Sourdough Seed Bread from Hamelman's "Bread"
The Sourdough Seed Bread was one of the first formulas I baked after buying Hamelman's Bread, and I thought it was one of the best tasting breads I had every had. I believe it's been more than two years since I have baked it, and I wondered why I hadn't made it more often after tasting a slice last night. It is really good.
I made a bit over 2 kg of dough and divided it into 3 equal pieces. In order to bake all three at once on my baking stone, I shaped two bâtards and one boule and placed them with the bâtards kind of in an L configuration and the boule between the two arms. It worked well.
This bread always has really great oven spring and bloom for me.
The crust is very crunchy.The crumb was quite tender and pretty open. The aroma and flavor of the flaxseeds is very present in this bread. I happen to like that a lot. The bread is delicious plain or toasted. I had a slice last night with a thin spread of sweet butter and had a couple more slices toasted for breakfast with almond butter and apricot preserves. It's also very good with cheese. Just good bread.
David
Comments
Looks delicious David. How's it compare with the 5-grain levain? A group over at instagram is bakIng through this book for 2015 and I'm joining in as it will force me to follow formulas. I generally window shop with recipe books. Feed my brain with ideas. But it's a good practice to use another's strategy even if to come back to our own, like Proth pointed out in her recent post.
Enjoy the toast
Josh
Thanks, Josh! It is delicious.
Although they share some ingredients and are both very tasty, the Sourdough Seed bread and the 5-grain Levain have very different flavors. The former is somewhat dominated by the flaxseeds, but less after day one. The latter is strongly influenced by the oats, both in texture and in flavor. The Seed Bread crust tends to stay crunchy, while the 5-grain crust gets more chewy. I would say the 5-grain Levain has a more balanced and complex flavor. Note that both benefit greatly from the optional overnight retardation. With the 5-grain levain, the retardation makes an especially dramatic difference in flavor. It turns a good bread into an astonishingly wonderful bread.
David
Beautiful and delicious-looking bread! Apologies if you've addressed this before, but do you create steam in any particular way? The crust is amazing, especially if you didn't bake in an enclosed space.
Thanks for your kind words.
This will only be the 3rd time I have been asked about how I steam my oven in the past week.
A cast iron skillet filled with lava rocks is pre-heated at 480-500dF for 45-60 minutes. Just before the bread is loaded into the oven, a perforated pie tin filled with ice cubes is placed on top of the lava rocks. This apparatus is usually removed when the bread starts to color, i.e., when the steamy environment is no longer desired. Opening the oven to remove the skillet, of course, also lets the steam escape.
This is the method of steaming a home oven recommended by the San Francisco Baking Institute, except they load the skillet with steel nuts and bolts rather than lava rocks.
David
As always, beautiful loaves David! Hamelman's Bread was my first real bread baking book and I baked many of the breads when I started this hobby/passion/obsession. As I acquired more books from different bakers (Leader, Forkish, Reinhart, Robertson, etc.) I found myself baking less and less from Hamelman. Every so often I go back to it and after tasting the loaves always wonder why I don't bake from it more often.
This most recent post of yours has once again reminded me just how good are Hamelman's formulae and I will be baking one of them again soon. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sjadad
As always, beautiful loaves David! Hamelman's Bread was my first real bread baking book and I baked many of the breads when I started this hobby/passion/obsession. As I acquired more books from different bakers (Leader, Forkish, Reinhart, Robertson, etc.) I found myself baking less and less from Hamelman. Every so often I go back to it and after tasting the loaves always wonder why I don't bake from it more often.
This most recent post of yours has once again reminded me just how good are Hamelman's formulae and I will be baking one of them again soon. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sjadad
i know what you mean. Hamelman is sort of my "home base." His version of practically every bread is my favorite, and some categories are totally unmatched (in my experience), for example, the German-style rye breads.
My problem is I have so many favorites, I totally forget about some for months or years.
David
Thank you for taking the time to explain the steaming process again. Being a TFL veteran has to be exhausting sometimes!
I forgot to mention that I also love the scoring pattern on that first loaf.
David: These loaves look perfect. I really love the seeded breads. I will have to try this one as well. Congratulations on a wonderful bake. Best, Phyllis
This is one of my favorites for flavor. While I think most of the sourdough breads I bake taste best a day after they are baked, this one is best when it has just cooled. That's probably because the seeds' flavor is greatest then, and I enjoy that.
If you do bake this, I would be interested in how it seems to you, especially compared to the breads you have been making with a greater number of seeds and grains.
David
As usual, of course :)
I just praised your quest for the perfect San Francisco SD to one of the best Austrian bread bloggers, Dietmar Kappl, who tried his hand at it: http://www.homebaking.at/san-francisco-sourdough-bread/
Happy Baking,
Karin
Thanks for the nice comments and the link. Dietmar's SF SD loaves look really good.
David
Does Hamelman's book have the measurements in metric?
Hamelman has both English and metric measurements for commercial quantity formulas. He also gives a "Home" formula. That is in pounds and ounces. I prefer metric measurements. I take the commercial metric quantities, divided by 10. In other words, if the formula calls for 1.20 kg of water, I use 120g, etc.. This turns out to generally make a reasonable amount of dough for the home baker, in my opinion.
David
I'm going to order the book, knowing I can easily follow the recipes. A hooray to metric weight measurements!
Beautiful inside and out as usual!
Well done and happy baking David
David
Lovely loaves, David! You have inspired me to make this bread this weekend. I have made the Five-grain levain many times but without the overnight retardation, so thank you for that insight. I have never found cracked rye and so have used whole rye flour in the dough but have always wondered if I am missing something essential from the flavor profile or the texture due to the lack of the cracked rye. Any thoughts? And, if you would not mind answering yet another question about the steaming method you use, do you also add boiling water to the lava rocks or do you only use ice cubes?
I really enjoy your posts, Leah
Thanks!
I had the same "So, what's the fuss?" reaction to the 5-grain levain the first time I made it, which was without retardation. The next time I did retard and agreed with Hamelman's description of the "delectable" flavor.
I have subbed rye chops, bulgur and pumpernickel flour for cracked rye at various times. The substitutions do change flavor, texture or both. None have made bad bread.
Re. Steaming: No boiling water. Just ice cubes. I suspect the difference is a more prolonged steaming rather than a single burst. I know that, with my well-sealed, electric oven, when I open the door after 10-15 minutes of steaming (depending on the bread) I usually get a lot of steam coming out, especially with higher hydration breads which presumably give off considerable steam themselves.
Happy baking!
David
I cannot help but wonder why my crumb doesn't turn out to be like that. My sourdough crumb always turns out to be a little heavier and gummier than I'd like it to be.
I use 70% hydration for 60% whole wheat flour and 40% high-protein white flour. (I live in S. Korea and for some reason, the whole wheat flour here is white and doesn't absorb water as much.) And I use a dutch oven to bake. Any advice, please?
I can make some generalizations regarding the problems you describe, but I am at a disadvantage not knowing the flours you use or your full formula and procedures. Photos help too.
That said, generally whole wheat flour results in a denser crumb, but under-fermentation may be part of the problem, too. A gummy crumb can be from under-baking. There are other possible causes, but these are the most likely.
I would suggest you post a new topic asking for help. Give the complete formula for your bread and describe your procedures, include length of time for bulk fermentation and proofing and the ambient temperature. As I said, photos help.
There is at least one active member of TFL - Mini Oven - who is both extremely knowledgable in general and has spent a lot of time in South Korea. She is probably familiar with the flours you use, if you mention the brands in your post.
Good luck, and Happy baking!
David
Thank you for your suggestions! I'll work on fermentation and baking first and see if I can make some improvement. :-)
Panificazione straordinaria caro David,
saresti così gentile da inviarmi almeno una di quelle pagnotte qui in Toscana?
Potremo fare uno scambio, che ne dici?
Bravissimo, come sempre....
Scusa la domanda, non possiedo quello straordinario libro, dove posso recuperare la ricetta per cercare di metterlo in produzione anche io.
Un abbraccio, Anna
Temo che, dal momento in cui il pane è arrivato in Toscana, sarebbe bene solo a mettere in fondo al tuo ciotola di ribollita. Sarebbe molto meglio che io venga in Toscana per farlo, così si poteva mangiare quando è fresco.
Il libro da cui proviene questo pane è disponibile da Amazon.it. Questo è il link:
Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes
Happy baking!
David
Caro David altro che ribollita, una bella "Fettunta" con olio della mia oliveta di Vinci ed un pizzico di sale......sai che bontà!!!!
Sarebbe bellissimo vederti all'opera, impastare e mangiare tutti insieme con le nostre famiglie.
E' bello ogni tanto poter sognare........
Grazie tantissimo anche per la ricetta.
Un abbraccio, Anna
I have also made both of Hamelman's seed breads that you have referred to. I am never disappointed. I would also strongly suggest another seed bread that I also love. It is loaded with seeds, both inside and on the crust. I posted about it here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/40631/bannetons-brod-and-taylor
If you like breads with seed coatings (and I do), you might like to try the method used at the SFBI. The take two half sheet pans and line one with wet paper towels. They spread their seeds on the other. Loaves are rolled on the wet paper towels, then on the seeds. This wets the loaves more evenly than spritzing and leaves no water spots on the baked loaves.
Happy baking!
David
David - Thanks for the tip. I have usually just sprayed the loaves, but that does seem like a good method to try.
Caryn
and I promptly fall behind in my TFL reading! Your breads looks absolutely amazing and perfect. This post, together with Caphyl's recent 7 grain levain really push me to make some Hamelman recipes. And thank you also for showing us your steaming apparatus and how you do your seed coating. Very instructive!
Ah David...baking up some of my most loved bread. What I have always enjoyed about this bread (aside from its taste and healthfulness) is that the formula is almost fool proof, and it handles so easily. Was a great beginner bread to learn from and a great one to keep baking! I will remind you in less than a year to bake it again ;) You do this formula proud.
John
David