Test Run 3 stage rye sourdough
This last weekend I did a test run of a 3-stage fermentation rye sourdough. I know a little about how rye behaves, so I thought “What could go wrong?”. I chose Hamelman’s Three Stage 70 Percent Sourdough Rye. I recalculated for a 750-gram boule.
The first issue was that the recipe called for medium rye flour. I only have home-milled whole rye. Lance advised getting a 40# mesh to get something close to medium rye. I was keen to proceed anyway and went ahead using whole rye.
The 3-stage process requires various temperatures at each stage. My homemade proofer is quite hard to change the temperature, so I finished up using a 25C fermentation for stages 1 and 2. I used the inbuilt oven proof function for stage 3, which was slightly higher than the 29C required. The final proof was completed in 25C instead of 29C. While all this was happening, I read about the Brod and Taylor proofer some of you guys use. It would have taken all the anxiety away.
I was happy with the result. The baked loaf has a few cracks (apparently good) and had a good sound when I tapped the bottom of the baked loaf. I am now waiting for 24 hours for the crumb to stabilise. I will add a crumb picture tomorrow.
Action items:
Order 40# mesh – done.
Order Brod & Taylor proofer – done.
I am looking forward to repeating this after I get my new gear.
IMG_5570.jpeg