I've had a heap of marking to do again this weekend now that my bakery students have successfully completed their exams for the unit in dough fermentation, and as I prepare for a visit from our External Verifier tomorrow. I hope she is suitably impressed with their wonderful work. So, I thought I'd make some bread at home to keep me on track as I wielded the red biro!
In case anybody's interested, the exam consists of a one hour written paper seeking to give credit to knowledge, and a 5 hour practical exam, in which students make a range of 3 fermented dough products. I asked them to categorise these as 1] simple bread using either bulk fermentation, or a no-time dough; 2] an enriched dough with a ferment, or, a laminated dough; 3] something using complex fermentation such as biga, poolish or levain. This tests practical skills, and understanding with 3 questions looking at dough production, temperature and fermentation. So, quite a challenge!
Anyway, I ended up challenging myself in the end, with my chosen baking schedule, as I ran short of flour....again. I live about 12 miles from a town, so this is not good!
I ran short of flour because I ended up making too much wheat leaven, and didn't want to waste it. Originally, I planned to make just short of 2kg of the Pain au Levain dough, but ended up with over 3kg. So my plan to make the 80% Rye Sourdough took a radical transformation, and became 100% Dark Rye instead!!
I have made thousands of All-Rye Sourdough breads like this, so I'm not sure why I'm using the exclamation marks?...100% Rye Sourdough with a Rye Flour Soaker
It's my formula, really, but with the inclusion of the rye flour soaker in Hamelman's recipe on pp. 213-4. There are 2 elaborations on the sour, which I maintain at 1 part flour to 1.67 parts water, done on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon ready to make the paste early Sunday morning. I made the soaker on Saturday afternoon at the same time as the second elaboration. It's just one big loaf in a Pullman Pan, weighing in around 1860g of paste, and taking nearly 3 hours to bake!
|
Material |
Formula [% of flour] |
Recipe [grams] |
|
1. Rye Sour Build One |
|
|
|
Stock Rye Sour |
|
80 [30 flour; 50 water] |
|
Dark Rye |
|
150 |
|
Water |
|
250 |
|
TOTAL |
|
480 |
|
2. Rye Sour Build Two |
|
|
|
Sourdough [from above] |
|
480 |
|
Dark Rye |
|
200 |
|
Water |
|
355 |
|
TOTAL |
|
1015 |
|
|
80g saved for stock |
935 used in the final paste |
|
3. Soaker |
|
|
|
Dark Rye |
|
200 |
|
Boiling Water |
|
200 |
|
TOTAL |
|
400 |
|
4. Final Paste |
|
|
|
Rye Sourdough [from 1 & 2] |
35% flour; 58.5% water |
935 [350 flour; 585 water] |
|
Soaker [from 3] |
20% flour; 20% water |
400 |
|
Dark Rye Flour |
45% |
450 |
|
Salt |
1.8% |
18 |
|
Water [40*C] |
6.5% |
65 |
|
TOTAL |
186.8% |
1868 |
|
Total Pre-fermented Flour |
35% |
|
|
Overall Hydration |
85% |
|
Bake Profile 2¾ hours @ 170°C, with constant supply of steam from a "larva pan"
Method:
- Let down the soaker with the warm water, add the salt, then combine the liquid sour
- Add the flour and use wet hands to mix and form a paste
- Ferment in bulk for 1 hour
- Line the Pullman Pan with silicone paper, and use wet hands to mould the paste for the pan. Smooth the top and set to proof, covered, for about 3 hours.
- Dust the top of the loaf with Dark Rye flour and cut the top with 4 "X" shapes down the loaf. Put the lid on and set in the pre-heated oven.
- Bake as profile above
- Cool on wires
Pain au Levain
I aimed for 720g of levain, but ended up with 860g. The excess of final dough meant I ran out of flour, hence the wonderful All-Rye loaf above!
|
Material |
Formula [% of flour] |
Recipe [grams] |
|
1. Build One |
|
|
|
Carrs Special CC Flour |
7.4 |
133 |
|
Water |
4.4 |
107 |
|
TOTAL [nb. Stock leaven included above at 80g] |
11.8 |
240 |
|
Build Two |
|
|
|
Leaven [above] |
11.8 |
240 |
|
Carrs Special CC |
22.6 |
407 |
|
Water |
13.6 |
217 |
|
TOTAL |
48 |
864 |
|
|
|
|
|
3. Final Dough |
|
|
|
Leaven [from 1 & 2] |
48 |
864 |
|
Carrs Special CC |
55.6 |
1000 |
|
Dark Rye Flour |
14.4 |
260 |
|
Salt |
1.8 |
32 |
|
Water |
50 |
900 |
|
TOTAL |
169.8 |
3056 |
|
Total Pre-fermented Flour |
30 |
|
|
Overall Hydration |
68 |
|
Oven Profile: Pre-heat to 250°C, and bake on the bricks using steam. Drop the heat to 225°C after 15 minutes, and to 215°C after 30 minutes. Bake each loaf out, then move to the next!
Method:
- Autolyse flour and water for 1 hour
- Combine autolyse with leaven, mix by hand to start development, then rest 5 minutes
- Add salt and mix further 5 - 10 minutes to develop. Rest 10 minutes
- Mix a further 5 - 10 minutes to achieve window pane
- Bulk ferment, covered, for 2 hours in a bowl lined with olive oil; "Stretch and Fold" after 1 hour
- Scale and divide [I used 1400g, 950g and 700g banneton pieces]. Mould round and set to proof upside down. Refrigerate 2 of the pieces a short while to set a working production schedule. The first loaf should be ready after 3 hours final proof; bake to profile.
- Cool on wires
Nice looking breads; the house smells great; bread supply now sorted as we move to Confectionery in the student groups at College!
The weather, though wet, has turned mild, but the stove continues to blast out the heat. It's outrageously warm, and the cat has been quite disgracefully indulgent in front of the fire!!! Meanwhile, I gather you may be snowbound in parts of the US. You are hopefully better equipped to deal with it all than the authorities are capable of back here in Blighty, that's for sure!
Best wishes to you all
Andy
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Lovely crumb in the pain au levain.
I appreciate the photo showing how you line your Pullman pan. Can I assume what you refer to as "silicon" is the same as parchment paper?
David
Hi David,
We have 2 grades of paper used commonly in baking in the UK.
Greaseproof paper is...just that.
Silicone Paper is treated. We buy it in reams, commercially; about 200 sheets, the size of a baking tray. It's sold on a roll at retail level.
BW
Andy
Hi Andy,
The crumb you get on your rye breads is just amazing! I mean.., it'd be a great crumb for a lot of lower ratio ryes, or even a few wheat based breads for that matter. Achieving a crumb like that on a 100% rye certainly shows how extensive your experience is with these doughs. What temp did you have your rye dough at during bulk and final ferment, if you don't mind me asking? I'm guessing "outrageously warm" means in the high 25 or low 27C scale. I can see as well from your formula that I'll need to push my own comfort zone with hydration if I'm ever to have a hope of getting something similar. Thanks for sharing your formula and notes on both of these gorgeous breads.
Brilliant baking my friend!
Franko
Hi Franko,
Many thanks for your warm words on the breads; very much appreciated!
Well, it seemed to get very warm in the house in the evening. I'd been baking all day, and the stove had been blasting out too. But in the morning when I made the rye paste, it was a mere 16*C. The soaker was straight from the fridge too! So, even though I used red hot water, there is so little going into the final mixing that it is hard to get influence in respect of warming up the mix significantly. I did ferment in front of the stove for both bulk and final periods, so warming was eventually achieved.
I guess that is one advantage with using the stiffer leaven; it enables more control in the final mixing with addition of more water being available to influence dough temperatures.
Still, the secret is in having a vigorous rye sour. 2 elaborations over a 36 hour period is my best recommendation on that score.
As for hydration levels, my rye pastes are too wet to mould in anyway, except by using wet hands to form a dough shape to drop in the tin. Actually with a piece this size for the Pullman Pan, I end up having to put it in in a few pieces and smooth it down with the back of my wet hand.
All good wishes
Andy
Very appetizing loaves, Andy.
By the way, how did Faye do in the Finals?
Karin