Deja Vu – Intensively Mixed Redox of 4 Starter Sprouted 100% Whole Multi-grain

This the 2nd try at this recipe, this time using txfarmer’s intensively kneaded method to see what the difference in the bread might be between our normal method of developing gluten using slap and folds and stretch and folds.  Last Fridays bake can be found here 4 Starter Sprouted 7 Whole Grain Sandwich Bread so I don’t have to repeat it or the recipe again.

The only difference is that in place of the slap and fold and stretch and folds we did 10 minutes of dough hooking with the KitchenAid mixer on speed 2 followed by a 2 hour rest and then 10 more minutes of mixing until windowpane was achieved.

The big difference between txfarmer’s mix and this one is that we used multi-grains nearly half sprouted, instead of just WW, we upped the hydration for 78% to over 90%, she used a bulgar soaker and we used WW sprouts for the add in and she used an enriched dough while Lucy used a lean dough of flour water salt and levain.  Her post can be found here.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/22831/sd-100-ww-sandwich-loaf-bulgur-cracked-wheat-my-sourdough-starter-declare-defeat

 We did mix in the 100 g (dry weight) of wheat sprouts after the window pane was achieved using speed 1 for about a minute. Then a 10 minute rest before pre and final shaping, panning, bagging and being chucked in the fridge for a 15 hour retard.  Last time the dough over proofed in the fridge during retard so we expected the same thing this time.

Our normal reaction would be that the using a mixer just kills the open crumb we normally get and the reason we don’t use it for bread anymore but it might be that the rise is better and the crumb softer and fluffier which would be good for a sandwich bread.  So, trading off an open crumb in this case might be worth it.

The first thing to not is that the intensive mix dough ended up much more slack than the other.  I think it might have been over mixed.  The dough pulled away from the sides of the mixer at 8 minutes and I continued mixing until 10 minutes. The 2nd mixing, even though only 4 minutes never got to be as good as the dough was at the 8 minute mark.

Next time I will mix it for 6 minutes the first time and only 4 the 2nd time.   If you use 78% hydration like txfarmer, then you can probably mix longer each time.  One thing is for sure, over mixing a wet dough is not a good thing.

This dough also doubled in the fridge during retard and did not spring at all under stream.  100% whole grain breads need to go in the oven at 85% proof maximum if you want it to spring.  This one also did not collapse so it wasn’t much over 100% proof.  I would expect he crumb to be similar to the last Friday’s bake since it behaved exactly the same in the fridge and in the oven-  no matter how it was mixed.

The crumb came out perhaps a bit more open and was not a dense at the bottom 1/2 inch.  The taste and smell were the same as was the soft moist crumb.  The best thing about this bread is how wonderful it tastes.  So pick your method but I don't think it makes all that much difference one way or another - just don;t over proof it and put about 300 more grams in the pan to fill it up.

Don't forget to have a salad with those chicken and cheese enchiladas and smoked pork tamales both smothered in cheese and baked Green Chili Verde - Santa Fe Style