Raisin Pecan Loaves

Yesterday morning I refreshed a lot of starters and did not want to waste any of the usual discard, so I combined them all, added AP flour and water to make a stiff pate fermentee and let it sit for about 12 hours..

Last evening, I put the pre-ferment in the mixer, added equal amounts of rye, whole wheat and AP, added a spoon of vital wheat gluten, poured in the water until I had shaggy dough, and let it autolyse.

Then I added in salt and a smidgeon of yeast, adjusted the flours and water to make a very slightly tacky dough, and let it knead in the DLX for about 8-10 minutes. Then I added some honey, a lot of raisins and pecans, got them incorporated, let it sit for an hour or two wwith a few stretches and folds, then put the whole thing to bed in the basement overnight (about 45 degrees F down there).

This morning, I divided the dough into 3 loaves about 2.25 lbs apiece, formed one into a boule, and rolled out the other two portions into rectangles. I brushed melted butter onto the rectangles, covered the surface with a mix of fine brown sugar (it had dried hard as a rock and I grated it deliberately rather than softening it) and cinnamon, rolled them up and let them all proof.

I slashed the loaves about 10 minutes before the stone was ready in the oven. By the time I looked again, the two sugared ones had fully blossomed on the peel. Nevertheless, they baked up beautifully.

And oh my - yum, yum.

http://flickr.com/photos/25648800@N04/sets/72157614257478082/

Boron