Learning the Rubaud method
There has been much discussion lately about the rather remarkable Gerard Rubaud as written by MC. Everyone seems to like the flavor of the multi grain levain and dough mix but the method is a trial for home bakers due to the tiny amounts involved in the starter.
To make a long story short, I decided to make one loaf which means the first stage of the levain could be mixed in a large thimble with a tooth pick. Since all of the starter feeds and the dough use the same mix of flours, I added it all up and mixed it all together in one batch as dsnyder suggested in his second try at this. It makes the process far less cumbersome since you only have to measure once all the small amounts.
I also weighed out the salt and divided it into 1/4's and added a little from 1 pile spread out in all 3 levains. I hope that is clear. In practice I just sprinkled a pinch in each build to slow it down a bit as per the author.
I also broke from my usual method of adding the water (for the dough) to the levain and creating a slurry. Rubaud says use the water in an autolyse and THEN add the levain and salt. All small things but in the end I think it makes a difference.
All of us that are baking this bread are after the BEST bread we can make and attention to the smallest detail may make a difference.
I will not duplicate Davids most excellent recipe table it can be found here. Also Shiao-Ping's wonderful front page post is here. And MC's Interview which started this off is here.
I'm quite happy with this second attempt at this bread. It did smell wonderful in the house tonight and I can only imagine how it must be to be in a room of 50 or so right out of the oven. Many breads taste good but in my experience not all of them smell great after baking. The bread is just slightly warm to the touch and there is no sour tang. Just a full flavored translucent and creamy crumb and a thin crispy crust. Very nice.
Eric
Comments
The crust has a lovely reddish color. At what temperature did you bake?
I generally associate that color crust with loaves that have been retarded. I assume you didn't retard it though. Hmmmm ... You didn't add malt did you?
David
I don't know why my bread is so much lighter looking than yours. (Perhaps it is really white whole wheat that I was using.)
Shiao-Ping
You have wonderful pictorial skills ! You can see the translucence in the slices of bread and I agree with David that lovely crust color is special too. I am looking forward to when I can try the formula...will be a while with all the Nury LOL> c
So yummy, so wholewheatish, my preference really. Good job Eric. How many folds did you make, and how much time apart?
Mebake
Very Nice. It is a wonderful loaf isn't it? Great job on the lack of flour. Did you try the air dry of the shaped loaves as MC mentioned? Great job!
David: I baked at 450F and turned it down after 20 minutes to 420F. Nope, didn't retard. I think some of the reddish color is the flash lighting. It does seem a little over saturated. I noticed just before I went to bed that it looked surprisingly similar to the photo of the rack of baked loaves in MC's original interview.
Shiao-Ping: Thank you. I did use fresh ground WW in the mix. The crumb was much less dense than the first time.
Trailrunner: Thank you for your kind words. I know you will like it. I suggest using Davids last spread sheet and double it for 2 loaves.
MeBake: Thank you. This was folded 4 times over 4 hours. All done in a bowl with a plastic scraper.
Jacobsbrook: I proofed on a linen fabric couche cloth as did the author. I barely used any flour on the cloth and just lightly dusted the loaf top. Even at the high hydration the dough rolled off easily onto my flipper board. The score was very shallow as recommended. The batard looked like it was ready to explode it was so circular when I pulled it from the stone.
Eric
I love the results. Just beautiful. Glad to hear your loaf didn't require a lot of extra flouring during the final proof.
Sylvia
As I learn how handle the higher hydration doughs, I'm finding that it's possible to establish a good cloak, as they say, on the outside. This seems to help hold the form proud and help to keep it from sticking to the couche. The linen I use has been well used but it isn't clogged with flour. I don't think I would retard them on linen however.
Eric
That's a lovely looking bread, Eric.
I've been reading about the Rubaud bread here and at MC's blog and wondered about using a higher proportion of rye.
While doing a search about Mr. Rubaud, I found the following in-depth article about him on a Vermont site.
What an amazing man he is! I was especially interested in his history with the French national ski team and subsequent leadership of the U.S. division of Rossignol, primarily because I used to ski on Rossignols in my younger days as a carefree ski instructor/ski bum.
But back to the bread. I found the following statement from the interview of particular interest:
The interview was in 2007, so I wondered when he changed the formula and why.
I did find a recipe using wheat flour, rye, and spelt which was attributed to Mr. Rubaud, but as it was listed by volume, I'm unsure of its authenticity.
The bread appears to be as remarkable as the man. How did you like the taste, once it cooled?
Good bit of research Lindy. Perhaps MC could ask him when and why he changed his signature bread formula. I wouldn't have a clue. I wouldn't be surprised if it had to do with the bacteria in the wheat grains.
Your question about the flavor requires an honest answer. To be fair to the bread, I have only baked it twice and the first time I didn't get the crumb that was expected. This last time it looks good and smelled great coming out of the oven. I'm not totally convinced I'm getting the flavor Rubaud intends. For example he is grinding his grains just prior to making the builds. Also the DDT may have been higher than my situation which would have improved the fermentation.
So,I want to with hold my praise for the wonderful aroma I have heard about. That is a high water mark not to be taken lightly. MC refered to him as "the prince of aromas." I'm not ready to say I have unlocked that aroma just yet.
Eric