Hamelman Volkornbrot II - flaxseed, with adaptations by jl
This loaf rested 40 hours post-bake before cutting.
The recipe, for some reason, was far too much for my 9" pullman so I oiled and coated my 13" pullman with 50/50 whole rye flour/rye meal on the fly, and went with it. This isn't the first time this has happened, when a recipe calls for a 9" pullman, so I wonder where I'm veering off. Nevertheless, it fit really well in the 13".
Recipe was the Hamelman Flaxseed Volkornbrot, with the exception of utilizing the adaptations put in place by jl [1]. These included a larger pre-ferment flour (51%), no commercial yeast, and red rye malt at 3%. It's not clear for me from jl's writeup when he put the red rye malt into play, but I put it in the final dough mixing; no scalds, only the two soakers per Hamelman's recipe for the rye chops and flaxseeds.
I did do a light amount of water brushing and dusting with a mix again of whole rye flour and meal on the loaf top going into the proof. jl made some kind comments on seeing a couple photos (some shown below), but noted the cracks along the side and end of the bread as shown may have indicated a mild underproofing. I did the water/rye dusting, I now realize, off of Hamelman's comments on starter maintenance and German practice; not sure it's a good extrapolation here, for proofig. With the dusting in place, I did see some cracking and so went with it (I'm a bit gun shy on overproofing, based on the previous couple batter-like doughs, badly overproofed. Apples and oranges, too, because this is a much stiffer dough).
Pleased: overall look. Pleasant doming by end of proofing and, I think, preserved in the bake. Don't know enough of ryes yet to know whether the crumb is visually "on," but looks pleasing to me.
Not so pleased:
Texture by touch is very, very mildly tacky. Not gummy, but tacky - again, very mild. Internal temp by end of bake was 205 F, so not sure what's going on with this.
Flavor: Underwhelmed, given expectations. Thought in particular the red rye malt would add a significant quality I'd not experienced before, and all in all, more bland than I would have expected. Would have also liked a tad more sour. I went against instincts in pulling the rye starter at 12 hours when my normal is 14-16 per Hamelman and to be honest, it's development by taste and visuals was a bit "anemic." No raw rye taste left, but not enough souring either, by my palate. Pleasant enough, not great. I'd give it about a 7. Although interestingly, I taste it immediately after cutting, and as I've been typing and it's been "airing out" a bit, I swear I'm picking up more flavor. Like a nice pinot or bracing cab, needing some oxidation? Lol, I have to believe that's a bit too romantic, yes?! :)