107% Whole Grain 8 Grain Sourdough

Lucy finally got back to her bread and butter with a high percent whole grain multi-grain bread.   It has been a while but this one may prove she hasn’t lost her touch - if she ever had one.

I'm always amazed how much the acid in the levain leaches out the color becoming almost white compared to the autolyse which has exactly the same grain in the same proportions at nearly the same hydration..

 The whole grains were a mix of rye, spelt, buckwheat, oat, farro, wheat, Kamut and barley with a hydration of 95%.  The add ins were red and white malt, honey, Toadies, almond meal and VWG.  The non aromatic seeds included: sesame, flax, poppy and chia.  The aromatic seeds included: fennel, anise, caraway and coriander.

The levain was built our usual 3 stage way using our 66% hydration rye starter that has been refrigerated weeks.   The levain doubled after the 2nd 4 hour build but we  only did a 16 hour retard after the levain had risen 25% after the 3rd feeding.

When we got the levain out of the fridge the next day to finish its 3rd stage doubling, we started the 3 hour autolyse of the dough flour and water, (including all the add ns except the aromatic seeds) with the salt sprinkled on top so we didn’t forget it.

Once the levain was mixed into the autolyse we did 3 sets of slap and folds of 7, 2 and 1 minute on 20 minute intervals followed by 3 sets of stretch and folds, stretching from the 4 cardinal compass points, on 20 minute intervals where the aromatic seeds were added on the first set.

Once the S&F’s were done we immediately pre-shaped and then shaped the dough into a boule and placed it into a rice floured basket, bagged it and placed it in the fridge for a 10 hour retard.   This is about 2 hours less than put normal retard but after last weeks over proof we would try to under proof this one and bake it right out of the fridge.

We fired up Big Old Betsy to 550 F regular bake and put the Mega Steam Apparatus on the bottom rack when BOB hit 525 F.  When she got to 550 F 15 minutes later the steam was billowing and the stones were at 525 F.

How did that apple Crisp get in there?

We upended the basket onto parchment paper and a peel, slashed it quickly and slid it on the bottom stone with another stone above for 15 minutes if steam .As soon as the oven door closed we turned the oven down to 500 F and 3 minutes later down to 475 F.

This fine tasting bread made for a fine lunch.

At he 15 minute mark, the steam came out and the oven was turned down to convection 425 F and baked another 25 minutes until the bread read 203 F when the oven was shut off.  When the bread read 205 F we took it out and put it n the rack too cool. 

The bread browned well and had tiny blisters but didn’t spring or bloom much.   I think it was just too cold coming straight out of the fridge.   At the 25 minute mark, it only read 135 F about 35 F lower than normal.  Maybe it was the whole grains and high hydration that kept the dough cooler than normal and stopped the spring from really getting started.

Few things taste better than home grown cherry tomato bruschetta on toasted SD white bread.

We will see what the crumb looks like for lunch but it sure smalls great cooling in the rack.  The wait for lunch is over and the crumb came out soft, moist and fairly open for a 107% whole grain bread, but it is the taste that really stands out and why we love these breads so much.  The deep color of the crust and crumb is due mostly to the whole grains and honey as is the flavor.   The add ins on the flavor side really stand out and make this bread exceptional.

And don't forget that healthy and tasty salad!

Formula