100% whole sour spelt
Hi Everyone
Can someone tell me if this bread looks right, have made a couple of times and sometimes it comes out with a different crust, almost rubbery looking has got few holes, wondering whether this might be a proofing issue. Taste is a little weird, I don't know if it tastes yeasty or not
When it was done its final proof the crust had burst open a bit, so I flipped it out of banneton and slided onto the hot stone the other way round without slashing, since the flesh was already exposed on top
It tastes sour though I cant pin point the taste exactly.
This is what I did
took 10g WW starter 80% hydration added 10g spelt and 10g water , then built up from there till I got 80g of spelt starter, with less water along the way , reducing by 10g . So it was a stiff starter
400g Whole spelt
8g salt
255ml water
80g starter
Mixed spelt flour and water and autolyse 30 min then added the starter and salt. kneaed until very stretchy then bulk ferment for about 5 hours then shaped and proofed overnight in fridge.
Baked hot oven 230c with steam , turning down to 200 after about 5 min
I really like the flavor of whole spelt bread, its consistency im after to make again and again. Any suggestions ?
Thanks
Ghazi
that does not know how to play well with the baker. It ferments at light speed, When I first started baking spelt , I had one explode in the fridge during a shaped retard but the hydration was higher than yours. It is also comparatively weak in gluten so even a little overproofing will cause weird, if not good things to happen. I would do some stretch and folds during a much shorter bulk ferment, as short as an hour here in AZ , shape and then do a short 8 hour proof in the fridge and hope it doesn't over proof as this bread needs to go in the oven at 85% proof.
A 100% whole spelt bread is one of the most difficult ones to get right because the grain is so energetic.
It's not bad for a first shot I would work on keeping the gluten well developed and be aware of the Speed of Spelt.
Happy Spelt baking.
Thank you for your advice, yes I realized that after shaping the bread seems to dome very quickly ( when its a good batch), literally an hour at room temp.
With Bulk ferment doesn't it need to double in size? This is what I do though at 68 F it takes a very long time, at least I know now the problem is overproofing. Kneading the dough I always give it an extra 5 minutes seems to make it lighter. When it does come out which it did once in the alst month, I just love this bread so much.
With higher hydrations I find I don't get a good enough oven spring, working like that takes a lot of experience. When you see spelt ooze its difficult to gather the courage to go again.
As far as bulk fermentation is concerned, you certainly don't need to wait for the dough to double in size in order to arrest the process; rather, you should pay more attention to the shape and the feel of the dough. For yeasted breads, one does usually look for a double-triple volume, while with SD, it's a much more singular determination, one that requires a lot of experience and attention to detail. You just gotta spend a lot of time with your dough and with your starter to learn about when he/she is ready for the proofing stage !!!
To attempt a 100% whole spelt bread, that's a super ambitious project and I give you kudos for sticking with it. Another piece of advice would be to go easy on the dough when kneading it, as I know that the gluten in spelt is more fragile than that found in wheat--especially hard American wheat, which can take a pretty serious punishment without too much degradation.
While using instant yeast for so long I never knew sourdough was like that, it occurs to me now that is why it is nearly always full of bubbles. Pillowy
I will take that on board from now on, this is great. Once you get a taste for SD baking its like everybody says you never go back to instant yeast.
Yes, maybe I go a bit too far with kneading. I just get carried away cant seem to help it, I usually don't stop until I am sweating. Will keep that in mind.
Thank you, its wonderful to hear from experienced bakers
Ghazi
Nice job on 100% whole spelt bread, Ghazi! You are brave to take on such a tricky grain.
I have nothing to add; DA and Lepain said it all.
Waiting to see more of your breads.
best wishes,
Khalid
I see you are selling your breads at a farmers market, well done that's an amazing achievement.
Still a very long way for me to go, especially with SD baking since I just got my starters up to scratch a few weeks ago.
All so much fun though.
Can I just ask a quick question ive been meaning to post:
What is the difference between 100g leaven that's been made up by building (1:1:1) versus when you preferment your flour say 10g starter and 100g each flour and water. Isn't it the same thing?
Isn't a leaven still a leaven. Since I keep my stiff starters at room temp feeding every other day or so. They are mostly active.
What's the difference in inoculating a small quantity with larger food versus building (1:1:1) ?
Ghazi
Hi, Ghazi
Sorry for the belated reply; i'm travelling.
There are many advantages to creating your levain using a very small amount of starter. Firstly, milder flavors are developed this way, which will be carried over to the final dough. If 1:1:1 levain inoculation was used, it will develop faster and therefore flavor will be more acidic/sour, which in turn will be carried over to the final dough. Secondly, It gives a baker more time to rest/ attend to other work while the levain slowly ripes.
Khalid
Thank you very much for your reply Khalid.
This explains a lot to me.
Ghazi