Made with fresh-milled Durum wheat and fresh-milled Spelt.
This bake used fresh milled flour, milled with my Mockmill 200. I sifted once with a #30 drum sieve and re-milled at the finest setting for the spelt and sifted twice for the durum using a #30 and #40 sieve. I find that for the durum, it’s important to sift twice and re-mill to make sure it’s very fine, or you end up with a dense crumb.
I used my Ankarsrum to mix up the dough and open-baked it on a baking stone with steam.
I was happy with how this one turned out. The crumb is fairly open for such a high percentage of durum. This went very well with some fresh ravioli we had for dinner the other night.
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.
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 for about 1/4 of the water. 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, olive oil, and half of the remaining water, and mix on medium-low speed (about speed 4) for around 10 minutes. Now add the remaining water if needed (note you can let the dough rest for about 10-15 minutes if desired, which will make adding the water easier), until you have a nicely developed, smooth dough. You should end up with a pretty smooth and silky dough. Mix longer if necessary until you develop good gluten strength.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and do several stretch and folds (note: I have started to incorporate coil folds as well to further build up the gluten strength). 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. These % rises are a guide only. Different flours and add-ins can impact the rise. Watch the dough and make sure it is nice and fermented. If you go over, make a note and you can adjust next time. It is better to be slightly over-fermented than under-fermented.
Once the dough reaches the desired bulk rise, pre-shape and let rest for 20-25 minutes. Finish shaping and place in your banneton, bowl, or on your sheet pan, and cover it so it is pretty airtight (note: I just read a post that suggests it is not necessary to cover the dough when refrigerating it. This is the way most professional bakeries do it, and they do have dedicated retarders for dough).
When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 500°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 oven temperature 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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