Honeyed Spelt and Oat
This recipe is from Sourdough: Recipes for Rustic Fermented Breads, Sweets, Savories, and More from
Sarah Owens. She won the James Beard Award for 2016 in baking books. I don't own the book but I found a copy of the recipe online.
I changed the method a bit to allow for an autolyse with just flour but the dough was really stiff and I probably should have added the oat soaker in at the same time. Anyhow, this was my method which differs a bit from the book.
1. Make levain with 40 g water, 30 g starter and 40 grams spelt. Let sit overnight.
2. Make soaker with 140 g rolled oats (old fashioned) and 275 g boiling water. Let that sit overnight too.
3. Next morning, autolyse 245 g of warm water and 45 g honey with 445 g flour and 105 g spelt. I let it sit for one hour.
4. I mixed in the 110 g of levain, 415 g of soaker and 16 g of salt. I added 25 g of water here to adjust the feel of the dough. I did slaps and folds to integrate the oats right through the dough.
5. I started the bulk fermentation with folds every half hour and this went on and on and on. The dough just didn't seem to want to rise at all. 7 and a half hours later, the dough had risen about 30% and was finally ready to be divided and pre-shaped.
6. I pre-shaped using the letter fold method and let sit for a half hour before doing the final shape. I shaped it again using the letter fold method and put it into floured baskets.
7. I let it proof on the counter for a half hour (next time I am doing the full hour) and it went into the fridge for an overnight proof.
8. Late the next morning, I baked it in dutch ovens at 500F for 20 minutes, and took off the lid. I realized 10 minutes later that I had not dropped the temp at the 20 minute mark and had taken off the lid instead. So I dropped the temp to 430F and let it bake for another 20 minutes. Once again, I wasn't paying close attention but it worked out anyhow.
The results were a delicious bread with a super fluffy crumb. The one loaf disappeared in one day. Mind you, the loaves were tiny and next time, I am doubling the recipe and not forgetting to autolyse the oat soaker along with the flour.
Crumb shot:
With butter and honey: