Multi-grain Sourdough Chacon with Olives, Sun Dried Tomato, Garlic, Rosemary and 2 Cheeses
We had one more batch of saved white Italian starter left over from the panettone bake which produced so much excess starter it is nearly obscene. It was built up over 3 stages and had been previously refrigerated for several days. We decided to do an Italian bread and was torn between an Altamura Pope’s Hat or the Chacon it eventually inspired.
For breakfast a couple of days ago, we were finishing off the last 3 slices of the Eric’s Chacon; a marbling of challah with Eric’s Favorite Rye, toasted with a schmear of grilled salmon and cream cheese and decided to do a chacon in a way we had not done before. It is funny how bread decisions get made sometimes.
We used the same whole grain variety of Kamut, rye, WW, quinoa, barley and oats with a little potato and Toady Tom’s Tasty Toasted Tidbits this time but reduced to 22% of the flours used so that the rest of the add in goodies could possibly come through a little better. We kept to the 72% hydration of the last bake and hoped that it wouldn’t end up feeling as wet overall since the scald was deleted from this bake too.
We also decided to reduce the 36 hour retard and final proof in the fridge back to 24 hours after the last batch over-proofed at the 36 hour mark. Reducing the whole grains in the mix should slow things down a little bit my apprentice noted as well. She would be pretty smart sometimes if she wasn’t so dumb, if cute, otherwise.
We used a high percent of levain (20%) of the total dough weight again, which is more than we normally would use if we were going for sour, but that is what we had left over and after refreshing it to bread speed.
Some fine bakers like to use large levain amounts in their bakes like Peter Reinhart and our own Ian. This might have contributed to the over proofing of the last bake though and another reason to go with a 24 hour retarded proof this time. But, after 15 hours it sure hasn’t proofed itself up much in the fridge.
The method was the same this time as the last bake except for the 24 hour final proof and retard in the fridge and we divided the dough into two, not to make two different loaves but to make two different kinds of bread in one chacon.
One half of the dough had kalamata olives, home made sun dried tomatoes and grated asiago cheese added to it and the other half had fresh rosemary, garlic and grated parmesan cheese. Now that sounded pretty Italian to me but I cut the salt down some to account for the salt in the add ins.
The chacon started with an olive knotted roll in the middle surrounded by a rosemary twisted rope. The rope was surrounded by balls of alternating doughs. The remaining dough was separated into 2 ropes each and made into an alternating 4 strand round challah shape.
The ends were braided but instead of being tucked under they were rotated to the side to make the challah larger in diameter. This was placed on top of the rest of the shapes in the basket. It didn’t quite cover but we didn’t want to smoosh it up too much to see what the shape would be like on the bottom of the loaf after baking. Why should top get all the pretty decoration?
This dough was still pretty wet, much wetter than our normal chacon dough, so it will be interesting to see how the shapes come though the cracking stage when baked. Hopefully it will still crack as expected. If it tastes half as good as it smells before baking, we will have some fine Italian bread to eat.
Just checked on it and this bread needs much more time in the fridge to proof right so, 36 hours is back on the table but it will have to be 40 hours because I’m not putting this bread in the oven a 5 AM! Or 10 AM either.
Just put it on the heating pad to warm up and proof before we heat up Big Old Betsy. It should bake it in A DO to be consistent with the last bake but consistency is far from my baking prowess.
Wow! After 42 plus hours in the fridge and on the counter this bread baked up the deepest, richest, mahogany color with blisters I have seen on any bread coming out of our Big GE. It was baked on a stone at 500 F for 2 minutes and then an additional 12 minutes at 450 F all under steam with 2 of Sylvia’s steaming pans and a 12” skillet with lava rocks, ala David Snyder, that I threw a half cup of water into as I closed the door.
This chacon is awfully handsome on the outside and it sure smells just as tasty too. Can’t wait to slice this bread and have a taste but I will – at least till it cools. Sadly, all the intricate balls didn't crack due to too much hydration. The challah on the bottom didn't even show a sign of being there much less crack.
I turned the oven off and cracked the door when the chacon got to 203 F since it was so dark and let it sit on the stone till it hit 205 F on the inside.
The crumb came out not quite as open as the last bake but it was moist and soft. The crust went softer as it cooled but was mighty tasty and chewy. This bread is delicious and I can't wait to have it with some lemon flavored olive oil, fresh Italian herbs, black pepper and Italian grated cheese. This is some kind of delicious that should be patented or illegal.
Formula
Starter | Build 1 | Build 2 | Build 3 | Total | % |
SD Starter | 20 | 0 |
| 20 | 2.92% |
AP | 35 | 45 | 45 | 125 | 22.69% |
Water | 35 | 45 | 45 | 125 | 22.69% |
Total Starter | 90 | 90 | 90 | 270 | 49.00% |
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Starter |
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Hydration | 100.00% |
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Levain % of Total | 20.50% |
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Dough Flour |
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Red Malt | 3 | 0.54% |
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White Malt | 3 | 0.54% |
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Toady Tom's Tasty Toasted Tidbits | 5 | 0.91% |
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Quinoa | 10 | 1.81% |
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Whole Wheat | 10 | 1.81% |
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Dark Rye | 10 | 1.81% |
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Spelt | 10 | 1.81% |
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Barley | 10 | 1.81% |
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Dark Rye | 10 | 1.81% |
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Potato Flakes | 10 | 1.81% |
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Oat Flour | 10 | 1.81% |
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AP | 400 | 72.60% |
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Dough Flour | 551 | 100.00% |
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Salt | 11 | 1.60% |
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Water | 355 | 64.43% |
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Dough Hydration | 64.43% |
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Total Flour | 686 |
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Total Water | 490 |
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Total Dough Hydration | 71.43% |
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Hydration w/ Adds | 71.43% |
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Total Weight | 1,317 |
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Whole Grains | 22.01% |
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Add - Ins |
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Asiago & Parmesan Cheese | 50 | 9.07% |
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Olives & Sun Dried Tomato | 80 | 14.52% |
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Total | 130 | 23.59% |
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1/2 T of Fresh Rosemary |
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1 Clove of Minced Garlic |
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Comments
Don't think I have ever seen a picture of more beautiful bread! I say picture because my assistant sure isn't skilled enough to come close. Those different add-ins must each complement the other and combine to be a deep, intense taste. wow. It rivals your sunset and that is almost impossible to do.
Thanks for posting this beauty
Barbra
came out very well. The crumb could have been a little more open but it sure tastes great. Sort of like the Christmas Rose with added olives but without the rose. It sure is purdy inside and out!
Glad you likes it Barbara and thanks for the compliment.
Happy Baking
Mr. D,
Love the sunset photo. Right now all I can see out of my window is a beautiful lift snow falling. The only red/orange around here is the fire I have going in the fireplace.
Your loaf looks like it turned out very nicely. I just made a cheese loaf too and used a mix of Italian cheeses....Boy were those cheeses salty!!!! Way more so that an asiago or simple jack. I cut way back on the salt too and think I could have deleted it all together.
Anyway, a comment on your comment about % of leaven you use compared to Ian and Reinhart. When I follow PR's method as written I will use the high amt. of leaven but when I do a bulk overnight fermenting in the refrif. I cut it way back to only 15% or else I will end up with gooo in the morning. Not a pretty sight! His method keeps the 2 pre-doughs separate for 12 hours while they do their thing.....When they are finally combined the bulk and proof times are minimal due to the quantity of leaven and IY he recommends.
Anyway, I am amazed that the dough held up with that much leaven for as long as it did. Guess it knew it better behave or else it would have to face your fearless apprentice.
Thanks for the post and the glimpse at the beautiful sunset :-)
Janet
was nice but it was young and got better but I forgot to photo it. Sadly, last night your cold caught up with us we had a hard freeze last night and the orange crop this year was was probably lost. Have to go spray some water on the trees to see if they can be saved. Be back in a minute. Looks like no limoncello and arancello this year. The next two days are supposed to be colder too.
After the over proof of the last bake at 36 hours cutting back the whole grain amount helped but the levain sitting in the fridge a few more days must have been the difference. The last bake, right after the panettone, the levain was more vigorous, really perked up and it much less so for this bake since I didn't really try to get it back to peak performance. I think that was the big difference.
I can see where your mostly home milled high whole grain flours you use in tour breads and a vigorous levain in large quantities could become 'Morning Goo'. in a flash It is odd how one can manipulate the variables in bread to have them come out right according to the time available, seasons, temperature, flours and amount of levain. After my 1 g levain build experiments it is good to do dome larger ones and see the difference it taste and texture.
This bread came out just about as I had hoped. Nothing really overpowers flavor wise and all them come through on their own even thought the quantities of each are smallish. Needs more whole grains though :-)
Got to go water the trees again and hope for the best.
Glad you liked the bread and Happy baking.
that I love dogs. Particularly their enthusiasm in baking. Beautiful dark shiny crust on this one and I'm sure delicious with all those sun-dried tomatoes in the mix. -Varda
was trying to stay warm on her pillow on the sofa when I told her that Varda loved her and she immediately started wagging her tail. Had to go over and cover her up with a comforter since she was so cute and happy. She forgets most everything she had in her head at one time or another and forgives easily :-) Here she is all warm, fuzzy and comfy - and thanks you for it!
I have no idea why this bread browned up so nicely - but sure wish I did. It sure had plenty of steam. I used to think that only DO's and WFO could do that.
It is delicious bread inside but the crust is awfully tasty too.
Happy Baking Varda.
I'm smitten.
Give Lucy a scratch for me! What a cutie! She must be tired from all of her apprenticing!
:) Mmm, multi-grains. Can't get enough of them... Very inspiring bake, DA!
Now, since you mentioned it, how did you maintain your Italian starter? I've read that Italian starters are fed more frequently and fermented at higher temperatures, but I'm unsure of the refreshment ratios. I'd be very grateful if you could shed some light on this.
Zita
When you build an Italian starter for panettone there is a huge amount of waste. You are supposed to feed it white flour every 4 hours for 2- 3 days at at least 100% hydration, so you can imagine the waste. I tried to keep mine at 76-78 F with a heating pad on low using towels on top of the pad to control the temp getting through to the starter. I started mine with very small quantities of seed, flour and water and fed it every 6 hours without throwing anything away the first 1 day. I then took half away, added a little flour to it to stiffen it up a little and refrigerated it.
Did the same thing the next day so we ended up with two levains at their peak ready to go in the fridge plus the panettone levain on on the counter. Baked the last two beads with the stored levain in the fridge by freshening them up once for the first bake and twice for the 2nd one twice for this bake. I hate throwing food away for any reason and throwing half of a levain away, at the peak of its performance, makes no sense to me. But, it is common practice for many baker's, the kinds of breads they make and the methods they use and it doesn't bother me in the least as a bread libertarian :-)
Glad you liked the bread Zita. it is good to see you making great strides in your bread baking.
Thank you so much! That was rather informative and has put me on the right track, in terms of trying to build a proper Italian starter. My room temperature is often in the range of 28C to 30C (82F to 86F), so I may need to prepare a stiffer Italian starter. Also, I'm not a big fan of wasting my starter either since flour is a bit expensive here. Gotta figure out a way to minimize waste...
At the moment I'm converting my rye starter to a white starter---my first time doing so. Prior to now I had been working exclusively with whole wheat and rye starters when baking breads, so it may be a while before I tackle an authentic Italian starter. It puts me off a bit since it sounds like a lot of work, knowing that it's fed so frequently. But one day, for sure, I'll give it a go!
Thanks again, DA. :)
You make the best "whole meal" breads... some would think I am talking about flour... but I mean all the stuff you put INTO the loaf... and then you match it up with all those yummy veggies... you are the role model for baking bread for the diabetic crowd... great things to go with that smaller portion of starch... And great pictures... our sunsets in Texas have fewer palm trees! LOL
Great Baking (as always) ;-)
Diane
afflicted with diabetes 2 can take heart in knowing that they can have a great and longer life if they do the right things. They might be able to eat limited amounts of whole meal bread, as long as they eat way, way more fresh; veggies and limited fruits, they get in their daily hour of exercise and use portion control to keep their weight in check. It isn't that easy to do at first and they can use the help of someone in the same boat going though teh same problems - so why not lead by example even if no one follows? I'm the better for it.
Maybe some folks will follow along the way and dramatically improve their lives, outlook and future like I have. It's really not too hard once you get used to it - way easier than slashing baguettes. For me it was a no brainer because I want to live forever - and might do so just out of spite :-) But, to do so, I really need to bake SD breads with whole grains over 50% or more for every loaf, not including soakers and sprouts, and make breads you can slice real thin! Might be worth buying a laser bread slicer too or better yet inventing one:-)
Glad you like the bread, sunsets and palm trees. I do too - along with the warm weather, German speaking baking apprentices, family and friends.
Happy baking Diane and thanks for the complimentary encouragement.
Da...another great inspired bake! Wish you could transport a piece of that ove to me now!
Great crust and crumb and love the cheese!
hate olives but there is plenty of other stuff in this bread to make you happy! Glad you like it anyway. Hope your trip goes well and you can get by on whole wheat noodles for another week or so. Too much good food to eat there to miss bread much though!
Happy Baking when you get back home - safe travels.
Dabrownman, stop the madness!! Actually, don't..it really does impress.
You MUST stay awake in bed just thinking up of all these combinations. When I come down to Mesa in April, I want to see a Dabrownman Cafe and Bake Shop...I will buy plenty and eat plenty. Then when I am plenty full, I will buy and eat plenty more.
Keep em coming!
John
apprentice just answering my questions yes or no is how these formulas take shape. I say to her 'do you want to bake a multigrain bread with a multi grain soaker?' and if she says yes - we do. I say 'do you want to do a batard shape?' and she answers. Eventually she lets me know what we are baking and then the questions get harder and are about' what kind of natural yeast or combination of them, how much whole grains, hydration percents, retard times, gluten development techniques, add ins, shape before or after retard, what oven are we going to bake it in..... etc. Sometimes she changes her mind and this can happen anytime and often but she is a lady and her pedigree allows for that :-)
Glad you like the bread John. When you come down in April we will have to get together at a Mesa or nearby bakery where we can sample away. I guarantee you I won't have one. Being retired and old means waking up at 10 PM to get ready for an all night working bake-a-thon is strictly forbidden. I might have a bar though!
Glad you liked the bread and Happy Baking.
Hi dabrownman,
Beautiful flavors in your breads, and a confetti of a crumb with all those goodies!
:^) breadsong
we will call it Italian Multi-grain Confetti Sourdough Bread:-) Love your confetti analogy. This bread reminds me of the Christmas Rose bread you inspired, except this has Olives and rosemary instead pesto. The flavors for this bread were an offshoot of that one. It is tasty and the crumb is deliciously chewy.
Glad you liked it Breadsong and Happy baking !
Wow, DBM, I can't believe how beautiful this bread is! The burnish alone is enough to make me faint; I can't imagine my reaction if I were actually taste some :)
this bread. It is a very good one to look at inside and out .....and to eat from outside to in! We have another one that just went into the fridge for its 36 hour retard that has more whole grain flour, soaker, sprouts, seeds, nuts and prunes. It's like a rugbrot without so much rye but with multi-grains.
Happy Baking