Danni3ll3's blog

I liked everything about these boules the last time except for their size. They were on the small side so I increased the dough by 10% this time and it did seem a bit better. I think I would go another 10% next time. 

By the way, Selkirk wheat is an old wheat from the 50s. I get it at Daybreak Mills. It’s their hard spring wheat.

Recipe

Makes 3 loaves

Ingredients 

350 g of freshly milled Selkirk Wheat flour

725 g strong bakers unbleached flour

725 g filtered water

30 g yogurt

23 g pink Himalayan salt

265 g levain (procedure in recipe)

Procedure 

Two mornings begore: 

1. Feed 2 g of starter, 4 g water and 8 g Selkirk wheat flour. 

Two nights before:

1. Feed the levain 20 g of water and 20 g of Selkirk wheat flour. Let that rise at cool room temperature for the night.

The morning before:

1. Feed the levain 100 g of filtered water and 100 g of Selkirk wheat flour. Let rise until doubled (about 6 hours).

2. Place into fridge until the next morning.

The night before:

1. Place the required amount of each freshly milled flour in a tub and add the unbleached flour to it.

2. Cover and set aside.

Dough making day:

1. When ready to make the dough, take the levain out of the fridge to warm up before being used in the dough.

2. Using a stand mixer, mix the water with the flour, and mix on speed 1 until all the flour has been hydrated. Let this autolyse for a couple of hours.

3. Once the autolyse is done, add the salt, the yogurt, and the levain to the bowl. Mix on speed one for a minute to integrate everything, then mix on speed 2 for 9 minutes.

4. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Let rest 30 minutes in a warm spot (oven with light on).

5. Do 2 sets of stretches and folds at 30 minute intervals, and then 2 sets of sleepy ferret folds (coil folds) at 45 minute intervals. Then let the dough rise to about 50%. It should have irregular bubbles visible through the sides of the container and bubbles on top as well.

6. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~710 g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest 30 minutes on the counter.

7. Do a final shape by flouring the top of the rounds and flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities. Finally stretch the two top corners and fold over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make a nice tight boule.

8. Sprinkle a mix of rice and all purpose flour in the bannetons. Place the dough seam side down in the bannetons. Let rest for a few minutes on the counter and then put to bed in a cold (38F) fridge overnight.

Baking Day

1. The next morning, heat the oven to 475F with the Dutch ovens inside for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside.

2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 22 minutes at 425 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.

I am finally getting back to baking sourdough. I went into turtle mode and it’s time to crawl out of my shell. Maybe that should hermit crab mode since turtles can’t crawl out of their shells. ?

Anyhow, I decided a nice fairly simple porridge bread would be a nice thing to make. And it was! 

Recipe 

Makes 3 loaves

Porridge 

100 g large rolled oats

200 g water

45 g honey

40 g butter

Dough

700 g unbleached flour

200 g freshly milled wholegrain Selkirk flour 

100 g freshly milled wholegrain Spelt flour 

50 g freshly milled wholegrain rye flour

700 g water

23 g salt

30 g yogurt

250 g levain (procedure in recipe)

Extra wholegrain flour of your choice for feeding the levain

Two mornings before:

1. Take 2 g of refrigerated starter and feed it 4 g of filtered water and 4 g of wholegrain flour. Let sit at cool room temperature for the day. 

The two nights before:

1. Feed the levain 20 g of water and 20 g of wholegrain flour. Let that rise at cool room temperature for the night. 

The morning before:

1. Feed the levain 100 g of filtered water and 75 g of wholegrain flour as well as 25 g of strong baker’s flour. Let rise until doubled (about 6 hours). 

2. Place into fridge until the next morning. 

The night before:

1. Mill the grains. Place the required amounts in a tub. Add the unbleached flour to the tub. Cover and set aside.

Dough Making day:

1. Early in the morning, take out the levain to warm up. I usually give it a good stir at this time.

2. Put 700 g filtered water in a stand mixer’s bowl and add the flours from the tub.  Mix on the lowest speed until all the flour has been hydrated. This takes a couple of minutes. Autolyse for at least a couple of hours at room temperature. 

3. Make the porridge: Add the water to the rolled oats and cook on low until water is absorbed and porridge is creamy. Add the butter and the honey. Stir until well distributed. 

4. Once the autolyse is done, add the salt, the yogurt, and the levain to the bowl. Mix on the lowest speed for a minute to integrate everything, then mix on the next speed for 9 minutes. At the end of the 9 minutes, add the porridge and mix until incorporated.

5. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Let rest 30 minutes in a warm spot (oven with light on). 

6. Do 2 sets of stretches and folds at 30 minute intervals and then 2 sets of sleepy ferret folds (coil folds) at 45 minute intervals, and then let the dough rise to about 50%. This took about another hour. It should have irregular bubbles visible through the sides of the container and  bubbles on top as well. 

7. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~810 g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest 45 minutes on the counter. 

8. Do a final shape by flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities. Finally stretch the two top corners and cross over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make a nice tight boule.

9. Sprinkle a  mix of rice flour and all purpose flour in the bannetons. I had planned to sprinkle some rolled oats as well but I forgot. Place the dough seam side down in the bannetons. Let rest for a few minutes on the counter and then put to bed in a cold (38F) fridge overnight. 

Baking Day

1. The next morning, about 11 hours later, heat the oven to 475F with the Dutch ovens inside for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside. 

2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 22 minutes at 425 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.

Yum!

I took my Take 2 of Cedar Mountain’s Khorasan Oat Sourdough and subbed out the khorasan for Spelt. 

Here is the recipe I followed with these exceptions:

1. Used Spelt instead of Khorasan. 

2. Did not use the additional water in the dough as the Spelt flour didn’t seem to absorb as much water. 
3. Inversely, the Spelt porridge needed much more water to cook and soften. I didn’t measure how much more water I added as I just splashed more in as the porridge ran dry, but still wasn’t done. Both the oat and spelt porridge’s were quite stiff when I used them. 
4. The Spelt proofed quite quickly in the fridge and I ended up baking at 3 am. So the loaves were cold proofed for only 8 hours. 
5. And last but not least, I only made one batch of dough since I was baking just for us. It felt very odd to make just 3 loaves. 

I needed to try something different and an old cheddar/jalapeno combo appealed to me. I took my Pain de Campagne recipe and added the cheddar, jalapeños and some chives. Hopefully, it turns out yummy.

Note: Don’t skip the parchment paper lining on this one. You’ll never get the loaves out if you do. 

Recipe

Makes 3 loaves

Add-Ins

100 g sliced pickled jalapeños 

250 g old cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

24 g minced chives

Main Dough

100 g freshly milled spelt flour (125 g Spelt berries)

100 g freshly milled rye flour  (125 g rye berries)

100 g freshly milled Kamut flour (125 g Kamut berries)

775 g unbleached strong bakers flour

800 g filtered water

20 g Himalayan pink salt

30 g local yogurt

250 g 100% hydration levain (procedure for this is in recipe)

Extra whole grain and unbleached flour to feed the levain 

Two mornings before:

1. Take 2 g of refrigerated starter and feed it 4 g of filtered water and 4 g of wholegrain flour. Let sit at cool room temperature for the day. 

The two nights before:

1. Feed the levain 20 g of water and 20 g of wholegrain flour. Let that rise at cool room temperature for the night. 

The morning before:

1. Feed the levain 100 g of filtered water and 50 g of wholegrain flour as well as 50g of strong baker’s flour. Let rise until doubled (about 8 hours). 

2. Place into fridge until the next morning. 

The night before:

1. Mill the grain on the finest setting of your mill or measure out commercial whole grain flour of the various grains if you don’t mill your own.

2. Place the required amount of each freshly milled flour in a tub and add the unbleached flour to it. Cover and set aside. 

1. Cube the cheddar, add a tablespoon of flour and toss with your fingers to separate the chunks. Place in the fridge overnight. 
2. Drain the jalapeños and chop them into smaller pieces. Mince the chives, put with the jalapeños in a bowl, and refrigerate overnight.

Dough making day:

1. When ready to make the dough, take the levain, the cheese and the chives/jalapeños out of the fridge to warm up before being used in the dough. I usually give the levain a good stir to redistribute the food for the yeast and bacteria. This seems to give it a head-start. 

2. Using a stand mixer, mix the water with the flours, and mix on speed 1 until all the flour has been hydrated. Let this autolyse for a couple of hours. 

3. Once the autolyse is done, add the salt, the yogurt, and the levain to the bowl. Mix on speed one for a minute to integrate everything, then mix on speed 2 for 9 minutes. Put in the add-ins and mix until well integrated. This takes a good couple of minutes. 

4. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Let rest 30 minutes in a warm spot (oven with light on). 

5. Do 2 sets of stretches and folds at 30 minute intervals and then 2 sets of sleepy ferret folds (coil folds) at 45 minute intervals, and then let the dough rise to about 50%. It should have irregular bubbles visible through the sides of the container and  bubbles on top as well. This took another hour and a half after the last coil fold. 

6. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~850 g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest 30 minutes on the counter. 

7. Do a final shape by flouring the top of the rounds and flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities. Finally stretch the two top corners and fold over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make a nice tight boule. Note that the cheese cubes like to pop out so I pulled them off the outside as much as possible and tucked them under the dough. In retrospect, that was a really good idea since it helped to minimize the sticking of the loaves to the sides of the pots. 

8. Sprinkle a  mix of rice and all purpose flour in the bannetons. Place the dough seam side down in the bannetons. Let rest for a few minutes on the counter and then put to bed in a cold (38F) fridge overnight. 

Baking Day

1. The next morning, heat the oven to 475F with the Dutch ovens inside for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside. 

2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 22 minutes at 425 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.

Be aware that the loaves might stick to the sides of your pots due to the cheese. I ran a thin knife down the sides to break the stuck spots and with the parchment paper on the bottom, the loaves popped right out. 

Time to revisit this one too!

Recipe

Makes 3 loaves

Porridges: 

50 g large flake oats plus 100 g water (I got 145 g of porridge)

50 g coarse ground Khorasan (I put the dot of my Komo mill 180 degrees counter clockwise from the finest setting) plus 125 g water (I got 140 g of porridge)

Dough: 

300 g fresh milled Khorasan (Kamut) flour (300 g Kamut berries)

700 g strong bakers unbleached flour

700 g water + 25 g + 25 g

23 g pink Himalayan salt

30 g yogurt

250 g levain (procedure in recipe)

Whole grain and AP flour to feed levain 

Flaked khorasan and oats for topping

Two mornings before:

1. Take 2 g of refrigerated starter and feed it 4 g of filtered water and 4 g of any kind of wholegrain flour. Let sit at cool room temperature for the day. 

The two nights before:

1. Feed the levain 20 g of water and 20 g of wholegrain flour. Let that rise at cool room temperature for the night. 

The morning before:

1. Feed the levain 100 g of filtered water and 50 g of whole grain flour and 50 g of unbleached flour. Let rise until doubled (about 6 or 7 hours). 

2. Place into fridge until the next morning. 

The night before:

1. Mill the Khorasan berries and place the required amount in a tub. 
2. Add the unbleached flour to the tub. Cover and reserve. 
3. Mill the khorasan berries for the porridge and set aside for the morning. 

Dough Making day:

1. In the morning, put 700 g filtered water in a stand mixer’s bowl and add the flours from the tub.  Mix on the lowest speed until all the flour has been hydrated. This takes a couple of minutes. Cover and autolyse for 2.5-3 hours at room temperature (73F).
2. Add the water to the rolled oats and cook on low, uncovered, until very thick and creamy. All the water should have been absorbed. Set aside to cool. 
3. Do the same with the coarse ground Khorasan and the water. This took a lot longer than the oats before all the grains were tender. At about 45 minutes, I was happy that everything was tender. Add to the oat porridge and let cool. 
4. After the autolyse, add the salt, the yogurt, the first 25 g of water and the levain to the dough. Mix on the lowest speed for a minute to integrate everything, then mix on the next speed for 9 minutes. Add both porridges as well as the last 25 g of water, and mix for another 2 and a half minutes until well distributed.
5. Remove dough from bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Let rest in a warm spot to begin bulk fermentation. My warm spot is the oven with the door cracked open and the lights on. I get an ambient temperature of around 82F. 
6. Do 2 sets of stretches and folds at 30 minute intervals and then 3 sets of sleepy ferret (coil) folds at 45 minute intervals, and then let the dough rise until risen by 30%.  I usually do only 2 sleepy ferret folds but the dough felt like it could do with an extra set. Total bulk was about 5.25 hours. 
7. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~780 g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let it rest 30 minutes on the counter. 
8. Do a final shape by flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities or big bubbles. Finally stretch the two top corners and fold over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make as tight boule as you can.
9. Sprinkle some Khorasan flakes and large flake oats in the bannetons. If your bannetons are not well seasoned, sprinkle rice flour first, then the bran and the oats. Place the dough seam side down in the bannetons. Cover with plastic bowl covers or shower caps. Let rest for a few minutes on the counter and then put to bed in a cold (38F) fridge overnight. Try to let proof for no longer than 12 hours. Unfortunately, life got in the way and these were baked at 13 and 15 hours. The second batch was really soft and definitely felt overproofed. 

Baking Day

1. The next morning, heat the oven to 475 F with the Dutch ovens inside for an hour.
2. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside. 
3. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 22 minutes at 425 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.

Making this by request. Bulk method changed to my usual just to see how that affects the crumb. Original called for two sets of folds at 50 and 100 minutes with a 4 hour bulk in total. I also cut back the original hydration by 50 grams as I felt the dough didn’t need it. 

Levain:

63 g starter 

63 g water 

110 g unbleached flour 

15 g freshly milled Rye flour 

Dough:

750 g strong bakers unbleached flour

100 g freshly milled Kamut flour

100 g freshly milled Spelt flour

50 g freshly milled Rye flour

750 g filtered water

22 g pink Himalayan salt

30 g Slate River Dairy yogurt

250 g levain from above

Add-ins:

90 g Roasted Garlic 

85 g Sun dried tomatoes 

90 g Slate River Herb Cheese

Three nights before:

1. Get your starter up to speed by feeding it two times. Once that night and once the next morning. Let rise at room temperature (70-73 F ) for 12 hours each.

Two nights before:

1. Mix the starter with the water and then add the flours. Let ferment at room temperature for 12 hours. Refrigerate until the morning of making the dough. 

The night before:

1. Mill and measure out your flours and set aside covered.
2. Roast the garlic and mash. 
3. Chop sun-dried tomatoes if needed. I got julienned so no need to chop. Set aside. 
4. Grate Herb Cheese. 
5. Refrigerate garlic and cheese. 

Dough making day:

1. Remove the levain from the fridge to warm up to room temperature.
2. Mix the flours and the water in a stand mixer and mix on low for one or two minutes until you have a shaggy dough and no dry flour. Let autolyse for a couple of hours.
3. Remove add-ins from fridge to bring to room temperature. 
4. Add the salt, the yogurt and the starter in chunks. Mix on low for 1 minute to mix the ingredients and then mix on the next speed up for 9 minutes to develop the gluten.
5. Add the add-ins gradually and mix for a minute or two to distribute them throughout the dough.
6. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Let rest 30 minutes in a warm spot (oven with light on). 
7. Do 2 sets of stretches and folds at 30 minute intervals, and then 2 sets of sleepy ferret folds (coil folds) at 45 minute intervals. Then let the dough rise to about 40%. It should have irregular bubbles visible through the sides of the container and bubbles on top as well. 
8. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~780g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest 30 minutes on the counter. 
9. Do a final shape by flouring the rounds and flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities. Finally stretch the two top corners and fold over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make as tight boule as you can.
10. Place the dough seam side down in rice floured bannetons. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes, then refrigerate overnight. 

Baking Day:

1. The next morning, heat the oven to 475 F with the Dutch ovens inside for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough, seam side up, inside. 
2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 22 minutes at 425 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.

I need to go back to baking after 10-12 hours of refrigeration. I’ve been lazy lately and ignoring the amount of time spent in the fridge for proofing but these turned out really nice! 

This is a redo of arecipe from last October with a few changes; I used spelt flour and cranberries this time as well as ale for part of the liquid. Sleeping Giant Brewery is local and this particular ale won gold at the 2013 Canadian  Brewing Awards. 

Recipe

Makes 3 loaves

700 g strong bakers unbleached flour

300 g freshly milled Spelt (300 g Spelt berries)

465 g filtered water

235 g Sleeping Giant Brewery Beaver Duck Ale

30 g yogurt 

22 g salt

200 g spent beer malted grains (Sleeping Giant Brewery)

200 g cranberries 

250 g of 3 stage 100% hydration levain (procedure below)

Wholegrain flour as well as unbleached flour to feed the levain

Two mornings before:

1. Take 2 g of refrigerated starter and feed it 4 g of filtered water and 4 g of wholegrain flour. Let sit at cool room temperature for the day. 

The two nights before:

1. Feed the levain 20 g of water and 20 g of wholegrain flour. Let that rise at cool room temperature for the night. 

The morning before:

1. Feed the levain 100 g of filtered water and 50 g of wholegrain flour as well as 50g of strong baker’s flour. Let rise until doubled (about 6 hours). 

2. Place into fridge until the next morning. 

The night before:

1. Mill the Spelt berries on the finest setting of your mill or measure out ready bought whole grain Spelt flour if you don’t mill your own.

2. Place the required amount of the Spelt flour in a tub and add the unbleached flour to it. 

3. Cover and set aside.

4. Measure the spent grains and cranberries. Mix together and refrigerate.

Dough making day:

1. When ready to make the dough, take the spent grains/cranberry mixture and the levain out of the fridge to warm up before being used in the dough.

2. Using a stand mixer, mix the water with the flours, and mix on speed 1 until all the flour has been hydrated. Let this autolyse for a couple of hours. 

3. Once the autolyse is done, add the salt, the yogurt, and the levain to the bowl. Mix on speed one for a minute to integrate everything, then mix on speed 2 for 9 minutes.  

4. Add the spent grains and cranberries to the mixing bowl, and mix on speed 2 until they are evenly distributed. This will take a couple of minutes. 

5. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Let rest 30 minutes in a warm spot (oven with light on). 

6. Do 2 sets of stretches and folds at 30 minute intervals and then 2 sets of sleepy ferret folds (coil folds) at 45 minute intervals, and then let the dough rise to about 30%. It should have irregular bubbles visible through the sides of the container and  bubbles on top as well. This particular dough rose quite quickly and was ready 45 minutes after the last coil fold. 

7. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~800 g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest 30 minutes on the counter. 

8. Do a final shape by flouring the top of the rounds and flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities. Finally stretch the two top corners and fold over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make a nice tight boule.

9. Sprinkle a  mix of rice and all purpose flour in the bannetons. Place the dough seam side down in the bannetons. Let rest for a few minutes on the counter and then put to bed in a cold (38F) fridge overnight. 

Baking Day

1. The next morning, heat the oven to 475F with the Dutch ovens inside for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside. 

2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 22 minutes at 425 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.

Tada! ?

I saw a 40% Wholewheat loaf somewhere online, might have been on here, and thought that I would try to stick to just one kind of wholegrain flour which is highly unusual for me. I completely reworked the recipe aside from the 40% proportion just to see how my usual method would fare. 

Recipe

Makes 3 small boules

301 g of freshly milled Selkirk Wheat flour

658 g strong bakers unbleached flour

658 g filtered water +20 g

30 g yogurt

21 g pink Himalayan salt

250 g levain (procedure in recipe)

Extra freshly milled Selkirk flour to feed the levain

Two mornings before:

1. Take 2 g of refrigerated starter and feed it 4 g of filtered water and 4 g of Selkirk wheat flour. Let sit at cool room temperature for the day. 

The two nights before:

1. Feed the levain 20 g of water and 20 g of Selkirk wheat flour. Let that rise at cool room temperature for the night. 

The morning before:

1. Feed the levain 100 g of filtered water and 100 g of Selkirk wheat flour. Let rise until doubled (about 6 hours). 

2. Place into fridge until the next morning. 

The night before:

1. Place the required amount of each freshly milled flour in a tub and add the unbleached flour to it. 

2. Cover and set aside. 

Dough making day:

1. When ready to make the dough, take the levain out of the fridge to warm up before being used in the dough.

2. Using a stand mixer, mix the water with the flour, and mix on speed 1 until all the flour has been hydrated. Let this autolyse for a couple of hours. 

3. Once the autolyse is done, add the salt, the yogurt, and the levain to the bowl. Mix on speed one for a minute to integrate everything, then mix on speed 2 for 9 minutes. 

4. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Let rest 30 minutes in a warm spot (oven with light on). 

5. Do 2 sets of stretches and folds at 30 minute intervals, adding 20 g water to the container after the first set of folds, and then 2 sets of sleepy ferret folds (coil folds) at 45 minute intervals. Then let the dough rise to about 30%. It should have irregular bubbles visible through the sides of the container and bubbles on top as well. 

6. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~645 g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest 30 minutes on the counter. 

7. Do a final shape by flouring the top of the rounds and flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities. Finally stretch the two top corners and fold over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make a nice tight boule.

8. Sprinkle a  mix of rice and all purpose flour in the bannetons. Place the dough seam side down in the bannetons. Let rest for a few minutes on the counter and then put to bed in a cold (38F) fridge overnight. 

Baking Day

1. The next morning, heat the oven to 475F with the Dutch ovens inside for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside. 

2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 22 minutes at 425 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.

I got very nice oven spring and they feel nice and light. With just under 1100 g of flour and no add-ins, these boule are a bit on the small size. Next time, I should aim for between 1150 and 1200 g of flour in total. This should fill my 3 quart Dutch ovens a bit better. 

The inspiration for this bread is David Snyder’s Fig Walnut recipe. I followed it pretty closely but I subbed out dates instead of figs since I had some that needed to be used up. I also used a stand mixer rather than doing it by hand. And of course, I can’t forget the yogurt to tenderize the crust!

Recipe

Makes 3 loaves

Levain:

158 g strong bakers unbleached flour

40 g freshly milled Selkirk wheat flour (Selkirk wheat berries)

158 g filtered water

40 g sourdough starter

Dough:

594 g strong bakers unbleached flour

92 g freshly milled Selkirk wheat flour (Selkirk wheat berries)

194 g freshly milled rye flour (Rye berries)

682 g filtered water

22 g pink Himalayan salt

30 g local yogurt

220 g toasted walnut pieces

220 g chopped dates

396 g levain

Make sure to refresh your starter a couple of times before making the levain.

The night before:

1. Mill the needed grains if you mill your own flour. Cover and set aside.
2. Toast the walnuts in a 300 F oven for 9 minutes. Cool. 
3. Chop the dates, add to the walnuts and reserve.
4. Dissolve  the sourdough starter in the water for the levain. 
5. Add the flours listed for the levain to the bowl, mix well and let the levain rise at room temperature until it doubles (8 - 12 hours).

Dough making day:

1. The next morning, a couple of hours before the levain is ready, place the dough water in a mixing bowl. Add the dough flours and mix on speed one of a mixer for a couple of minutes until you have a shaggy dough with no dry flour. Let sit for a couple of hours.
2. After the autolyse, add the salt, the yogurt and the levain to the mixing bowl. Mix for a minute to integrate everything and then mix on speed 2 for 9 minutes. 
3. Add the walnuts and the dates, and mix only until everything is evenly distributed.
4. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Let rest 30 minutes in a warm spot (oven with light on). 
5. Do 2 sets of stretches and folds at 30 minute intervals and then 2 sets of sleepy ferret folds (coil folds) at 60 minute intervals, and then let the dough rise to about 40%. This took another 2 and a half hours. It’s a very slow moving dough due to the amount of fruit and nuts in it. It should have irregular bubbles visible through the sides of the container and bubbles on top as well. 
6. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~815 g. Gently round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest 1 hour on the counter. 
7. Do a final shape by flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Gently overlap the edges of the dough in the center. Flip over and pull the dough towards you on all sides to seal the bottom. Be super gentle not to degas the dough. Did I mention to be gentle with this dough? ?
8. Sprinkle a  mix of rice flour and all purpose flour in the bannetons. Place the dough seam side down in the bannetons and cover. Let rise for an hour and a half in a warm spot and then put to bed in a cold (38F) fridge overnight. 

Baking Day

1. The next morning, heat the oven to 475F with the Dutch ovens inside for an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside. 
2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 425 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 22 minutes at 400 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.

Next time, I would do only one set of folds rather than 2 in the first hour. This dough is heavy and needs time to rise. As well, I dropped the temperature of baking on the second batch as the bottom of the loaves from the first batch baked up pretty dark. The recipe reflects the lowered temperature. 

This is another twist on Hamelman’s 5 grain levain. I am using the same amounts as my last attempt at this but once again, I tweaked the method and I did not sift out the bran. I am also going to do some bassinage with this dough as my notes from the last time indicated that this was a stiff dough as well. 

Recipe:

Makes 3 loaves

Soaker:

100 g cracked rye berries (coarsely mill 125 g of rye berries)

86 g raw sunflower seeds

86 g old fashioned oats (large flake)

25 g black sesame seeds

75 g flax seeds (freshly ground)

7 g salt

448 g boiling water

Levain:

70 g starter (2 stage refreshment procedure in recipe)

275 g strong baker’s unbleached flour

345 g filtered water

Extra wholegrain flour to bring the levain up to speed

Dough:

550 g strong baker’s unbleached flour

50 g Spelt flour 

50 g Kamut flour 

50 g Einkorn flour

50 g Rye flour 

77 g Durum flour 

30 g plain yogurt 

330 g filtered water + 40 g divided in 10 g portions (extra water is for bassinage) 

21 g Pink Himalayan salt

The two nights before:

1. Take 3 g of refrigerated starter and feed it 6 g of filtered water and 6 g of wholegrain flour. Let sit at cool room temperature for the night. 

The morning before:

1. Feed the levain 30 g of water and 30 g of wholegrain flour. Let that rise at cool room temperature for the day. 

The night before:

Levain:

1. 12 to 16 hours before the the final mixing of the dough, add the 275 g of strong baker’s unbleached flour and the 345 g of water to the levain and keep covered at room temperature (70 F).

Soaker:

1. Coarsely mill the rye berries to crack them. I sifted out the fine flour and only used the coarse parts. 
2. To the rye, add the sunflower seeds, the oats and the black sesame seeds. Toast in a 350 F oven or in a dry frying pan until lightly golden and fragrant.
3. Grind the flax seeds in a “Bullet” or coffee grinder and add to the toasted seeds. 
4. To the toasted seeds, add the salt and the boiling water. Stir, cover and let cool overnight.

Flour:

1. Mill and measure out the flours from all the grains needed for the dough. 
2. Place the flours in a tub and add the unbleached flour to it. Reserve.

Dough making day:

1. Place the dough water in the bottom of a mixing bowl, add the reserved flours, the yogurt and 620 g of the levain. Using a stand mixer, mix on the lowest speed until you have a shaggy dough with no dry flour. Let sit for one hour.
2. Add the 21 g of pink salt and 10 g of water to the dough and mix on speed 1 for 9 minutes.
3. Add the seed soaker and mix another minute or two on speed 2 until all the seeds are evenly distributed.
4. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Add the first 10 g water on top. Let rest 30 minutes in a warm spot (oven with light on). 
5. Do 2 sets of stretches and folds (adding an extra 10 g water each time) at 30 minute intervals and then 2 sets of sleepy ferret folds (coil folds) at 45 minute intervals, and then let the dough rise to about 40%. It should have irregular bubbles visible through the sides of the container and bubbles on top as well. Things were moving along so it only took another 30 minutes. 
6. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~890 g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest 30 minutes on the counter. 
7. Do a final shape by flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities. Finally stretch the two top corners and cross over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make a nice tight boule.
8. Sprinkle a  mix of rice flour and all purpose flour in the bannetons. Place the dough seam side down in the bannetons. Let rest for a few minutes on the counter and then put to bed in a cold (38F) fridge overnight. 

Baking Day

1. The next morning, heat the oven to 475F with the Dutch ovens inside for an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside. 
2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 22 minutes at 425 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.