the hadster's blog

Today I made bread from freshly milled Einkorn.  I can't really convey the glory of the flour.  I milled it on the finest setting and then put it through a 40 mesh and then a 50 mesh screen.  The resulting flour was the most amazing color of cream.  And the smell was more like a perfume than the odor of wheat.

The dough was similar to a 50% whole wheat dough, only not the sawdusty flavor that I associate with high percentages of whole wheat.  I think the absence of the bran contributed to that.

Followed the method pretty much exactly.  Made 1/2 recipe using my own flour blend (bread flour, 15% whole wheat, 15% sprouted buckwheat).  Hydration 77% when all was said and done.

I need another cook book as much as I need another hole in my head.  Last count, I had several hundred cookbooks.  I've read them all, many times.

So, I resisted buying "Tartine Bread" because I've put myself on cookbook restriction.  I am not permitted to go to Barnes & Noble, and I can't spend too much time on Amazon Prime cookbook section - because I have no will power.

There was such a buzz about this book and this method, so I gave myself permission.

sigh.  Over proofed my bread again.

I keep getting into trouble with the long retard AFTER shaping.   It did not appear to have risen that much over night, so I let it sit out for 2 hours, then I reheated the oven for 45 minutes, and then I baked the bread.  Next time, I will cut the counter top bit down to 1 hour and will preheat the oven at the same time.  sigh

The good news is that the bread is lovely.  Nice open crumb. Lovely earthy flavor.

I did a 3 or 4 stage build:

I did not use the quick recipe so highly recommended on this site.  I bake in the mornings - have to share an oven - and I needed a recipe/method that work work for me.

I found one that had nearly identical ingredients and proportions, but that involved an over night biga.  This was the first bread recipe that I wasn't convinced would demolish my mixer or kitchen.

I need to work on my dough handling to get a more open crumb, but taken as a whole, I count this as a successful experiment.

Below is the crumb shot.  I am working on my own flour blend.  Fortunately, my sister is with me at the cottage, and she has a sensitive palette.  And she loves bread.

This is a mixture of bread flour, whole wheat flour, sprouted buckwheat flour, and whole dark rye flour at 72% hydration. I made an error with the percentages of the different flours because I'm challenged with math, so I aways work with 1000 grams of my base flour (white bread flour), I can duplicate.

It tasted wonderful.

I haven't posted in ages, and maybe I have never posted to my blog here, but I'm so excited!  What you see is my starter that I'm calling Gem Island Truffle because of it's savory not too sour taste and aroma.

I captured it and nursed it along from a feeble beginning.  It finally began to show signs of being strong enough to push up some bread.  What wonderful bread it was!