Mission Fig Almond & Medjool Date Cashew Sourdough
Here are some sourdough loaves of Mission Fig Almond Anise & Medjool Date Cashew.
These are all rifts of Nancy Silverton's Fig Anise Bread from The Breads of the La Brea Bakery. In the fig bread, I add about 1.5x her quantity of figs and honey-roasted almonds. In the date bread, I add about 1.5x her quantity of medjool dates and roasted cashews. In both, I adjust the hydration as necessary.
1. Ingredients for Mission Fig Almond Anise
-
2. Ingredients for Mission Fig Almond Anise
-
3. Ingredients for Medjool Date Cashew
-
4. Shaping the loaves was quite the task. I didn't adjust the hydration well enough, so incorporating the nuts and dried fruit into the loaves by hand was quite the task.
-
5. A shaped Mission Fig Almond Loaf
-
6. About to shape a Medjool Date Cashew Loaf
-
7. All loaves in their brotforms. Giving them ~30 minutes to rise before putting them into the refrigerator for an long, overnight retardation.
-
8. One of the boules after retardation. These loaves don't rise much during bulk ferment, retardation, or proofing. The final loaves are dense and chewy (with crunchy nuts). No sherry vinegar was used in the making of these breads. ;)
-
9. These are the final Medjool Date Cashew Loaves. The fig are in the background.
-
10. A fig loaf with some surface detail. (I didn't mean for it to look like a Masonic symbol, but that's what a couple people told me it looks like.)
-
11. All the loaves together, ready for the their photoshoot (and surely dreading their future fate as hiking food–they keep forever, so I take loaves with me into the mountains when I go camping/hiking).
(Sorry, but I forgot to take shots of the crumb. I slice them very thinly, like biscotti. The crumb is dense and filled with nuts and dried fruit.)
Comments
They all look very lovely and tasty indeed thomaschacon,
Best wishes
Andy
They're really tasty.
What an undertaking! The end results look great and I am sure all who received a loaf loved them!
'Tis hard for me to pass up fresh dates when I shop....they blend in doughs so easily and the resulting loaves are a favorite here.
I don't know if you have seen Andy's technique for adding fruit and nuts to a dough but the following link shows his method...
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/23225/three-flavoured-breads-and-few-fruit-scones
Janet
That's a much better way to incorporate things into a dough.
Thank you for linking me to it.
His dough has more hydration too, which is something I need to work on when adding dried fruit and nuts to a dough. I always underestimate and, by the time I realize the dough needs more water, it's too late to add more.
I love dates too! I have to avoid that aisle at Costco, else I bring how 2 lbs. of them everytime.
I am a sucker for fig and anise ... I think it is close to being my favourite combination in a bread. I have never seen Nancy's formula, but does it use a paste of figs that have been blended in water? I have a book (Plenty) by an Australian chef Gay Bilson and her description of a fig and anise sourdough with a fig paste from Nancy Silverton sent me scrambling to the kitchen to attempt something similar ... so much delicious fun approximating it.
That is certainly quite a bake ... they look great. Excellent looking dark crust on the date loaf ... lots of yum sugars from the dates in the crumb I am sure.
Happy hiking...
Cheers, Phil
It does call for a paste (3 oz of dried mission figs pureed with 4 T of hot water.)
I wonder if the paste is what slows the fermentation down so much. I know malt syrup can have that effect. I might try a coarse chop instead of a puree next time.
Here's the original recipe: http://bellabaitaview.blogspot.com/2011/05/anise-and-dried-fig-bread-and-small.html
(The blogger accidentally used all the figs for the puree instead of 3 oz), so avoid that mistake and you're good to go. Note. She says 12 oz of bread flour, but my copy says 12.75 ounces).
(The loaves above are a rift on the original recipe link to recipe. I used 15 oz dried figs (3 oz of that for puree) and added ~1 cup of roasted almonds, increasing the hydration to account for both additions).
Cheers, thanks for that.
I have always found that fruit tended to speed up the fermentation in my doughs. I would have to be extra careful if i retarded them. I mix in the fruit just before starting the bulk ferment. The roast almonds would a tasty addition. Toasted walnuts are also a good match for the fig and anise.
All the best,
Phil
I just had a problem with slow fermention on a Julekage formula I baked a few days ago. I got some good pointers that might help you....
Try cutting down the salt, which slows fermentation down, and try adding IY, or if you already did include IY, increase it a bit.
When I tried the recipe again the IY did make a difference and I didn't add that much - like .33%. I left the salt as it was and made sure the proofing and bulk temps were at least 75°. (Our cooler temps. do make a difference in fermenting times this time of year and these past few days have been COLD!)
My recipe had really high sugar content though...Not only a lot of fruit but agave nectar too at about 10%.
Good Luck
Janet
They have ~3T of brown sugar and ~8 oz of whole and puréed figs or dates per loaf.
Like PiPs, I'd think the sugar and dried fruit would result in rapid fermention (and overproofing during retardation), but that's not what happens.
These loaves remind me of ones that have a lot of malt syrup. Slow, slow fermentation, almost no rise, but deep sourdough flavour (that amazingly isn't overpowered by the dried friut and nut). If I hadn't made them so many times before, I'd think them failed loaves.
Will try reducing the salt and add some IY, although it'll be a while before I make them again considering how many I have in the freezer now. ;)
-
It has been cold. Brr! Now if only we'd get some snow in the mountains. I'm starting to wonder if my ski pass was for naught.
I agree with the sugar and fermentation....up to a point. There is that point where it crosses the line and slows things down...always trial and error and I don't usually stick with one loaf to work the tweaks out right away but with the Julekage I did because they are going out as gifts which is why I saw the results so quickly...Hopefully I remember it on future loaves....
I have a long 'to bake' list and I have found that to keep the stack diminishing I give away a lot of what I bake. Anybody is fair game - the mailman; the bank clerks: our garbage collectors; the clerks at Vitamin Cottage and at my local feed store and at my local Ace plus our neighbors and people who walk by my 'baking' window.........my list grows daily as my 'to bake' list tries to dwindle :-)
I thought the mtns. were getting snow.....shows how much I follow the weather. I don't ski anymore. Too expensive and I deplore the long lift lines...
Janet
I'm the same way. I have lists of lists of stuff I want to bake. Worse is that this food "disease" is global: cook, bake, brew, preserve, cure, dehydrate, etc. I'd need ten lifetimes to get through it all. This website doesn't help: http://foodgawker.com (I think I've favorited 10,000 things!)
When I had the 20qt mixer, I could fill my freezer with bread in 2-3 days. Once I had no room, I'd empty the freezer's contents into a few boxes and drive them to the Denver Mission in Lodo.
It got to be rather ridulous after a while, so I sold the mixer.
Hands only now, so can't bake nearly as much.
Back again on the fermenting time....I just re-read your post and noticed that you put the shaped loaves into the refrig. after just 30 minutes of room temp...I generally leave my doughs that have high sugar content out longer - waiting for signs of fermenting.
During the room temp. time I do S&Fs every 30-40 minutes and one final one before putting the dough into the refrig. I do my bulk fermenting as a whole dough and shape in the morning after the dough has warmed up so doing things your way you might want to simply let the loaves sit out for 1-2 hours before putting them into the cold....gives the yeast a chance to adjust to your ingredients and get a start on things.
When using IY and high sugar loaves I use Saf-Instant GOLD.
Janet
Just look at those loaves! Wow, I'm sending my kitchen elves over for instruction and tips, pronto. Hope they don't upset your kitchen routine. (hide the booze)
Mini
It's mania from my month-long fast. I may not be able to eat, but I can cook and bake as much as I want: bread, canning (stews, conserves, marmalades, British beans), puff pastry and danish! By the time December ends, I'll have enough food in the freezer and jarred to last until spring thaw.
This must be one of your elves. He's quite taken with the pear-ginger preserves. Keeps asking for mulled wine and rye bread!
They all look beautiful and yummy! :) Who ate them all? How long can you keep the bread? Thanks :)
Thanks, May May.
I gave 5 loaves to the Denver Mission; kept 5 for myself.
I fast in December, but come January, I'll steadily make my way through them.
I don't how long they keep in the freezer, as I always eat them before too long–I'd guess 4-6 months.