Pumpkin Seed Atta Sourdough Batard, Trial 1 & 2
Three weeks ago I attempted Marcus's Polenta Pepita Sourdough formula, with a few adaptations. I substituted the pumpkin seeds with sunflower seeds, replaced the whole wheat flour with medium rye flour, and adjusted a few procedures to suit tropical conditions.
Pumpkin Seed Atta Sourdough Batard, Trial 1
The following week I wanted to try a more authentic version of Marcus's formula. Pumpkin seeds were finally in stock (and very costly), and I found "chakki atta" (stone-ground whole durum wheat flour), generally used for Indian flatbreads. That's as close to whole wheat flour I was going to get.
Unfortunately, on bake day I realized I had forgotten to pre-soak the cornmeal (polenta) the night before.
Pumpkin Seed Atta Sourdough Batard (Crumb), Trial 1
Keeping my composure, I substituted the cornmeal with atta and increased the water amount of the final dough. The result? A triple whammy: My loaf was under-hydrated, under-developed, and under-proofed.
"You need to get back to the fundamentals," said Zita to himself, in a brash tone.
Pumpkin Seed Atta Sourdough Batard, Trial 2
Last Sunday I re-attempted my last formula. I omitted the soaked cornmeal (replacing it with an atta soaker), increased the hydration of the dough, added more stretch and folds, and extended the proofing period of my dough.
My efforts were rewarded with the above.
Pumpkin Seed Atta Sourdough Batard (Crumb), Trial 2
Flavour profile: Due to negligence I over-cooked the crust, thus a bit bitter and smells more "roasted", coffee- and charcoal-like. Not necessarily a bad thing. The flesh was subtly sweeter than my last loaf, faintly sour (almost non-existent), and not as dry. Overall, a better, more acceptable loaf but still not good enough.
Rainfall at a rice field in Cambodia
What's the purpose of baking bread if you can't share it? I don't know about you, but it's disconcerting to bake something that stems from your heart and bar others from experiencing it.
Good bread is hard to come by here in Cambodia, and I'm keen on propagating my love and joy in the form of sourdough. Perhaps I'll have that opportunity soon.
Best wishes and jolly baking, fellow bakers,
Zita
Comments
This is the look I hope to attempt in the near future. I do think your problem solving is great! You really improvised and worked outside of the box, very Creative. Your Batard is such a wonderful loaf!
Sharing your passion with others is wonderful. For me, I especially like my foodie friend coming over to have a slice and shushes me so she can take in the experience of bread. I am sure you too will have people shushing!
Warm Regards,
Casey
:) Thank you for the compliments! Very much appreciated.
You're lucky to have a foodie companion, especially one who can appreciate good bread. If I had such a friend, I'd likely bake experiments for her/him to taste-test on a regular basis. There's just so many variations to explore!
Happy baking, Casey,
Zita
Zita, Your trials all look good over here. I particularly like the substitution of atta for cornmeal. Now that's thinking on your feet. Your photography is just wonderful. I don't think many people could get away with a photo like the first one but you pull it off. And so happy to see that rice field. Another world. -Varda
Great to hear from you, Varda.
Sometimes I'm amazed at the bread photos posted on this forum... But I wonder if they had encountered a series of errors before posting and took their time to perfect / correct their formulas. My point is, you may need to go through a number of trials before your loaf looks, smells, and tastes decent. :)
Best wishes and happy baking,
Zita
Very nice baking. It's nice to see you are getting adept at adjusting your techniques and formulas to achieve your desired outcome.
Regards
Ian
Thanks for the compliments, Ian. :)
Zita
look pretty god to me Zita! Nice baking. When i use durum atta I sift out the atta and feed that to the levain.It doesn't seem to mind and the hard bits are wet the longest meaning less gluten strand disruption.
Happy baking Zita
Thanks, Dab! That's a good idea, sifting the atta and feeding the hard bits to the levain. I'll give that a go in the future and see how it fares.
Happy baking,
Zita
Good looking bread, Zita! Being able to make a bread your own is one of the great joys of baking. It's those little changes that lead you to flavors you never considered and loaves you may never have come across otherwise.
And I love that last photo!
Marcus
Agreed! Sometimes mistakes, big or small, leads to great results.
Glad you enjoyed the rice field. I have other wonderful photos of Cambodia to share but they'll come in due time. :)
Best wishes,
Zita