Multi-grain sourdough bread made with home-milled flours August 12, 2018
Multi-grain Sourdough Bread with home-milled flour
David Snyder
August 12, 2018
Today's bake is another variation on the multi-grain sourdough breads I have been baking for the past few years. This bread differs from the one posted August 8 (See: Multi-grain sourdough bread made with home-milled flours August 8, 2018 [1]) in only two ways: I increased the Spelt flour from 10% to 20% and decreased the Rye flour from 17.5% to 7.5%. I also used a high-protein bread flour for all the “white” wheat flour. The increase in dough strength during bulk fermentation was noticeable, but the dough was still quite slack and sticky.
Total Dough |
|
|
Ingredient | Wt (g) | Bakers' % |
Bread Flour (hi protein) | 600 | 60 |
Whole Wheat flour | 125 | 12.5 |
Whole Rye flour | 75 | 7.5 |
Whole Spelt flour | 200 | 20 |
Water | 830 | 83 |
Salt | 21 | 2.1 |
Total | 1851 | 185.1 |
Levain |
|
|
Ingredient | Wt (g) | Bakers' % |
Bread flour (hi protein) | 144 | 75 |
Whole Wheat flour | 36 | 25 |
Water | 144 | 75 |
Active starter | 36 | 25 |
Total | 360 | 200 |
Dissolve the starter in the water. Add the flours and mix thoroughly.
Transfer to a clean container, cover and ferment until ripe (6 hours for me.) If you don't use it immediately, it can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Final Dough |
|
Ingredient | Wt (g) |
Bread flour (high protein) | 440 |
Whole Wheat flour | 85 |
Whole Rye flour | 75 |
Whole Spelt flour | 200 |
Water (85-95ºF) | 670 |
Salt | 21 |
Active levain | 360 |
Total | 1851 |
Procedures
Mix the flours with the water to a shaggy mass.
Cover and let sit at room temperature for 45-120 minutes. (Autolyse)
Sprinkle the salt over the dough surface and add the levain in 4 to 6 portions.
Mix thoroughly. (I start by folding in the salt and levain with a silicon spatula. Then, I use the method Forkish specifies – squeezing the dough between my fingers alternating with stretch and folds in the bowl. I wear a food service grade glove and dip my working hand frequently in water.)
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled, clean bowl large enough to accommodate doubling in volume. Cover well.
Ferment at 80ºF for 2.5 – 3.5 hours with stretch and folds every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours. The dough should have nearly doubled in volume and be quite puffy.
Transfer the dough to a well-floured board. It will be quite sticky and needs to be handled quickly with well-floured hands, helped by a bench knife.
Divide the dough as desired and pre-shape in rounds. Cover with a cloth and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
Shape as boules or bâtards and place in floured bannetons. Place these in food-grade plastic bags sealed with ties and let proof for 30-60 minutes at room temperature. Refrigerate 8 hours or up to 36 hours at 40ºF.
The next day, pre-heat oven. Let the loaves sit at room temperature while the oven pre-heats. You can bake on a baking stone ,with steam for the first part of the bake, or in Dutch ovens, as you prefer. The oven temperature and length of the bake will depend on which of these methods you choose and on the weight and shape of your loaves, as well as on how dark you prefer your crust. When done, the loaves should sound hollow when thumped on their bottoms. The internal temperature should be at least 105ºF.
Let the loves cool completely on a rack for 1-2 hours before slicing.
These loaves were baked in Cast Iron Dutch ovens at 475ºF for 30 minutes covered, then 20 minutes un-covered.
Oh, my! This is the best of the current series. The crust is crunchy. The crumb is tender but slightly chewy. As expected, the crumb is more open than that of the breads with more rye. I suspect the higher gluten flour contributed to the good oven spring and open crumb as well. The flavor is assertively sour with a nice balance, leaning toward the acetic acid side. It is not so assertive that is swamps the nice, mellow wheaty flavors however. This one is a keeper.
Happy baking!
David