I ran across the recipe for this bread on facebook. It is supposed to be a clone of "Dave's Seeded Killer Bread." I have heard and read about how good various Dave's Killer Breads are. Although I have never personally tried any of them, this recipe looked similar to Hamelman's "Five Grain Levain," which I like a lot, so it seemed worth trying. It is really, really good and might well get into my regular rotation.
For this bake, I used freshly milled white Spring wheat for the whole wheat, and I did include flax seeds in the soaker. To be honest, I kept the total seed weight in the soaker to 100g but did not weigh each component. I just eyeballed them as I poured, intending to have close to equal amounts of each.
It's also worth noting that I did cold retard this loaf overnight and baked it in a 9 X 4 X 4" heavy duty loaf pan - a pain de mie pan, without the cover.
| Total Dough | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ingredient | Wt (g) | Baker’s % |
| Bread flour | 300 | 55 |
| Whole wheat flour (red or white) | 250 | 45 |
| Water | 400 | 73 |
| Honey | 30 | 5 |
| Olive oil | 30 | 5 |
| Salt | 8 | 1.5 |
| Mixed seeds | 100 | 18 |
| Total | 1118 | 202.5 |
| Levain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ingredient | Wt. (g) | Baker’s % |
| Bread flour | 50 | 100 |
| Water | 50 | 100 |
| Ripe levain (100% hydration) | 20 | 40 |
| Total | 120 | 240 |
1. Mix the ingredients in a small bowl and ferment for 8-10 hours
| Soaker | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ingredient* | Wt. (g) | Baker’s % |
| Rolled oats | 20 | 3.6 |
| Pumpkin seeds | 20 | 3.6 |
| Sunflower seeds | 20 | 3.6 |
| Sesame seeds | 20 | 3.6 |
| Poppy Seeds | 20 | 3.6 |
| Boiling water | 50 | 9 |
| Total | 150 | 27 |
*Note: Can use any combination of these seeds. Can also include flax seeds.
1. In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the mixed seeds and cover.
2. Let the soaked seeds rest for at least an hour to absorb the water.
| Final Dough | |
|---|---|
| Ingredient | Wt (g) |
| Bread flour | 250 |
| WW flour | 250 |
| Water | 300 |
| Honey | 30 |
| Olive oil | 30 |
| Salt | 8 |
| Mixed seeds soaker | 150 |
| Ripe levain | 100 |
| Total | 1118 |
Procedures
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the levain in the water. Add the oil and honey and mix.
- Whisk together the flours and salt in a large bowl and add to the mixer bowl.
- Mix at Speed 1 for 1-3 minutes until the ingredients are well mixed. Then mix at Speed 2 for 10-12 minutes to achieve good gluten development.
- Add the seed mixture and mix at Speed 1 until the seeds are evenly distributed.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Bulk ferment for 3-4 hours, until the dough has expanded by 30-50%, with stretch and folds every 30 minutes X 3.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured board and form a pan loaf. Place in a 9 X 5” or 9 X 4 X 4" pain de mie, lightly oiled loaf pan and place in a food safe plastic bag.
- Proof at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate overnight. Alternately, fully proof and bake.
- If needed, continue proofing at room temperature before baking.
- Pre-heat oven to 370ºF.
- Spray or brush the loaf with water and sprinkle with 25g of seeds of your choice.
- Score the loaf lengthwise.
- Bake at 370ºF for 50-60 minutes or until the internal temperature is 200ºF.
Remove the loaf to a cooling rack. Cool thoroughly before slicing.
The aroma of this bread was wonderful! I couldn't wait until it was fully cooled and ate a slice with a bit of sweet butter with lunch.
The crust was sweet and crunchy. The crumb was tender and moist. The flavor was absolutely delicious. I can't wait to try a slice toasted with homemade almond butter for breakfast tomorrow.
Enjoy!
David
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That looks fantastic, David.
It does look similar to Dave's Killer Bread, though I don't think any of those are sourdough.
I'll have to take your word for it. I did get the impression from FB posts that the recipe was a SD conversion.
The levain contributes significantly to the fabulous aroma and taste of this bread.
David
You have a winner there, David, whether or not it’s the same as the other Dave's. Actually, I’d hazard a guess that yours would be more enjoyable.
Nice to see that you haven’t been burned out, flooded, or shaken to pieces there in California.
Paul
Nothing special about that other Dave’s bread in my opinion but your real bread looks awesome.
Thanks for sharing.
Ian
For fun I may try it and add the yogurt component and the hands off technique. Your description of the fragrance and flavor are compelling. Nice to see your David’s Killer Bread. 🙏😊
Wow, the blog section starts to feel nostalgic! Nice looking loaf, David!
I might soon join in this momentary pan loaves fun, hopefully I don't mess this batch up!
Thanks David for sharing this
Jay
I think this is the first time I have made a sourdough pan loaf.
If those of you more experienced with pan/sandwich loaves than I have suggestions, I'd be appreciative. For example, are there good guidelines for optimal dough weight for various sizes of loaf pans? Or does it vary a lot, depending on the specific recipe? (I'm suspecting the latter.)
David
The dough weight will vary, of course, depending on how much the loaf is going to rise, its inclusions, etc. For myself, I think in terms of the weight of the flour rather than the weight of the dough. If I weigh out 450 - 475g of flour, for most breads I have confidence that it will fill my 9 X 4 X 4 Pullman pan.
Going by the flour weight is also easier if you need to scale a loaf to fit a different size pan. If I'm told that a 13-inch Pullman pan takes say 2200g of dough, I have to guess what the amount of flour that would be and scale everything to that. But if I know what the flour amount was I don't have to guess at the scaling factor.
TomP
And always use the lid - didn’t use once and loaf was much drier crumb so won’t go topless again.
I use 1400 g TDW for the 13” with lid . That’s 500 g of flour primarily milled by me. Always SD never yeast. I’ve had consistent sharp corners with that weight. Will let you know with your formula when I scale up. c
That is a nice hearty loaf David! It sounds delicious. I like all the seeds in the soaker.
Glad to see you posting again.
Tony
I’ve had Killer Dave’s Bread and it’s good for a manufactured bread. I think it claims to have more than 12 grains as ingredients which seems a little far fetched. I was always wondering if it could be recreated at home without the dough conditioners and your version looks like a great idea for the recipe. Im going to try this one for sure. It’s always nice to see one of the emeritus bakers still loafing about.
Don
You said, "And always use the lid - didn’t use once and loaf was much drier crumb so won’t go topless again."
If that's true in general, I will certainly bake this lid-on next time and see if it makes a difference for me.
Do you do the whole bake lid-on, or do you remove the lid for the last few minutes to get a crisper crust?
David
I answered below. 25 on / 20 off
I like to bake in a Pullman with the lid on until the last 10 or 15 minutes when I remove it. But the more your dough rises up against the lid, the browner it gets and the less you need to take the lid off for browning.
Keeping the lid on, you might bake somewhat longer if you seem to have too much moisture.
The pullman pan I used ( USA brand) is much heavier than my usual loaf pans, and I had to bake about 10 minutes longer than expected.
If the lid is kept on for the entire bake, I can't think of how to assess when the loaf is fully baked.
David
I bake at 375 for 25 min lid on and 20 min lid off. That’s always perfect for 1400 g. Assess temp with probe thermometer. I don’t bother anymore to check because it’s always perfect. I have the USA pan as well. Hope this helps
That's just what I wanted to know.
David
That looks amazing David, nice to see you posting a bake, unless I’ve missed them I don’t think I’ve seen one in sometime.
Benny
Recently, I have been baking one of 3 breads, and I have posted before about each. I assume there is more interest in posts describing new breads or techniques. So, yes, it's been a while since I blogged here.
David