Rye Sourdough with Spelt and Soaker (with cous cous)
I have been wanting to try Khlaid's recipe for some time. This is a fantastic and fun bread to make. I baked one loaf yesterday, with some modifications. I made just a few changes, most notably the inclusion of cous cous rather than the coarse semolina in his original recipe. (The link to his original recipe is below). I also reduced the rye by 50 grams in the final dough and increased the bread flour, added a bit more water and used course rather than fine corn meal. Instead of a rye starter in the recipe, I also used a "mixed" starter (80 AP/20WW/10R), but fed it per Khalid's recipe to produce a wonderful rye sour.
It was hard to believe that the proofing times were so short, but Khalid was right on...this was one of the fastest rising sourdough breads I have made. It tasted fantastic. We just had some for lunch, and my husband really enjoyed it. I thought the crumb was excellent. My experiment was on the second loaf: I had to go out, so I put the other loaf to proof overnight and made it this morning. I know this was a real risk with such a fast-rising bread, but I wondered what would happen. It did seem to retard the rise, but it doubled in size fairly quickly. I do think it was overproofed, and I really botched the scoring (didn't help that it was overproofed), but it looks like it might taste OK.
The loaf I baked per the recipe instructions is on the left; the one I proofed overnight in the fridge is on the right. I should also mention that I shaped them a bit differently, so they do not have the same shape at all.
I liked the crumb and texture. These are all shots from the first bread as we haven't cut the other one yet. It will be interesting to see how that crumb turned out. Baking is also an adventure and a chance to learn. Hopefully, it will be even better next time (but I don't think I will repeat this experiment!) Phyllis
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/32972/rye-sourdough-spelt-and-soaker
Comments
Very nice lookin loaf you got there. I'm curious to see how the retarded loaf faired on the inside. Is there yeast in the recipe? Crumb looks lovely and i bet its delish.
Josh
Josh: Just the rye sour, which really did the trick. It did taste great. I'll try and post a photo of the crumb from the second loaf. Thanks for your comments! Best, Phyllis
Interesting using cous cous in the bread Phyllis. They loaves came out great. We use cous cous a lot for dinner sides, but never thought it could work for bread. Thanks for this :)
John
John: I didn't have semolina, and Khalid said i could use cous cous instead, and i think it worked really well. I will definitely make this bread again. Great taste. Thanks for the comment. Best, Phyllis
sour and use it for every bread - just do the levain builds toward what ever bread it is:-) I used to keep 3 SD starter but no longer - too much work for too little gain!
Your experiments with cous cous (close enough ti semolina for me) turned out great. Be the retarded loaf that was a little puffy will have a better crumb:-) It has to taste great and beats white bread for taste every time!
Well done and happy baking Phyllis
dabrownman: I had a rye starter, but it kind of went bad when I was away. As a result, I had to get rid of it, so I used the mixed starter. I will be in England in a bit, and I left a rye starter there over the holidays, so I will see how it is doing and if it revives. As I have starters in different places, I am always hoping they are OK! This bread was fantastic, and I will make it again for sure. Agree that this type of bread is so much better than white. Really enjoyed it! Thanks for the comments. Best, Phyllis
p.s. made a great new recipe for dinner tonight, tilapia fish cakes with mango curry coconut sauce. My husband loved it.
between places a 66% hydration rye starter would be perfect. I used to keep mine in the fridge and bake out of it for 4 weeks with no feeding and now i'm up to 6 weeks - no worries!
The talapia, mango, coconut curry sounds terrific. We use talapia around here for our grilled fish tacos. We also make a mango chutney that, with some curry an few other things like jicama and grilled chicken make for one of the best sandwiches - a recipe Lucy stole from the great Tucson bakery, Beyond Bread, called Khalid's Kurry and served in a pita. Mango and curry were made for each other. Here is a link to the bakery - there bread is great but they make their money serving breakfast and lunch. The place is packed all the time and the food - fantastic! Now that is a bakery! All it needs is ice cream and beer!
https://locu.com/places/beyond-bread-tucson-us-1/#menu
dabrownman: I will be anxious to see how the starters are faring. I have had good luck in reviving them. I am sure I will post from there with the results.
Yes, this tilapia was great and the sauce delish....One change I would make is to make it even spicier by upping the chili paste in the recipe and the chilis in the fish cakes. I did so much cooking and baking yesterday that I think I will do something easier for dinner tonight!
Thanks for the link to Beyond Bread. I know I would love anything called Khalid's curry! I haven't been to Tucson in some time; I used to get there as part of one of my former jobs. I tend to get to the Phoenix area more frequently now. My cousin's mother lives in Tucson, and i will have to tip her off to it...I will certainly stop by if I get there. Thanks. Phyllis
Excellent results, Phyllis! Now i should do what you've done. the recipe does need some reduction in rye.
You are right, Rye sour is excellent for leavening most breads.
Best,
Khalid
You have made my day! I think I had the most fun making these breads. Excellent recipe. And thanks for the tip on the cous cous, as it was wonderful. I have more cous cous, so I will be making this bread again. I thought about throwing in some flax seeds to the soaker, what do you think? Please keep posting recipes like this. Best, Phyllis
You can't go wrong with Flax seed and rye. Go for it, and reduce some couscous.
Khalid
Sorry it took me so long. Here are the crumb shots from the second loaf. It really was pretty good, but I am not sure I would repeat the experiment of retarding the second loaf overnight. Thanks for the encouragement! Phyllis
Nice open crumb for such a whole grain loaf. Well done, Phyllis.
Khalid