The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Cinnamon Bourbon Raisin Sourdough

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Cinnamon Bourbon Raisin Sourdough

 

 

Someone needs to explain to me why my doughs with only fruit in them move so slowly and feel super heavy? I can add the same quantity of porridge in a similar recipe and my bulk is done within a few hours. Whenever I use fruit, the dough takes forever to rise and feels really heavy. I decided not to rush this one and give it all the time it wanted. It did feel a lot better during shaping but once again, they are not light and airy loaves after baking. 

 

Recipe

Makes 3 loaves

 

Add-ins

220 g sultana raisins

44 g Bourbon

12 g cinnamon

 

Dough:

740 g strong bakers unbleached flour

300 g freshly milled red fife flour

780 g filtered water (divided into 730 g and 50 g)

22 g salt

250 g levain (done over 2 builds)

 

The night before:

  1. Mill the required amounts of Red Fife berries on the finest setting possible. Add the unbleached flour to it and cover. 
  2. Soak the raisins in the bourbon and cover. Let sit overnight.
  3. Take 10 g of refrigerated starter and feed it 20 g of water and 20 g of wholegrain flour. Let that rise at cool room temperature for the night.  

 

Dough making day:

1. In the morning, feed the levain 100 g of water, 50 g of wholegrain flour and 50 g of unbleached flour. Place in a warm spot to double (I use my oven with the lights on). This takes about 5 hours.

2. Mix the dough flours and 730 g of the water together in a stand mixer on the lowest speed for a minute or two, and then autolyse for a couple of hours.

3. After the autolyse, add the salt, the cinnamon, the extra water, the Bourbon soaked raisins, and the levain and mix for a minute on the lowest speed. Then mix on the next speed for 9 minutes. Cover the dough and let rise in a warm place.

4. After 45 minutes, give it a set of coil folds. Then, 3 more sets, 45 minutes apart. This dough moves very slowly. 

5. Let rise until the volume has expanded by just a bit more than 40%. This took another hour and a half. 

6. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~790 g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest covered with a tea towel for an hour on the counter. This is a heavy dough so I tried to give it as much fermenting time as I could. 

7. Do a final shape by flouring the rounds and flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities. Finally stretch the two top corners and fold over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make as tight boule as you can.

8. Place the dough seam side down in rice floured bannetons. Cover, let rest an hour, then refrigerate overnight.

Baking Day:

1. The next morning, heat the oven to 475F with the Dutch ovens inside for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside. 

2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 22 minutes at 425 F. Watch that they don’t burn. Internal temperature should be 205F or more.

Comments

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

kill or inhibit yeast and LABs, don't they?

Yes, I know yeast produce alcohol, but there is a limit to the concentration of alcohol that the yeast can handle before the alcohol has negative effects on the yeast.

Another thought: if the raisins are not fully hydrated, could they be robbing water from the dough?

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

development but I put in more levain to make up for it. Maybe I should add a smidgen of commercial yeast for a boost. 

I don’t know about the raisins. They seem to be about the same consistency at the end of bulk as when I first put them in. But you might have something there as the boules are definitely very stiff after their séjour in the fridge. I should try upping the hydration significantly and see what happens. 

Im taking a break from baking for friends until the new year so I should give tthose two things a try during that time. 

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

Did you use more than 250 g levain, and just forget to edit the copy/pasted formula?

I thought 250 g levain was your standard for adding to approx 1100-1200 g flour.

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

The recipe is, if I recall right, from The Perfect Loaf and calls for 180 g of levain. I don’t think he adds booze in his either. 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3
HeiHei29er's picture
HeiHei29er

Nothing wrong with a heavy loaf that tastes as good as those look!  ;-)

A theory...  A porridge evenly distributes through the loaf and a significant portion of it becomes part of the dough structure.  Aka... Not all of it takes away from the "airiness" of the loaf.  Fruit on the other hand is an inclusion that only takes away from the number/size of the alveoli that form.  I'll admit that I'm way out over the tips of my skis on the speculation front here though.  :-)

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

makes sense! I just wonder how the guys from The Perfect Loaf and from Breadwerks get an open crumb. It’s not like they scrimp on the amount of fruit they put in there either! 

naturaleigh's picture
naturaleigh

I've also been rebaking a fruit & nut loaf over the last few weeks, trying to perfect my recipe, and actually just baked another loaf last night.  After a tip from another baker here, I've been rehydrating the fruit in the microwave with just a sprinkling of moisture shortly before lamination (after a couple initial S & Fs).  Instead of water though I switched that up to using some orange juice...maybe just a tablespoon at most, just enough to moisten but not actually soak them.  I toss the fruit with the juice in a bowl, pop it in the microwave for around 15 - 30 seconds, then toss again with a spoon.  Instead of adding cinnamon to the dough, I put a couple teaspoons of cinnamon on the freshly moistened fruit and toss well to coat.  I think the warmth from the fruit helps with proofing (as well as doing some S & Fs prior to adding the fruit), although the first few coil folds after lamination are pretty tight.  It seems like it takes a while for the dough to relax again to where the coil folds can actually work to build up some strength.  I find shaping can be a little interesting depending on where the additions end up, but I think that is because I am still in the 'more is more' mindset as far as the additions and probably could tone the total amount back a bit.

When compared to my previous method where I gave the fruit a 'real' soaking (similar to your method above), the 'light' soaking had much less impact on the dough's rise/proof.  I was able to get much better crumb with this method, the dried fruit had more intense flavor (less washed out/watered down) and the cinnamon flavor came through very nicely without the possible negative impact that cinnamon can have on dough from a rise standpoint where it is incorporated throughout the dough.  I don't have any experience with adding any alcohol to my bakes (yet), so I can't comment on that aspect, although I don't think there would be a risk of the fruit tasting watered down when it is soaked in bourbon ;-)

These loaves still take a bit longer to proof than my other fruitless bakes...last night's version took 3-4 hours longer than a similar 'everyday' loaf that was proofing alongside it, essentially the same recipe minus the fruit and cinnamon.  However, I have had much better luck with speed when I take measures to warm up the ferment process (warmer water, keeping the dough in a warmed oven, etc), which I wasn't able to do yesterday afternoon/evening.  All that being said, I think your loaves look lovely and I'm sure they are delicious!

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

I might have to rethink how I do these loaves that include fruit. Your idea of using warm fruit and warm water makes sense to speed things up. I might have to do my gluten development in the mixer and then use a modified lamination method to include the fruit and cinnamon. I like the idea of the fruit coated in spices so you get a burst of flavour when you bite into a raisin. More experimentation to happen in the near future! 

Benito's picture
Benito

One thing I am planning to try is adding the fruit and nuts during shaping. I know a baker that does this and the results are quite amazing.  None of the fruit or nuts ends up on the outside of the loaves and the fruit/nuts/cinnamon doesn’t have a long a contact with the dough to alter the hydration or fermentation.  Just a thought.

Benny

happycat's picture
happycat

Yeah I've seen this method too. I used it to make some (awful) hot cross buns when I was getting started in sourdough baking. I didn't know then that enriched doughs needed tons if extra time. Lamination worked though!

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

I’ll have to figure out a different shaping method for my boules though. 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I am the one that uses the  method I explained to the bakers that mentioned it in the comments above. I shared it in the past with you as I recall also but stuff gets lost in time!! 

The best and only way I have found to work with enriched dried fruit - filled cinnamon spiced dough is : 

1) rehydrate with misting microwave technique prior to adding still warm fruit to dough

2) use more warmth for the bulk rise 

3) always and I mean always use YW when making enriched doughs of any kind. Always. It loves enriched doughs, it loves warmth 

4) Always add the cinnamon to the dried fruit by tossing to coat as mentioned above after hydrating and before adding to the dough just before shaping. 

5) Shape and add the fruit at that step

 

I’ve consistently had success with using these steps for years  and have never seen them anywhere else all gathered together  for enriched doughs except in my posts. Hopefully putting them all together here will help “ spread the word “ and the fruit 😊❤️. Caroline 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I am the one that uses the  method I explained to the bakers that mentioned it in the comments above. I shared it in the past with you as I recall also but stuff gets lost in time!! 

The best and only way I have found to work with enriched dried fruit - filled cinnamon spiced dough is : 

1) rehydrate with misting microwave technique prior to adding still warm fruit to dough

2) use more warmth for the bulk rise 

3) always and I mean always use YW when making enriched doughs of any kind. Always. It loves enriched doughs, it loves warmth 

4) Always add the cinnamon to the dried fruit by tossing to coat as mentioned above after hydrating and before adding to the dough just before shaping. 

5) Shape and add the fruit at that step

 

I’ve consistently had success with using these steps for years  and have never seen them anywhere else all gathered together  for enriched doughs except in my posts. Hopefully putting them all together here will help “ spread the word “ and the fruit 😊❤️. Caroline 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

I totally forgot that you used that method! I will definitely do this next time I’m dealing with dried fruit! 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

but you are WAY over on the West coast 😊👍. Try the combination of steps. The YW is definitely the way to go to get light enriched doughs. My bulks with yeast water now that I am using only organic raisins ( I stopped apples a while back)  are roughly the same as with ADY ( active dry yeast) ! I am stunned at the effect the YW has on my breads and it’s definitely been a game changer as far as flavor and texture and certainly the time the dough takes without affecting the flavor profile in any negative way. 

The rehydration of fruit also does up the flavor tremendously as I had pointed out above as well. Good luck and hope this helps. Your bakes are always so beautiful! c

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

It sat in the fridge for too long and hubby got rid of it.
By the way, I’m not on the west coast. I’m smack in the middle of Canada where we are having a lovely snow storm with an expected 25 to 30 centimeters of snow (that’s a foot for those of you who don’t do metric). Yes, I’m being sarcastic with the “lovely” comment. My pottery studio is almost complete with trim and flooring to be finished in the next few days. Of course, there has to be a snowstorm to delay that. And it’s not going to be fun moving all the equipment in with all that white stuff on the ground. 😠

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I’d forgotten you aren’t in BC. I’m sorry you are facing such weather. Believe it or not we are going to get snow on Tuesday- Wednesday here in the Shenandoah Valley and we had our doors and windows open last week and all of November the nights were 20’s F !! It’s been crazy all through Fall so I expect the rest of the Winter to be the same. 

A snow in will give you a chance to make a new Yeast Water! Haha… post a pic of the snow ❤️😊

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I’d forgotten you aren’t in BC. I’m sorry you are facing such weather. Believe it or not we are going to get snow on Tuesday- Wednesday here in the Shenandoah Valley and we had our doors and windows open last week and all of November the nights were 20’s F !! It’s been crazy all through Fall so I expect the rest of the Winter to be the same. 

I definitely think that crumb looks great! I’m not a big open crumb or else person and that’s not all that tight. JMO. 

A snow in will give you a chance to make a new Yeast Water! Haha… post a pic of the snow ❤️😊

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

That’s my car buried under there! 

Benito's picture
Benito

Wow that is just nasty!

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

We had such a nice fall so really we were due!

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

That’s a lot of snow!!!! 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

It’s about average for a snowfall. The school buses aren’t running but most of the schools are open. Only the rural schools are closed. We judge how severe the weather is by schools being open or closed. 😂