I have not made a porridge-style bread in a long time. I enjoy the flavor a good nutritional porridge adds to bread.
I decided to really take this one to the next level and used heavy cream for the liquid in the porridge. The heavy cream really adds a rich flavor to the final dough, especially combined with all the hearty grains in the 6 Grain mix, which includes barley flakes, rolled oats, rye chops, malted wheat flakes, rye flakes, millet, and quinoa flakes.
I used fresh-milled Star Dust Whole Wheat milled from Barton Spring Mills berries, as well as fresh-milled white dent corn. The WW was sifted once with a #30 drum sieve and re-milled at the finest setting with my Mockmill 200. There was only 3% of the bran sifted from the Star Dust flour.
I used my Ankarsrum to mix up the dough and open-baked it on a baking stone with steam.
The final baked bread was excellent. The flavor of the whole grains from the porridge, along with the fresh milled flours, really made this a flavor bomb.
Formula
Levain Directions
Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.
Let it sit at room temperature for around 6-7 hours or until the starter has almost doubled. Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.
Porridge Directions
Place the 6 Grain Blend in a small pot and slowly add about half of the cream. Let is cook on low heat, stirring every minute or so. Add more cream as the mixture heats up and thickens. The porridge is done once the liquid is absorbed. Remove it from the heat and let it cool before using it in the main dough. You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate it, or place it in the refrigerator or even the freezer to cool it down to room temperature before using.
Main Dough Procedure
Note: I use an Ankarsrum Mixer, so my mixing order is slightly different from that of a KitchenAid or other mixer. Add all the water to your mixing bowl, except about 1/4 of it. Add all the flour to the bowl and mix on low for 1 minute, until it forms a shaggy mass. Cover the mixing bowl and let it rest for 20 minutes. Next, add the levain, salt, honey, cooled porridge, and the remaining water (as needed), and mix on medium-low speed (about speed 4) for around 15 minutes, until you have a nicely developed dough.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and do several stretch and folds. Make sure the dough is as flat as possible in your bowl/container, and measure the dough in millimeters and take the temperature of the dough. Based on the chart from http://www.thesourdoughjourney.com, determine what % rise you need and make a note. If you have a proofer, decide what temperature you want to set it at and what rise you are aiming for. If the dough is fully developed, you don’t need to do any stretch and folds, but if it’s not, do several sets 15-20 minutes apart.
Once the dough reaches the desired bulk rise, pre-shape and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Finish shaping and place in your banneton, bowl, or on your sheet pan, and cover it so it is pretty airtight.
When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 540°F an hour beforehand and prepare for steam. Let your dough sit at room temperature while the oven is warming up. When ready to bake, score as desired. Prepare your oven for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water into the pan right after I place the dough in the oven. I then lower the temperature of the oven to 450°F for a miche or 455°F for smaller individual loaves. Bake until they are nice and brown and the internal temperature is at least 205 – 210°F.
Take the bread(s) out of the oven when done and let them cool on a baker’s rack for as long as you can resist.
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