Jeffrey Hamelman's Pain au levain with whole wheat - a plain sourdough that not as plain as you think
Plain sourdough is not something I make often, though I intended to but I seems to easily get distracted by multigrain and/or fruit breads. Somehow, I feel like one last weekend and I picked the Pain au Levain with whole wheat from jeffrey Hamelman's Bread cookbook.
The recipe uses stiff levain build which is also a good timing that I can convert my liquid starter (100% hydration) to stiff starter (60% hydration) before I am going away in the next two weeks for a month and won't have chances to feed my lovely pet starter, Jerry. I was afraid that he would be starving (for flour and water) and pass away while I'm away.
Thanks to a post on The Fresh Loaf about the sourdough starter feeding. Apparently, stiff starter is more resilient than liquid one. It is more likely that it will survive after not being fed for a while. I only need to feed Jerry a few times when I'm back from holiday to wake him up and come back to his cheerful and active self.
This bread has a pronounced sour flavour, which I believe is the result of stiff levain build with mixed flour in it (mixed of rye and bread flour). The crumb is soft, open and chewy. It's a good complement to olive oil with a bit of dukkah.
For more details, you can visit ;
http://youcandoitathome.blogspot.com/2010/11/sometimes-all-you-need-is-plain.html
Sue
Comments
Hi Sue,
I'm right now in the proofing stage of this particular bread from Hamelman, so hopefully it will turn out as handsomely as the ones that you've made. Your post is the first time I've ever seen a reference to dukkah on this site. I was introduced to it last year about this time and have loved it ever since for doing exactly what you describe.. dipping bread in oil and then dukkah. So good!
Beautiful loaves Sue, nice work!
All the best,
Franko
Dukkah is great. It's such a simple thing that helps you enjoy the bread even more.
It also works well with meat marinate and barbecue.
I'm sure you will love this bread and your loaves will turn out super handsomely.
Sue
http://youcandoitathome.blogspot.com/
I have made dozens of these loaves last year and love the flavor. But, I've never used Dukkah. I looked at you pages for the recipe and can barley wait to try what looks to be a flavor treat. Thank you so much for sharing. There is always something to learn it seems:>)
Eric
Sue--
The bread is beautiful. It's funny. My wife and I were just trying to remember the word "dukkah". We enjoyed it last winter on a visit to New Zealand. Thanks.
Glenn
Dukkah is great. It's widely available in Australia , in supermarket, farmer's market. I think it's easier to make it ourselves too. It's basically spices, sesame seeds and nut, grinded and mixed together.
Sue
http://youcandoitathome.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Sue. I found a few dukkah recipes that sound like what we had in NZ (almond, sesame, spices and herbs). We'll try it soon.
Glenn
Beautiful Loaves Sue (could have used more bench fermentation time?)
Dukkah is of a middle eastern origin. (Palestine to be precise)
I never heard of this spice mix before. Will try it out - I have everything here. Maybe tomorrow with David's San Joaquin Sourdough.
Karin
Seems dukkah is entering the US parlance:
http://www.npr.org/2010/11/16/131357714/you-say-filberts-i-say-hazelnuts-any-way-delicious
Thanks for the link, Robyn, apart from the dukkah, the "Pappardelle with Hazelnut Cream" sounds fantastic.
Karin
Thanks everyone for your input, link to the recipe and all. This is the great thing about TFL. It's such a community effort and I love it!
@Khalid - you could be right about more bench time...I retarded the shaped loaves in the fridge, took them out next morning, rest for one hour before baking. More resting time might be a good idea.
I'm away at the moment, might not have lots of chances with internet and TFL...so will be a bit slow in responses.