Whole Wheat-Spelt Ricotta Sourdough

16Jul

I love adding fresh ricotta cheese to bread. It creates a nice soft, flavorful crumb. I also added some tasty cocoa-flavored honey, which really brought this one over the top.

I made one large miche for this bake. The crumb came out nice and open, and the crust was dark and flavorful.

This bake had 73% fresh milled flour, milled with my Mockmill 200. I sifted once with a #30 drum sieve and re-milled at the finest setting.

I used my Ankarsrum to mix up the dough and open baked it on a baking stone with steam.

Formula

Levain Directions 

Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.

Let it sit at room temperature for around 6-7 hours or until the starter has almost doubled. Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Note: I use an Ankarsrum Mixer, so my mixing order is slightly different from that of a KitchenAid or other mixer. Add all the water to your mixing bowl except the 70 grams of water. Add all the flour to the bowl and mix on low for 1 minute, until it forms a shaggy mass. Cover the mixing bowl and let it rest for 20 – 30 minutes.   Next, add the levain, salt, honey, ricotta, and the remaining water, and mix on medium-low speed (about speed 3) for around 12 minutes, until you have a nicely developed, smooth dough.

Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and do several stretch and folds.  Make sure the dough is as flat as possible in your bowl/container, and measure the dough in millimeters and take the temperature of the dough as well. Based on the chart from http://www.thesourdoughjourney.com, determine what % rise you need and make a note. If you have a proofer, decide what temperature you want to set it at and what rise you are aiming for. If the dough is fully developed, you don’t need to do any stretch and folds, but if it’s not, do several sets 15-20 minutes apart.

Once the dough reaches the desired bulk rise, pre-shape and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Finish shaping and place in your banneton, bowl, or on your sheet pan, and cover it so it is pretty airtight (note: I just read a post that suggests it is not necessary to cover the dough when refrigerating it. I have not tried this yet, but that is the way most professional bakeries do it, and they do have dedicated retarders for dough). This dough is very sticky, so make sure you use plenty of rice flour in your banneton or bowl to prevent it from sticking.

When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 540°F an hour beforehand and prepare for steam. Let your dough sit at room temperature while the oven is warming up. When ready to bake, score as desired. Prepare your oven for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water into the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.  I then lower the temperature of the oven to 450°F for a miche or 455°F for smaller individual loaves. Bake until they are nice and brown and the internal temperature is at least 205 – 210°F.

Take the bread(s) out of the oven when done and let them cool on a baker’s rack for as long as you can resist.