100% Spelt, bake 2
I used the same recipe as last time (see blog with details here [1]), but used DanAyo's procedure for baking artisan bread in a loaf pan (his helpful thread is here [2]).
A "Cliff's Notes" version of what I did, beginning last night (started levain build before bed) thru today:
Built levain, mixed dough, kneaded 10 min, rested dough 10 min (during clean up), shaped, rose in pan 3.5 hours (Aliquot at ~ 70% increase), baked at 425F (edit, in a 8 in x 4 in pan) for 40 min to internal temp of 208. Now it's cooling, crumb shot tomorrow.
It was certainly easier and required less babysitting or watching. For everyday sourdough sandwich bread, this couldn't be much easier! My freezer needs replenishing, I may do a whole wheat loaf in a day or so. And next time I may score it to control where it opens a little better. (That split at the top of where the pan was goes all the way around the loaf.)
And for anyone interested in trying spelt flour, I am currently using this sprouted spelt flour [3]. I found it at our local Sprouts market. I usually prefer to mill my own but decided on a whim to give this a try. My starter really loves it!
Edit to add crumb shot. Not too bad, though I think the hearth bake for this recipe that I did a few days ago had a little better crumb. The crumb on this one is kind of smooshed on the bottom and a little up the sides of the loaf.
My guess (from the split around the top of the loaf, and the top crust is drier than usual) is the crust set before oven spring was finished. It tastes great - a nice chew, not crumbly at all, and made our late PB&J lunch quite nice. I will definitely do this again, it really simplifies things. Next time I'll try spritzing it with water, &/or scoring before baking. All in all, a successful experiment!
Mary