Chia Seeds Rye Sourdough : 20% rye with white starter - a trial
Another weekend baking with 20% rye bread. This time I made the bread using white starter. I still continued retarding the shaped loaved overnight. I was aiming to reduce the sour flavour in the bread I made last weekend (same 20% rye and retardation, but with rye sourdough starter).
I also added chia seeds into the dough. Chia seed was turned into gel after they were soaked, and the gel turned into liquid when baked (I believe). This made the bread really moist and chewy. The bread turned out nicely with good oven spring. I was happy with the taste using white starter. It didn't have the same strong sour flavour as last week's.
I baked two loaves, one in pan and the other as a free-standing loaf. They were both baked at the same time, same temperature. It's widely recommended to bake the bread in loaf pan at slightly lower temperature (to get the softer crust and not to overbrowning them, perhaps). However, baking the loaf-pan at the same temperature as a hearth bread worked fine for me as well. The crust was soft with a good oven bloom. The crumb was also relatively open and moist. I believe it worked as the bread is lean bread, without sugar or fat. So, it didn't have any overbrowning issues as a result.
I also tried new steaming method from Chad Robertson's Tartine Bread book. This steaming method was in the baguette baking section. He suggested this method as the baguette won't fit into the combo cooker. Soaking wet towels were place in the tray while the oven is preheated. The wet towels are removed after 15 mins of baking. I combined this method with my usual, boiling water in cast iron pan. This method had created a lots, lots of steam. So much so that my smoke alarm went off, and kept going off everytime I opened the oven. It also gave a nice shiny crust, shinier than usual for me.
For a full post and recipe, you can find it here.
Sue
Comments
Nice bake, Sue. I am going to have to try those chia seeds sometime. Do they prevent the bread from drying out when stored?
Syd
Chia seeds also remind me of the seeds we have in Thailand called เม็ดแมงลัก or sweet basil seeds. It swelled a lot in liquid and become gel, which makes me wonder if this seeds can be used in bread, like chia seeds. Thai basil seeds are renowned for weight-loss property, in that it swelled by 45 times, and make you feel full for longer (not sure if it's true though). Is chia seeds available in Taiwan? If not, you can try something SE Asian like sweet basil seeds.
Yes, the bread stayed really moist for few days. It held the moisture well.
Sue
http://youcandoitathome.blogspot.com
Yes, you can get chia seeds in Taiwan. They have become quite popular as a drink. It is a bit like slurping up jello through a straw. It's a texturaly thing. I quite like it. I had one just last week. I wouldn't have thought that you could bake with them, though. Didn't know that about Asian basil seeds. That is interesting. Thanks, Sue.
Syd
Looking Great, Sue! Aside from having used Chia, i believe now that Using an all white starter to leaven a Rye Mixed Bread will lead to slow fermentation as the culture tries to adapt to the addition of Rye to its usual metabolism. This in turn leads to Slower fermentation , and a higher chance of Gluten Breakdown.. and ultimately a lower profile loaf (more extensibility due to protease secreted by the bacteria).
You bread is very Nice and the crumb looks well fermented.. Have you used an all white starter?
Thanks Khalid.
Yes, I used all white starter, about 25% of total flour weight.
That's interesting remark, Khalid, about slow fermentation. I thought that I would have had much more active dough given that there was 20% rye flour in the formula. But the fermentaion was rather normal, pretty much like all-white flour bread.
The loaves also took slightly longer to wake up and proof after the overnight retardation too. I love how you like to throw good food for thoughts like this. It's great.
Sue
http://youcandoitathome.blogspot.com