Blogs

My list of things I’d like to bake keeps getting longer but today I finally struck this one off my list. For some time I’ve wanted to try adding polenta to my sourdough bread. Alfanso has shared Kingdom Bread Tampa’s recipe for polenta bread so I based my recipe on that with some minor alterations (thank you Alan). When there is a small amount of wholegrain in the dough I like to use it in the levain, that way the bran is fully hydrated. I increased the polenta and the percentage of salt I used is based on the flour and the polenta while theirs was based on the flour alone. I also added diastatic malt to ensure that I was able to get a deeply coloured crust.

CE168DF9-005D-4545-A012-8E1213BD42AC.jpeg

769F4BC1-11E9-4026-9422-D610B1A0C1E2.jpeg

Cook polenta until thickened and gelatinized in a small pot on the stovetop. Allow to cool and then refrigerate overnight. Remove from fridge in the morning to allow to come to room temperature or if you’re using the stand mixer add cold to keep final dough temperature from getting too high.

Build levain overnight with the aim to be at peak in the morning. At 76°F 3x rise and dome flattening at 11 hours.

Add water and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve salt. Add the stiff levain and break into small pieces. Add the bread flour, mix on speed 1 until no dry flour remains. Rest for 10-15 mins. At medium speed mix to develop the gluten. When the gluten is moderately to well developed add the polenta porridge in small aliquots. Mix until well incorporated.

Bulk fermentation aiming for 40% rise to shape. Perform coil folds every 30 mins until dough is strong and isn’t spreading.

Once the pH has dropped by 1.0 then shape the dough into a batard and then start final proofed shaped and resting in a banneton.

Once the pH has dropped by a further 0.3 it will be time for baking. Place the dough in the freezer when the pH drops by 0.25 and then pre-heat oven at 500°F with cast iron skillet in the oven and set up for open steam baking. 30 mins prior to baking, pour 1 L of boiling water into metal loaf pan with Sylvia towel and place on baking steel on the lowest rack of the oven.
Once oven reaches 500ºF turn dough out of banneton, brush excess rice flour off, score and then brush with water. Transfer to oven. Pour 250 mL of boiling water into the cast iron skillet on a high shelf, high enough that the dough have fully bloom. Drop temperature to 450ºF and bake with steam for 25 mins. Then vent oven and remove all steaming gear and drop temperature to 425ºF. Bake for another 25-30 mins rotating as needed.

1BFBCC4C-25BF-4DE9-887D-4E92EB8D3B18.jpeg

B9A934B3-6067-4691-9C66-7E90697DAAEC.jpeg

E9BF8090-065F-49FA-9680-06A035934EE6.jpeg

E2A9D2B5-4481-4D58-A908-C0CF1923D0D5.jpeg

14103D54-92C2-4401-842F-B032B1C41F79.jpeg

0655269E-27FA-49CE-A9CE-68251B031699.jpeg

My index of all my bakes.

I've really been enjoying the experiments these past few months with adding things into my bread. Olives, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Miso ... The list goes on!  As I have explored the bread I have also been exploring this website more and more. One of the recipes that stuck out was this one for Flax and Sunflower Sourdough that was modified from the Tartine 3 book by Danni3ll3. See their ORIGINAL POST HERE and you will see immediately why this was an attractive bake. 

FORMULA AND CALCULATIONS HERE

I was really impressed with the makeup of this bread. So many different flours bring a punch of flavor to the party. Rye, Whole Wheat, Spelt, and a mixed whole grain flour (I ground emmer, barley, and spelt). Then toasted sunflower seeds and toasted flax. 

I was so excited that I didn't document the flax soak but boy does it soak up the water and become a thick sticky mess. However, Danni3ll3 also talks about that in their post and their methods so I was able to overcome that hurdle without a problem. In fact, on the day of mixing the dough poured the water inclusion into the starter and into the flax mixture to loosen it up before adding it to all the flour. 

I did encounter one problem however. And this is 100% my fault! I scaled the recipe from 2 loafs of bread to 1....but I didn't look at the total dough weight. The nice round numbers 100g of starter....75 grams of sunflower seeds etc...was just so aesthetically pleasing. I recognized that the mass of dough was larger than normal but what was done...was done. It was mixed and it was a chonk. Such a chonk in fact that while I could get it into the dutch oven I could not actually put on the lid and leave room for the bread to expand at all!  As a last ditch effort I decided to just do a bake on a sheet on a rack in the oven instead. 

The oven spring was ok but less than desired and the dough got a little close to the back of the oven and was a lovely shade of black carbon (only about a cm which was cut away and the rest is fine). This loaf doesn't do justice to the beautiful loves that inspired it but it's still delicious bread). I'm confident had I scaled it properly to around 800g it would have turned out to be more pretty, but the flavor is what really matters right?

Sensei's Report Card

Tasting Notes: The crust is crisp (we will ignore the small section that got burned and pretend that didn't happen) and the crumb is soft. You can also see that the crumb is LOADED with seeds. Surprisingly this only adds a slight nutty taste. There is so much flavor coming from the combination of flour used that the nuts stand up and balance things but aren't a very dominant flavor. It isn't that the flavors are muddled, more that the bread is so complex in flavor that nothing takes a dominant role. Delicious and will be great as toast....and make a KILLER grilled cheese sandwich (Cheese Toasty).  

Time/Effort: Three day process starting with a levain build on the morning and evening of day one, mixing and bulk on day 2, and finally baking on day 3. This is my normal sourdough schedule so It's not out of the ordinary for me. Mixing the flax soaker with some of the water for the final dough just before bringing the dough together made incorporation easy. Also doing the same for a correctly measured final starter feeding was helpful. 

Would I make it again: Most likely. It was a really good bread and I think will shine for sandwiches for sure. Thanks again to Danni3ll3 for posting about their bake that inspired this one. You can see their blog and bakes by visiting their profile here.

Building on my successful 50% WW SD Challah I baked last week I decided to bake a 100% WW version. I think based on the appearance that I was patient enough with the final proof and didn’t under ferment it this time. I didn’t want to take a chance with weak gluten so I did add VWG to this one since there is no strong flour. I wanted to ensure that the shape of the each strand held its own and I think they did.

A233C427-9B71-4D44-B330-C230ED89A261.jpeg

C6523682-BDCE-46AF-A196-78220BFFD543.jpeg

Procedures

1. The night before baking, build the levain and ferment it at 76-78°F for 8-12 hours.
2. In the morning, in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the starter then mix in the 4 eggs, salt and honey and mix until completely combined.
3. Mix in all the flour until it forms a shaggy mass.
4. Knead the dough on the bench or in a stand mixer until it is smooth and there is moderate gluten development. Add the water via bassinage the water to achieve the desired consistency. The dough should be quite firm. Gradually add the oil, the dough may break down, wait until it comes back together and before you add more. Mix until gluten is well developed.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it tightly. Ferment for about 2-2.5 hours. At 82°F it rose 20-25%
6. To make one loaf, divide the dough into two equal portions, and divide each portion into the number of pieces needed for the type of braiding you plan to do, so divide each by 3 to make 1 six strand braided loaf.
7. Form each piece into a ball and allow them to rest, covered, for 10-20 minutes to relax the gluten.
8. Form each piece into a strand about 14” long. (I like Glezer’s technique for this. On an un-floured board, flatten each piece with the palm of your hand. Using a rolling pin, roll out each piece to about ¼ inch thickness. Then roll up each piece into a tight tube. Using the palms of your hands, lengthen each piece by rolling each tube back and forth on the bench with light pressure. Start with your hands together in the middle of the tube and, as you roll it, move your hands gradually outward. Taper the ends of the tube by rotating your wrists slightly so that the thumb side of your hand is slightly elevated, as you near the ends of the tube.). You can consider rolling each rope of dough in two different types of seeds at this point for a decorative effect, or only a few of the strands.
9. Braid the loaves. Braiding somewhat loosely, not too tight.
10. Place loaf on parchment paper on a sheet pan. Brush with egg wash. Cover well with plastic wrap (brush with oil so it doesn’t stick to the dough) or place the pans in a food grade plastic bag, and proof at room temperature until the loaves have tripled in volume. About 4-6 hours.
11. If it’s almost tripled and when poked the dough only springs back a little, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Gauge the dough again. Stick a finger lightly in the dough. If it makes an indentation that doesn’t spring back, the dough is ready to be baked. If not, wait a bit more.
12. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF with the rack in the upper third of the oven about 30 mins before final proof is complete.
13. Brush each loaf with an egg lightly beaten with a pinch of salt.
14. Optionally, sprinkle the loaves with sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds.
15. Bake until done – 30-40 minutes rotating half way. If baking as one large loaf may take a bit longer, bake until sounds hollow or reaches 190ºF in the middle.
16. Cool completely before slicing.
    

    92C0796D-127F-4ABF-9904-B48ED4E790E9.jpeg

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    538AB0AD-AA8C-4674-B85B-66B26BB81C43.jpeg

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

    5ADFB45F-26BA-4951-8F0A-0C3A4EE79EE6.jpeg

    
    
    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

To see the index of all my bakes click here.

The concept for this loaf of bread came from the following video from FoodGeek.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InTqgRYVmh4

This loaf turned out really nice!  Moist but not gummy.  The jasmine rice really comes through in the aroma but the oats and corn help give it a whole grain flavor.  It has a creamy texture and will be great for grilled sandwiches and toast!

Rice Soaker
112.5g   Long Grain White Rice
112.5g   Jasmine Rice
258.8g   Water

Oat and Corn Soaker
45g      Rolled Oats
45g      Corn Meal or Polenta (I used Polenta)
112.5g  Whole Milk
22.5g    Butter

Final Dough
76.5g    Brown Rice Flour
22.5g    Corn Starch
13.5g    Psyllium Husk (coarse or fine.  I used coarse)
22.5g    Chia Seeds
33.8g    Water
3.2g      Active Dry Yeast
22.5g    Sugar
1 Large Egg

1)   Prepare Rice Soaker by heating water to 145 deg F then adding rice and covering.  Let sit for 3-6 hours.
2)   Prepare Oat Soaker by heating milk and butter to 145 deg F then adding oats and corn.  Let sit for 3-6 hours.
3)   Add both soakers and water from Final Dough to a blender.  Using short bursts (10-20 seconds), blend soakers to a cake batter consistency.  Verify temperature is no higher than 110 deg F.
4)   Add chia seeds, egg, and yeast.  Give 2-3 short bursts to grind seeds and mix yeast.  Don't go over 110 deg F.  (I finished at about 92 deg F)
5)   Empty blender into a large bowl.  Add remaining Final Dough ingredients and stir.  Batter should be the consistency of a very heavy cake batter. (Consistency of 110-120% hydration white flour starter for the sourdough bakers)
6)   Butter (or grease) a 4"x8" bread pan and coat with brown rice flour or corn meal/polenta.
7)   Pour batter into bread pan, spread evenly and smooth top with a spatula
8)   Put bread pan in a plastic bag and close.
9)   Let rise at 74-76 deg F until dough just crests the rim of the pan.  If you push it too far, the dough surface will start to crack.
10) Bake at 350 deg F for 30 minutes with steam.  Remove steam pan and bake for another 30 minutes at 350 deg F.  Remove the loaf from the pan and bake directly on the rack for another 10-15 minutes.  Final temp should be at least 205 deg F.  
Optional:  Carefully egg wash dough before baking and then again 5 minutes before bake is done.

Batter in pan and smoothed

After rising... Surface starting to crack.  Think I was a little thin with my batter.

Baked loaf

A few bakes back I tried the recipe for this from Tartine Bread. The results were....well....unacceptable. The recipe as written in the book is flat out wrong, and while I was able to save the bread and have something to eat that week I knew it needed to be adjusted and revisited. See Original Post Here. 

After reading some replies from other kind bakers here and doing some thinking I came up with the following formula.

RECIPE FORMULA AND CALCULATIONS HERE

The major change was to treat the dry polenta as part of the total flour weight and then calculating hydration for the entire loaf. While it clocks in at approximately 80% hydration, to me it felt closer to 72-75%. The resulting loaf had a fairly dense crumb but it was surprisingly light and almost fluffy. Not a bad thing but not the open crumb I want to get with this loaf. Next time I'll up the water percentage a little bit. The crust was crispy (and I say was because I just finished eating the loaf for breakfast this week as I post this and I'm kinda sad its gone). 

Flavor Great, Crust Great, Crumb Needs Improvement. Over all a huge step up from the original version. Not perfect, but closer. 

Once more at the Tartine-style porridge/soaked grain type loaves, this time featuring buckwheat groats soaked in whey.

Bread spec.s:

Central Milling bread flour- 360g (60%)

Dayspring Farm Whole Wheat Flour- 180g (30%)

unspecified Einkorn (home milled by Jessica & James)- 60g (10%)

----------

leaven- ~55g

water- 400g

Salt- ~4tsp

----------

unspecified Buckwheat groats (100g) soaked in whey (200g) excess strained off (~35%)

-----------

Process:

-Soak groats in whey day (room temp. which fluctuated between ~60-~80) and a half before (no specific here, just going for a getting the groats nice and tender and maybe a bit of natural fermentation 

-Mix water and leaven, mix in flours, autolyse 1.5 hrs.  (room temp.= ~ 80)

-add salt, pinch in, stretch and fold over 3 hrs.

-add in buckwheat groats after 1.5 hrs. of bulk fermentation

-continue bulk fermentation undisturbed overnight in root storage (temp = 60)

-pre-shape, shape, retard 14 hrs. in fridge

-bake 20 min @ "500" covered, 10 @ "500" uncovered, 35 @ "470" uncovered

*Took the oven temp when it was set to 500 and got a reading around 435, kinda jumping around.  It's probably a bit higher than that, but it seems the oven runs at least 50 low, which is unfortunate because that means that it is actually topping out around 450 and maybe a little lower. Historically I've had best results with "as hot as possible" perhaps 525 (if that oven was accurate.  It certainly felt hot)

Reflections:

I really like the shape and bloom of the loaf coming out of the oven.  I was pretty happy with the crumb too.  Initially upon cutting open the loaf, I thought it looked a little inconsistent, but further cuts seemed more satisfying.

Flavor is nice and rich and a bit bitter.  This Dayspring Farm whole wheat (Turkey Catawba Hard Red I believe) definitely brings a strong, somewhat bitter flavor.  The flavor came through more rich and mellow in this loaf than the previous.  Maybe the einkorn adding something.  I'm not sure if I can really comment on the flavor of the buckwheat.  On that note, I'm not sure I'm I'll do buckwheat again- even softened from soaking, the groats are like little sharp diamond that lacerate the dough.  Also I'm still dreaming of that sweet, rich barley flavor of a few loaves back.  

An accumulation of small amounts of various leftover grains motivated this bake, a cracked grain sourdough bread. I had some rye berries, hard red wheat, spelt, barley and whole oats, 175 g total - coarse cracked and then soaked in 70 g hot water for two hours. The bread was made with 200g fresh milled whole wheat, sifted flour, 800g all purpose flour, 20g sea salt, 220g starter and 750g water. The FDH was about 82% after mixing in the cracked grains soaker.  I cold proofed the loaves overnight in the fridge, 11 hours.  I am very happy with the taste and texture, lots of flavour and a soft, chewy crumb.

I still have some Lap Cheong (Chinese sausage) left over from my Lap Cheong filled buns so wanted to use some up. I’ve been wondering what to top a focaccia with to go along with the lap cheong when I saw a post by King Arthur of a Taiwanese Focaccia, so I borrowed some of their ideas and added a couple of slight changes of my own. For one I had a bit of semola rimacinata left that I wanted to use up so all the flour in this focaccia is that finely ground semolina. One negative to this flour is that it is challenging to get a really open crumb, but that’s alright it doesn’t really bother me. So in addition to the lap cheong, I added toasted sesame seed oil, black and white sesame seeds, scallions, corn, kewpie mayo and cilantro.

68B866B9-B3F4-4CB1-8E61-7518B9724F1B.jpeg

B8DE004F-B8B8-4475-9915-18C34A8A2D13.jpeg

The levain was made the night before and the dough was developed using the stand mixer adding the oil last. Bulk fermentation went for about 6 hours and then the dough had a cold retard until the following day.

The cold dough was then transferred to a 9” cake pan that was well oiled with olive oil. The dough was easily stretched out to fill the pan. The dough was left to double in size. About 30 mins prior to doubling in size the oven was pre-heated at 450°F.

The dough was docked using very wet fingers. Toasted sesame seed oil was drizzled on the dough. The following were placed on the dough, sliced pre-cooked lap cheong, corn, scallions, black and white sesame seeds and then kewpie mayo.

The focaccia was baked for 30 mins. The focaccia was removed from the pan and then a bit more kewpie mayo was drizzled on and cilantro was added.

C7636C73-1575-4129-8AD8-1F7BBF3D2E06.jpeg

24C7DB81-9864-4185-80EA-2DE8C0B376A7.jpeg

No time for experimenting and recipe writing.  No time for weighing the ingredients and keeping track of time! This is purely grandma style rye made in one day 

Morning

2 cups rye flour,  1 cup warm water,  4 tablespoons rye starter,  mix into a paste,  let ferment in a lukewarm spot 

Late afternoon 

All preferment (should be expanded and partially collapsed,  acidic in smell and taste) 4 cups rye flour,  2 cups warm water,  2½ teaspoon salt,  ½ cup flax seeds, mix into a sticky dough, work with wet hands until the dough feels cohesive, slippery and somewhat slimy on the surface 

Bulk ferment 1½ hour,  final proof in pan 45-60 min

Glaze and dock, bake 15 min at 475°F, then 45 min at 390°F

20220518_065630.jpg

20220507_074027.jpg