Matera-inspired rimacinata loaf

Decided to try-out the techniques I read and heard about from the locals when visiting Matera over the Christmas holidays to make an almost 100% semola rimacinata durum wheat loaf.

Didn't try the characteristic shaping. Thought it better to take on one challenge at a time, but the texture and flavour have come out superb. Maybe the best 100% rimacinata bread I have attempted so far. Here are the details:

Feeding 100% hydration SD starter

Mixed my 40g of starter I keep in the fridge with 80g of AP and 80g of water, then put 40g of the mix in the jar and back in the fridge retaining the remainder to use for the preferment for the bread.

Preferment

Took the remaining 160g of just-fed starter and mixed into it 1tsp of honey and 20g of rimacinata, so producing ~180g of preferment (~25% of the total flour) and left to ferment overnight. In the morning the preferment had grown very strongly (at least 3x ) and was very active.

Bulk ferment

Mixed the preferment with 300g of semola rimacinata flour, 4g of salt, and 200g of water, 80g of which was a kind of yeast water from having left some water with already soaked raisins from a previous bake when I first tried this fermenting water, so this was the 2nd soak for the raisins. The water was bubbling quite actively and was between sweet and alcoholic flavour. 

Mixing completed at 10am and left for half an hour before the first stretch and fold. Did another 3 S&Fs, with the dough growing strongly, and then a letter fold and tightening into a ball by 1pm. 

Shaping  

After the letter fold and tightening of the dough, I left the pre-shaped dough for another 40min to puff up again and relax a little and then use the Caddy Clasp as per TomP's post to shape the loaf and place in the banneton for about 1h and started up the oven.

Baking

The proving was pretty quick and the loaf kept its shape and structure really well, despite a 70% hydration so was very easy to score and place in the Dutch oven at 220C covered for 15min, uncovered for 20min.

Finished loaf

The crumb and crust were really good. Open and nicely chewy crumb, crisp and nicely crunch crust. Excellent aroma and flavour, in-line with the bread I bought and stated in Matera. Probably the best durum wheat/rimacinata loaf I have made so far. The strength of the preferment pumped-up further by the raisin yeast water is a key here, I think. One gets a sourdough flavour but a strength of fermentation like with commercial yeast. The fast and strong fermentation is important because the rimacinata dough is tenacious but can degrade fairly quickly so it needs to be fermented strongly but also quickly.

Next step

Trying to emulate the Matera loaf shaping and 'father, son, and holly spirit' scoring. Using the raisin yeast water for the whole water content of the loaf.