The Fresh Loaf

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Hamelman SD Seed Bread, again

alfanso's picture
alfanso

Hamelman SD Seed Bread, again

Yes, posted before and guilty as charged!  However, I'm here to sing the praises of this extraordinary bread.  And can't think of a better way than to put it in front of your eyes again.  After these came out of the oven and cooled, and we'd had a few slices, I said to my wife - if I had only one bread that I would be able to bake forever, I think this would be the one.

Those who know what I've posted in the past know that I have a strong leaning toward both semolina/durum breads with sesame seeds and deli-like rye breads with caraway seeds.  Those could be leading candidates for the "forever bread" for me.  But I have the feeling that this particular bread right here is the Secretariat* of them all.

If you haven't yet gotten around to this dandy bread, I suggest that you do.  Most likely you will not be sorry.

310g x 4 baguettes/long batards.

Baked 13 minutes with steam, another 13-15 minutes after releasing steam and rotating loaves, and an additional 2 minutes of venting with the oven off.

I realized as I was assembling the components that I was out of sunflower seeds, but did have just enough pumpkin seeds on hand.  They worked out just fine.

*Secretariat was the greatest horse in USA racing history winning the American Triple Crown of racing in 1973 by the still incredible distance of 31 lengths.

Edit.  Crumb shot added.  This bread, like the Hamelman 5 Grain, is very hearty and so there really isn't a lot of place for me to coax a much more open crumb.  Others may very well be better at it, but getting a good open crumb has occasionally been an elusive skill. 

 

Comments

Dan_In_Sydney's picture
Dan_In_Sydney

Those do look very nice. Perhaps a little too seedy for me but I think my partner might enjoy those.

A few questions . . .

  1. Do you have a crumb shot somewhere so I can compare the colour? My favourite baguette bake so far included about 7% rye flour and to my eyes the small pieces (perhaps lost with all those seeds here!) and slightly creamier and more interesting crumb colour we a big visual plus for me.
  2. What's your calculation on the hydration? I can't seem to make it 100% as it lists at the top.
  3. Do you find that the soaked flax seeds adds any gumminess? I do note that the instructions say to "bake thoroughly due to water retention" but I'm not sure whether that refers to the 100% hydration or the water bound up in the flax, which might take longer to 'bake out' that the more 'free' water in the dough.

Thanks,

dan.

Benito's picture
Benito

The 100% hydration comes from adding the water in the soaker to the water in the dough Dan.

Benny

Dan_In_Sydney's picture
Dan_In_Sydney

Still does make sense to me as, if you look at the sections, you can see that the total water is 463.4g while the 'final' water is 241g. That's a difference of 222.4, which is pretty much a rounding error away from being the 222.5g, which is the sum of the soaker water (129.8) and the levain water (92.7).

Again, the flour matches up in this way, too, with the final AP being the total AP less that taken to build the levain.

Further, we can see that, in the 'Final Dough' section, the soaker and levain are both counted including their water.

AHHH!!!! Sorry - I am correct in all my calculations and it really doesn't add up. What I am incorrect in is my ability to read: it's a 100% hydration levain and not the entire dough, which is - as it shows - 75% hydration.

Sorry all.

Benito's picture
Benito

Oh you’re right I was approximating the soaker water and the total water and not the water in the mix. Sorry to add to the confusion Dan, my bad.

Dan_In_Sydney's picture
Dan_In_Sydney

I need very little assistance on that front!

alfanso's picture
alfanso

I had "fought" the baking of breads like this and the 5 Grain for all too long because I thought they'd be too seedy for me as well, but turned out to not be the case.

I don't have a lot of experience at using soakers, still.  But every time I've used flax seeds in a soaker, they indeed exhibit that unpleasant gumminess.  Which only lasts until incorporation.  For a bread with only 8% rye, it has a surprisingly off-white appearance.

I can't recall exactly why I added that note about water retention, but I've probably experienced it in this and other breads that are laden with soaked seeds inside.

Thanks, Alan 

Dan_In_Sydney's picture
Dan_In_Sydney

Thanks for the reply!

Your experience mirrors mine regarding rye, then - here is my own pure white vs one with just 7% rye added. The added rye really improves the look of the for me:


Perhaps I will try this seedy composition, though I am inclined to convert to commercial yeast and to my standard 2 night retard schedule - if for no other reason than it will provide a good point of comparison for how a relatively known processes is affected by the add-ins.

Still, it will have to wait a bit as, after making my first barbari in over a year yesterday I already have another batch set for an overnight bulk and then bake tomorrow and feel I may end up turning this into a bit of a project.

Well, I wouldn't be a member of TFL if I didn't have an ever-lengthening list of 'must bakes' but if both you and Gavin swear by it then it's something I need to try (even if I adapt it for my own process).

Thanks again,

Dan.

Benito's picture
Benito

Love the density of seeds in your baguette Alan, my kind of bread.

gavinc's picture
gavinc

Great post Alan. It was you who prompted me to make this bread over twelve months ago, although I made oblong loaf. It is a favourite here and I alternate between this seed bread and the 5-grain levain. 

Cheers,

Gavin

alfanso's picture
alfanso

some small positive effect on the world, even if just to coax someone else to bake a bread!  I never thought I would like these types of grainy or seedy breads, but the 5 Grain convinced me that I really do like them.  Just the knowledge going in that this is going to be a hearty and not light bread is a factor in leveling expectations.

thanks, Alan

Benito's picture
Benito

Beautiful baguettes Alan.  I hope we get to see it’s glorious crumb soon.  I have bookmarked this for future baguette baking.  I’ve only put seeds on the outside of baguettes and not yet on the inside.

Benny

alfanso's picture
alfanso

You might also try the 5 Grain as a baguette shape as well.  Both are satisfyingly tasty, and the 5 Grain is almost like a meal in itself!

thanks, Alan

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

My Dad raised Thoroughbred Racehorses in the 60’s and 70’s in Louisiana. He had a beautiful farm the Rocking “H”. One of his foals was honored as the top Louisiana bred horse of the year. Anyway it was an amazing race. 

I wish I could eat seeds! None , nada. I will have to make your plain baggies when I get started with T65. 

These are incredible as always. C

alfanso's picture
alfanso

your mention of a LA bred horse in a bread posting to be a nice pun!  Here, in this very posting, I find that to be a bit seedy, don't you?

I realize that a lot of people have food ingredient limitations for varying reasons, my wife included - by choice from a prior experience.

I was never a horse racing fan, but I clearly recall the absolute bonkers excitement during Secretariat's Triple Crown days.  From a decade earlier I recall reading about Carry Back, probably the first horse that caught my attention, and I'm surprised that my brain synapses even came up with that name without hesitation.

When I was in college, we'd sometimes take the short drive up to Yonkers Raceway and wait for the exit gates to open a few minutes prior to the 9th and final race.  I was just along for the fun of it.  When timed right we'd run upstairs with scant time to spare and my friends would plunk down a few dollars just before the windows closed for that final race.

Probably the closest to horse racing was occasionally visiting the greyhound racing track here in FL on an occasion.  They've since been closed down a short time ago, once it became in the forefront of consciousness that the dogs were not necessarily treated well.  We'd go, watch a few races, never placing a bet, but just to watch these magnificent beasts run at full throttle.  Then we'd head down to the paddock and spend time there marveling at these incredible animals gathered on the way on and off the track, and just watch them for a few races more before leaving.  

As you can tell from my avatar, we are dog people (not in actual fact dog-people, that would be silly), and would have loved to adopt one of these beautiful greyhounds when the tracks shut down.  But the timing just wouldn't work out.  Now that our little avatar girl is gone, we are free to travel across the globe, with the exception of the pandemic bringing that freedom to a screeching halt for this moment in time.

As I'm sure you've noticed, you can make pretty much any bread formula into a baguette shape, as I do, so there are a host of choices to match your interests and tastes.

thanks, Alan 

Our Crumb's picture
Our Crumb

For those self-isolating under a rock for the past decade, the Disney film Secretariat is a whole grain feelgood product seeded with several fine and familiar players. 
YouTube has a very watchable eponymous documentary, with contributions from none other than Heywood Hale Broun and others.

Tom
(cowboy/horse days over, now more dog)

mwilson's picture
mwilson

A good film indeed, although for me I am Seabiscuit fan. Always ready to watch anything with Mr. J. Bridges in! Great actor!

alfanso's picture
alfanso

Agreed.  Saw The Big Lebowski at the late show on opening weekend.  We were the oldest people in that seating by a long shot.  One of the funniest movies I ever saw.  "It held the room together".  Used to watch his father (Mandelbaum Mandelbaum) on Sea Hunt when I was a kid.

mwilson's picture
mwilson

Alan, you and I are on the same page!

This time about two years ago I watched a re-screening of The Big Lebowski at my local cinema. So great to watch a classic, especially one so hysterically funny and even us restrained Brits couldn't help but laugh out loud. So good and such a great atmosphere!

Lloyd is great too, I know of his humour from the Hot Shots! films and from Airplane! A great guy also IMO!

jl's picture
jl (not verified)

Where is the recipe from, by the way? I can't find it in the 2nd edition of Bread.

alfanso's picture
alfanso

Listed as "sourdough seed bread"

jl's picture
jl (not verified)

Thank you!

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

And 1st edition, p. 176. Photo: plate 20.

 

 

Dan_In_Sydney's picture
Dan_In_Sydney

It was too good not to bake.

I made my own version, of course, following my now-standard method but decided to make one this morning after just am ~8hr cold retard. I was hoping the seediness would give it enough flavour to overcome any lack of depth from the comparatively quick turn-around.

Rounding the numbers (percentages ended up weird so I could use easy measurements), the mix was:

  • 7% rye
  • 5% semola rimacinata
  • mix of yeast and starter - for flavour
  • 8% pepitas/pumpkin seeds
  • 8% sunflower kernels
  • 7% sesame seems (half white/black)
  • 75% hydration

So no flax and no soaker.

I'll bake another one tomorrow but what I found with this portion was that, while the dough did feel fairly light and airy, it didn't really need a separate pre-shape step so tomorrow I will just bring it back to temp and then shape in one step and do a single, longer proof.




Thanks for the inspiration on this - it was a little lacking in the basic bread department but the flavour of the seeds made up for it and it had a really nice texture, being both dense but also very light - if that makes any sense (it doesn't).

d.
Benito's picture
Benito

This combination of seeds and grains must have been delicious Dan.

Dan_In_Sydney's picture
Dan_In_Sydney

It was fairly good. I have the second portion coming back to temp now for a lunch bake but the first one definitely had a moistness from the seeds that was nice. As I said earlier in this topic, it's probably a bit too seedy for me but my partner prefers seeded over plain so this was an act of appeasement.

My thanks?

"Probably could do with less seeds."

I would say "I give up" but, after 5 years of baking and 15 of common law marriage, the threat would ring hollow.

d

alfanso's picture
alfanso

Your shaping and scoring are definitely on the upswing.  Yes, the flax seeds are a slimy mess when soaked, but once incorporated, all is forgiven.  Maybe you'll be turning the corner on these types of additions.  It took me a handful of years and some serious coaxing to come on board myself.  But well worth it in the long run.