The Fresh Loaf

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Slight Cinnamon-esque Flavour In Breads??

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Slight Cinnamon-esque Flavour In Breads??

I think it's about time I post this strange one...

About 9 months ago, I started noticing a very slight 'cinnamon' type back hint in my breads.  VERY, very slight.  I put cinnamon in quotation marks because I am still not exactly sure if it is cinnamon.  It is cinnamon-esque.  It is a slight spicy note like cinnamon, clove, or nutmeg.  At first I just thought it was in my spelt flour breads, but I get the slight hint in all my breads be it sourdough, rye, spelt or whole wheat.

Is it possible that my sourdough starter is causing this?  When I taste it on its own, I can't quite get any cinnamon note.

I think the cinnamon note started happening around the time I started using flours from a local organic mill.  I guess I can do some experiments by trying to make some loaves with just these flours, and some with other flours to see if I get that flavour in all or some...but before I go through all that, I was wondering if anyone has had this experience before.

John

pmccool's picture
pmccool

Given the wide range of odors I detect in my starter under varying conditions, I guess something that hints of spice shouldn't be out of the realm of possible.  Still, the farthest I can recall mine veering in that direction left me with the impression of fruity or floral, not spice.

Maybe you have acquired some new performers in your menagerie as a result of the local flours.

Paul

mwilson's picture
mwilson

I've experienced something very similar with a particular type of flour, it has strong notes of mixed spice. I found it very pleasant and flavoursome myself.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven