Accidental Seeded Sourdough Toasting Loaf
For whatever reason, these last few weeks have forced me to challenge my preconceptions about sourdough baking. My previous challenge: Could I bake nice loaves from dough retarded in the back of a Ford Fiesta during an ice storm?
And then there I was, with every intention of baking my first sourdough hearth loaf with a lot of seeds and multiple grains. I crafted such a promising recipe: 20% whole wheat levain, 85% hydration, 20% whole wheat, 20% whole rye, 7% pumpkin seeds, 7% sunflower seeds, 3% flax seeds, 3% sesame seeds, 5% honey, 2.2% salt. 7-hour autolyse of flour and water.
I mixed and slap/folded for 5 minutes. I performed my standard stretch-and-folds at 30-minute intervals for 2 hours. I let the dough rest for 3 hours.
It rose what I judged to be 40 to 50% -- just the right amount for shaping for a long, cold proof in the refrigerator. So I thought.
When I went to check the dough after 8 hours in the fridge it had not risen visibly at all. I knew I wanted to bake it that morning, but I knew I couldn't in good conscience bake such an obviously under-proofed loaf.
So, I decided to leave it at room temperature while I was at work. I was fairly sure I could be home early -- within 6 hours.
As it turned out, I wasn't able to walk through the door until 11 hours later. The dough was brimming over the banneton in the most disheartening way. It was terribly over-proofed.
But I wanted to rescue it! I had to rescue it!
Shaping it into a hearth loaf was out of the question. It was just too goopy and unwieldy. So, I got out my loaf pan for the first time in years, and I sort of shaped/poured the dough into it.
I let it sit for 1.5 hours. The weird, unorthodox "third rise." Third rise!
It rose beautifully, so I baked it at 475, with foil over the top for the first 20 minutes, and no foil for 25 minutes.
The result was a delicious loaf of bread from a bread pan. A bread pan! I think that I need to open my mind to the notion of the bread pan. Because this triple-risen accidental bread tasted very good -- nutty, tangy, slightly sweet. so custardy that it begs to be toasted.
Yet again, the lesson is: Never give up on your sourdough. Find a way to bake the bread. Even if it's gotta rise three times. At least a significant percentage of the time, you will be rewarded!
--Hannah
Comments
Would I love to spread the crumb of a slice of your loaf with some chunky peanut butter and a dollop or two of New Hampshire's wild blueberry jam. Custardy crumb you say, Oh my!
Happy baking to you.
Bluwberry
I had a rough over-proofing disaster today (will document for posterity tomorrow). I wish I'd been able to salvage half as well as you did here! Brava! Great save; really lovely looking bread. One of these days I might have to break out the pyrex bread pan I've had for about 15 years which has never seen dough :)
They won't all win beauty contests, for certain, but I trust in seeing the mission through, even when things go south. And usually I find redeeming qualities and some partial success. In this case, You not only got a nice end product, but insight for future inspiration.
Enjoy!
Cathy
done and it just goes to show you how horrible my saving attempt would have been :-) The 2nd rising is supposedly there to improve the crumb..... so the 3rd rising must be there there to really improve the crumb! This has to be a great tasting bread. My best tasting breads are all baked in pans too....;and they are all pumpernickel's:-)
I think I would have just chucked it in the fridge using it as my friend and then baked the bread when ever I got home and had the time to warm it up. 11 hours later it probably would have proofed at least a little bit by then. Once it was a puddle I would have added some more flour, water and salt, do some stretch and folds and get it to be more like its original self. This has worked in the past several times. But from now on I'm just chucking it in the pan for a 3rd rise! What a great save.....Well done and
Happy baking Hannah.
I appreciate the encouragement in the face of possible SD disaster!
Is there a thread dedicated to "Loaf-Saving"? If not, then I think I might get that going. We should rally around one another when our prospective loaves have veered waaaaaay off-course!
dabrownman, i was particularly intrigued by your insights! If my dough had over-fermented at that first bulk stage, then I would have definitely taken your route of adding flour, water, and salt...effectively starting over with a makeshift pate fermentee levain.
But I'd never before faced the question of saving a loaf that had already been shaped after bulk and then left to proof for too long. Now you have me wondering...
I do think that I will return to this experimental "Third Rise" for over-proofed high-hydration loaves in the future. Now, to invest in a better loaf pan...
Full Moon and see if it corresponds to the high tide in your area. (or your longitude if inland) If the moon was on the horizon when you baked, forget it. :)
Nothing like a loaf pan when you need it! Great Save!
The gremlin had attacked my comment so only the title was showing. So I "arrowed" < back a page, highlighted and copied the lost comment (cmd "C") and "arrowed" > forward to the page with the missing comment. I ignored all the funny stuff going on below in the comment box and just clicked on "edit" in the title line (and missing comment) then a window opened up and I added the copied comment (cmd "V") and then "save." IT WORKED!
... and I fixed it the same way! Though I did have an orphan comment with just a title that I can't delete.
I've really enjoyed this loaf throughout the week...for some reason, it's kept incredibly well, and the flavor has even improved slightly over a few days. I'm wondering if the honey acts as a preservative? Still really springy! I'm already thinking about how best to recreate it...
...your comment came through at the exact same time as mine. Weird.