Hamelman’s 5-Grain Sourdough w/Rye Sourdough

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Hamelman’s 5-Grain Sourdough

Or, How to Score Inconsistently. But, hey, looks aren’t everything.  

Actually, I’m pretty happy with how this bake turned out.  Fermentation is on point and baking went well with plenty of oven spring and good coloring. Shaping was mostly good with only one “bent” loaf.  

I used the metric quantities, divided by 10.  Per Hamelman, that would yield three largish loaves.  I opted for four loaves, since that better fits our needs.  I also used AP flour instead of bread flour. Although I held back some of the water, I wound up adding 100g of flour to get the dough to a manageable consistency. 

It may be a couple of days before I get to see how the crumb looks. The external appearance suggests that it should be pretty good, especially considering the rye and seed content. 

Paul

Let’s see that perfect crumb when you can 😉

I turn the “ rough “ side up so it’s natural scoring … that way I can’t be blamed lol! I’ll bet they are fragrant and delicious. C

They look amazing.  I'm looking forward to the cut photo to see how high they are.  

Here’s a picture of the crumb from the least photogenic of the loaves.  It’s fairly uniform; open but no wild holes.  Texture is yielding and moist, with chewiness from the grains and seeds.  It is a seriously good bread.  Hats off for Mr. Hamelman.

Crumb photo

Paul

Looks perfect to me. Your timing worked out well. Enjoy! c


Edit: just looked back at your 11/2024 of the same bread. Looks wonderful with the soaker showing more in the crumb. It’s a beautiful bread in all ways. c

Hard to criticize these Paul, they look wonderful and rustic on the outside which is perfect for these types of loaves.  Then the crumb is perfection.

Merry Christmas. 

Benny