Oat Porridge Bread 5/22 | ||
| King Arthur Unbleached Bread | 900g | |
| Whole Wheat Flour | 100g | |
| Salt | 22g | |
| Water | 750g | |
| Levain | 200g | |
| Bob's Scottish Oatmeal | 200g | |
| Water | 400g |
Also, this is my first post. I've been lurking for a while, and this online community looks so friendly and helpful!
-H
Is your levain 100% hydration? If so, you're at 85% hydration before the soaker.
Yes, the levain was 100% hydration.
Unfortunately, I did not weigh my porridge after cooking and cooling so I don't have the final hydration.
The oats really hold the water. I just pour hot water over the oats and put them in a tight container. I bump the amounts by 5% so I have a little to waste.
Oh, and thanks for the pointer to the oats. I've got them on the shopping list.
Thanks for the advice about soaking them instead of cooking them stovetop!
My dough was much stickier. The oats soaked overnight were very sticky.
Complicating things is our room temperature is higher. My preferment went too far overnight. I've got to slow it down. I'll try using cold water in the preferment and a little salt.
So, some of the stickiness might be originating in a degraded preferment.
I like the flavor. I've got to try eating some.
The overdone preferment was the cause of my stickiness, not the oats. They work fine.