Ru007's blog

This week’s bake is a continuation of last week’s idea of taking loaves I’ve made before and upping the whole grain content. The fig, almond and sunflower seed SD I made I while back was next on the list, last time it was 20% whole grain.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/45693/fig-and-almond-sd

This time I used pecans instead of almonds and sunflower seeds, because I found that the flavour of the almonds was a bit lost.

 Formula:

1. 3 stage levain build from 6g of my NMNF rye starter using whole grain flour. The starter was refrigerated the night before mixing day.

2. Mix flours and water and chill in the fridge for a few hours before allowing to come to room temperature overnight.

3. Two hours before mixing, take levain out of fridge, stir down and allow to bubble up a bit.

4. Mix levain into the rest of the dough along with the salt and allow the dough to rest for 15mins.

5. I did 4 S&Fs , with 45mins in between each one.

I added the toasted chopped toasted pecans  and figs (which had been soaked in hot water for a few minutes before chopping up) on the 3rd fold.

6. I left the the dough to bulk ferment for 3 hours undisturbed, at which point it looked nicely risen and bubbly.

7. I preshaped the loaf, and rested it for 30mins before shaping and placing the dough in a rice floured basket. I let the dough proof for a little over an hour before putting it into the fridge for 19hours. The dough came out of the fridge an hour before baking.

8. Baked the loaf at 230dC, for 30mins with steam and 20mins without steam. 

The flavour of the figs and the pecans together is really great. The sweetness of the figs and the nuttiness of the pecans makes it like a gourmet PB&J, kind of…

The crumb is moist and tender with a bit of chewiness too.

Overall, I’m pleased with this one. I liked it the first time, but i like this one better :)

Happy baking :)

I love whole grains, and I wanted to go back to some of the loaves I’ve made and try and make them more whole grain. My polenta pepita SD has been one of my favourite loaves so I decided to start there. The first time I made it, I used 100% white flour (ignoring the rye flour in the 6g of rye starter I used). 

Here’s the formula I used this time: 

1. The levain was built in 3 stages, starting with 11g of my NMNF rye starter. All the builds were done using whole grain flour, this brings up the whole grain percentage in the loaf to 40%. The levain was retarded for about 8 hours the night before mixing day.

2. The polenta was just 40g dry polenta soaked in boiling water overnight. The moisture from the polenta, added a lot to the hydration of the final dough, but I wouldn’t say that the dough was particularly wet.

3. The flours, water and polenta were mixed and left overnight.

4. I added the salt and levain to the final dough and gave it 50FFs just to get it all mixed, and then a 15min rest.

5. Over the next two hours the dough had 5 sets of S&F (each set being 4 folds) every 30mins, then left to bulk ferment undisturbed for 3 hours until it looked nice a puffy (probably about double in size).

6. The dough was pre shaped and left to rest for 25mins before the final shaping. It went into a rice floured basket and into the fridge for 20hours. 

7. The dough was baked straight from the fridge at 240 dC for 45mins (with steam during the first 30mins).

The crust is nice and crispy and the crumb is moist and chewy tender.

I think the crumb is okay for this type of loaf, it looks a bit tight at the top which makes me think I should have given the dough a bit more time? I'm still figuring out what to expect with whole grains. 

This loaf is a bit sweeter than the one with 100% white flour, which i like. I definitely prefer the flavour of this loaf to the 100% white version (although that was also very nice). Overall, this is a very tasty bread, great for a sandwich. I'll absolutely try this again sometime. 

Happy baking to all :)

This week I wanted a fairly simple loaf, so I decide to do a plain SD loaf but bump up the whole grains. I’ve been meaning to try this (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/44646/steelcut-oat-bread) steel cut oat bread for ages so I thought I’d throw in some oat groats too:

Formula:

1. I did a three stage levain build from my rye NMNF rye starter (7 weeks since feeding) using all w/w flour, which brings up the w/w flour to 40%.

2. I soaked the oat groats in hot water for 24hours (I’m sure less time is fine, but this I had to make this work around my work day.

3. I mixed the rest of the flour and the water from the drained oat groats (plus extra to bring the water up to 295g, I had to add 40g) and left that to autolyse overnight.

4. On mixing day, I mixed in the levain (which had been refrigerated overnight) and salt, did a few slaps to get everything mixed in. I did 5 S&Fs over 2 hours (one set every 30mins). I added the oat groats on the 3rd set.   

The dough to bulk fermented undisturbed for another 3hours. I then pre shaped, shaped and put the dough into my basket and straight into the fridge for 22.5hours.

5. I baked the loaf straight from the fridge at 230dC with steam for 20mins, then for another 30mins at 220dC. I left the loaf in the oven with the door ajar for 5mins.

The crust is crispy and brittle.

The crumb is  soft and moist , the oat groats add extra chewiness too. The taste is lovely, my starter produces loaves that very mellow in terms of sourness, this one has a bit of extra tang, but its also got a sweet after taste to it too.

 Happy baking to all!

This was inspired by dmsnyder’s miche with dark beer, although what I ended up with is not really that similar to his loaf.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/45770/miche-made-dark-beer

 I really liked the flavour of the onions in the last loaf I baked using them, so I decided to try it again and kick up the % of onion bit. Last time I baked with dark beer, I couldn’t really taste it or tell that there was beer in the bread so I notched up the beer … a lot.

Formula:

<Including the rye flour in the levain brings up the rye to 20%>

I did my levain builds using just rye for the first build and then a combination of rye and white flour for the 2nd and third.

I mixed the flours and beer in the morning and then I had to leave the house, so that sat around for about 5 hours. I added the salt and levain and started mixing the dough. Something didn’t feel right about this dough. It was very sticky, but not sticky in the way you expect with rye flour. It’s hard to explain, it just felt weird.

I did 60 slap and folds to try and strengthen the dough and then I did 5 sets of stretch and folds (one set every 20mins). I could see bubbles forming in between the SFs, so I knew it was at least still alive. I added the rehydrated minced onion on the 3rd set.

By the time I finished the SFs, the dough was feeling better, nice and stretchy but still stickier than I would expect with only 20% rye. All I could think was it had something to dough with the extra long autolyse with the beer and the rye flour?

I left the dough for 2 hours at room temp. I pre shaped and shaped and put the dough into my basket for a 20 hour cold retard.

I wasn’t confident about this loaf, I thought my dough had degraded further in the fridge, especially since it spread a lot when I took it out of the basket. I baked the loaf at 250 dC with steam for 20mins and then for another 30mins at 230 dC (I wanted the crust to be quite dark).

The crust is great though, nice and crunchy.

The crumb came out looking a bit strange. It looks tight around the edges which makes me suspect I may have under proofed, but the big holes are making me think I may have not degassed it enough when I shaped it.

Well, anyway I’m not too worried, it tastes great. I’m glad I upped the onion it really comes through, I was worried that there would be an over powering beer taste, but there isn’t… the aroma just really complements the onion.

The crumb is very moist and soft (with a slight chewiness). I think I’m going to make this again and see if I can do a bit better. 

Happy baking :)

This week as i was looking for a loaf to try for BBD #83 [http://www.kochtopf.me/bbd-83-brot-spezialmehl-bread-special-flour] a lovely looking polenta sourdough recipe caught my eye.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/38493/polenta-pepita-sourdough

My formula:

[I think hydration including water from the levain and the porridge is about 89%, including the flour from the levain and the 40g of polenta in the total flour ]

Method:

I built up my levain in 3 builds starting with 6g of my trusty 100% rye, 67% hydration starter.

The evening before mixing day I added 40g of polenta to 160g of water and cooked it gently over a low heat until the water was just absorbed. The porridge then went into the fridge for the night.

Early morning the day before I gave my levain its last feed. I mixed the flour polenta and water and left that at room temperature for about 7 hours (its only meant to be about 20 mins but I had to leave the house). I added salt to my dough, mixed and then added the levain.

I thought about adding more flour, since the dough was very wet, but that has never ended well, so I decided to push through. I managed to do 60 slap and folds (but I think I’ll be finding bits of dough on the wall for the next few days, I had fun though).

I did three stretch and folds immediately after the slap and folds and then one set of stretch and fold every 20 mins four more times and added the toasted pepitas on the 4th set of stretch and folds.

The dough was then left to bulk ferment at room temperature for an hour and half. The dough was close to doubled already.  Things seemed to be happening quickly!

I managed to coax the still fairly loose dough into an oblong shape and got it into my basket and into the fridge for an 18 hour retard.

Getting the dough out of the basket was a bit tricky, it stuck to the cloth in a few spots. By the time I scored it and got it into the oven it had flattened and spread a lot. I baked it at 250 dC with steam for 20mins and then turned done the heat to 230 dC for another 30mins (trying to be bolder with my bakes).

I was so surprised by the spring on this loaf since I upped the percentage of polenta  and pumpkins seeds quite a bit from the original recipe. I also didn’t think it would recover from the man handling I gave it before baking, you can see the spots where i had to wrestle the dough away from the cloth.

The crumb came out moist and open. The polenta completely disappeared into the crumb, I was hoping to see a few flecks of yellow, but I’m not complaining.

The crust is nice and crackly.

The taste of this bread is great, slightly sweet probably due to the polenta. The crumb is chewy but very soft at the same time.

 Overall, I’m very happy with this one! 

Happy baking!

Hello Freshloafers

<Sorry the orientation of the main picture is a bit off, just tilt your head to the left and it's the right way up again! >

One of the (many) things I enjoy about TFL is you don’t have to look very far to find a recipe to try! This week’s bake was a variation of dabrownman’s jewish deli rye from a couple of weeks back

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/45728/50-percent-whole-grain-half-sprouted-jewish-deli-rye-caraway-and-minced-dried-onion

My formula:

160 g 100% hydration rye starter

230g water

245g white bread flour

85g rye flour

10g minced dried onions (dry weight)

8g salt

(I am not a lover of caraway so I skipped that part)

Method:

The levain went into the fridg overnight 4 hours after the last build (it had doubled easily). At the same time I mixed the flours and the water and put that into the fridge overnight too.

Next moring the onions were rehydrated. The levain, rest of the dough and salt were all mixed together. And given a stretch and fold every 30mins for 2 hours (5 sets in total). The dough was left to bulk ferment for 2 hours after which it was pre shaped, the shaped and left in the fridge to retard for 22 hours.

The loaf was baked with steam for about 20mins and then another 30mins without at 230 dC. I must say the aroma as this bread was baking was incredible :)

The loaf rose okay, but I do think I may have over proofed this one. I forgot how quickly things happen with rye and maybe I didn’t get it into the fridge fast enough? Not sure what the practiced eyes out there think?

I’m very pleased with how this turned out. The crumb is very soft and moist.

This is the darkest I’ve ever baked a loaf, I was feeling bold today and the crust turned out nice and crispy! 

Most importantly, it tastes wonderful! This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Next project is figuring out what to bake for BBD...

Happy baking to all!

This is the first time I’ve tried adding anything to my basic SD loaf. The formula is based on Alan’s Fig and Pecan loaf (I couldn’t get pecans so I made do with what I had!). 

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/45670/double-scoring-figpecan-ww-levain

I really don't like figs, or at least i remember hating them when i tried them. But when i tried nibbling on one, the taste really wasn't as objectionable as i remember, so i decided to give it a go. 

 Here’s my formula:

 I used a 100% rye starter to build the levain. 

Method:

I pretty much did what Alan did!  Except:

• I did an overnight autolyse.
• I didn't do the FFs. I just did a set of 4 stretch and folds at 30 minute intervals for 2 hours. I then left the dough for about 2 hours at room temp, then pre shaped, shaped and retarded for 18 hours.
• I toasted my seeds and almonds before adding them to the dough and I soaked the figs in hot water for about 10mins before chopping them up to add to the dough.

 Verdict:

This is not the prettiest loaf I’ve made (my scoring went a bit wonky) and, to me, it looks like I may have under fermented this one, but that’s something I can fix next time.

Here's the crumb shot:

Overall, I’m really pleased with how this one turned out. The crumb is really soft and moist (probably due to the figs) and the most important bit… it tastes great! No offensive fig taste here, just a subtle sweetness through out the loaf...mmmmm.... The almonds got a bit lost, but the sunflower seeds are definitely there! 

 Happy baking to all!

I've been well and truly bitten by the rye bug! 

This weeks bake was a 70% rye, 109% hydration loaf, with sunflower seeds, green pumpkin seeds, raisins and i replaced some of the water with a dark beer! 

I had to deviate from my normal MO of doing normal stretch and folds because the dough (or should i say, really thick batter) was way too wet. I just used a bowl scraper to kind of stretch the dough up and fold it over in the bowl for a few minutes. 

I was worried that i had over proofed the loaf. I waited a bit too long to preheat the oven. I only turned it on when the dough was about level with the rim of the tin. I under estimated how quickly things happen with rye! I literally sat down in front of my oven for the first 30 mins of the bake waiting for it to collapse. Thankfully, it didn't! 

The final loaf didn't look great, a bit shriveled on top when i unwrapped it to slice it today... I'm not sure what that means though.

But i'm happy with the taste! I'm glad i added the raisins. I like the little bit of sweetness.

Here' my formula all my weights are in grams:

This was a slow and low bake, 35mins on 400F with steam, then another 95 on 325F. I took it out of the tin for the last 15 mins and baked it on a baking tray.

The formula is an adaptation of this recipe:

http://www.theperfectloaf.com/rye-sourdough-and-smorrebrod/

What do ya'll think? 

Happy baking!

This week's bake is a redo of last week's bake, 70% rye sour with sunflower seeds. 

I'm not really sure if i did better, worse or the same than last week's bake. I think i did ever so slightly better. I definitely like the look of this loaf better. 

I kept the formula and method the same, i just upped the proofing and baking time.

I weighed the water that filled the tin, divided by 1.5 and then re worked my formula to give me that weight of dough. It only I filled the tin to about the 60% mark (maybe my maths was off).

I sprinkled the top of the dough with flour, and waited... After about 5 1/2 hours it looked to me like the flour was separated. The dough was just above the rim of the tin. In hindsight, i think i could have let it go for longer.

I still haven't managed to get myself a thermometer (top of my to do list this week). But i baked it until i thought it was done, took it our of the tin, put it on a baking tray and then back into the over for an extra 5 mins :)

I wrapped it up and waited 23ish hours before slicing. 

Here's a close up of the crumb shot:

It still tastes great though, so i'm happy.

What do ya'll think? 

Hi all! 

I’ve baked 5 sourdough loaves using the same formula and I felt like it was time for a change. So last week, I asked for some suggestions for what to try next and it seemed like rye was popular choice... I wasn't feeling particularly brave about it, but i decided to go for it.

So here’s my first try at a sourdough rye loaf. What fun!! But so different from my last few bakes. Mixing and shaping this dough was like working with clay, very therapeutic.

I went with a 70% rye flour, 78% hydration loaf (if i did my maths right). The original formula has raisins in it but I decided I liked the idea of sunflower seeds better, so that’s what I did!

I had no idea what I was going to get (my nightmare being an overly dense brick since i decided to live on the edge and leave out the instant yeast i was meant to add). I waited 24 hours before slicing, not sure why i'm meant to do this, but all the formulas i'd read told me to, so i did. 

It tastes great! Not as sour as I wanted though, but that’s something I can work on next time. The crumb is moist and tender but not gummy, which is good. 

Here's how i did it:

First levain build

15g rye starter

45g water

45g rye flour

I let that sit for about 12 hours

Second build:

All of the first build

110g rye

130g water ( i was only supposed to add 110g of water but i think my starter likes higher hydration levels)

Left that in the oven which the light on, it doubled in 4 hours.

Final dough:

All of the levain

135g white bread flour

155g rye flour

165g water

75g sunflower seeds

9g salt 

I mixed the flours and water and let it sit for about 30 mins before adding the salt. Then i added the salt and kneaded the dough (without the levain) until it was nice and smooth and quite stretchy. I wasn't meant to do this, but my gut told me to, so i did. 

This is what i got...

I wasn't expecting much oven spring, but i got more than i hoped (even though it wasn't dramatic like my previous loaves).

Any tips or feedback from the well trained eyes on this forum will be much appreciated!

P.S. Here is the link to the original formula:

 https://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/3-stage-70-rye-bread-with-raisins/