Three-Stage 80% Sourdough Rye Bread from Hamelman's "Bread"

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dmsnyder on 5 May 2012 at 23:00

 

One of my thoughts in purchasing a Brød & Taylor Folding Proofer was that I would be able to make Three-Stage Detmolder rye breads with more precise temperature control than I could otherwise achieve. After using this device for fermenting other starters, fermenting doughs and proofing loaves over the past couple of months, I my first rye by the three-stage Detmolder method employing the Folding Proofer this weekend.

My one previous bake of a Detmolder 3-stage rye was almost 3 years ago. (See: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/12742/hamelman039s-70-3stage-rye-sourdough) I do recall that bread as having a delicious, sweet, earthy, complex flavor. The bread I baked this weekend was the very similar 80% Three-Stage Rye from Bread. This bread has an hydration of 78%. 37.8% of the flour is pre-fermented.

As described by Jeffrey Hamelman in Bread (pg. 200), this method, developed in Germany, “develops the latent potential of a mature rye culture through a series of builds,” each of which optimizes the development of yeast growth, lactic acid and acetic acid production, respectively. The builds differ in hydration, fermentation temperature and length of fermentation.

Hamelman calls the three stages or builds “Freshening,” “Basic Sour” and “Full Sour.” The first build encourages yeast multiplication in a moist paste fermented at a moderate temperature. The second build is much firmer and is fermented for a long time at a relatively cool temperature to generate acetic acid. The third build is, again, moister, and it is fermented at a warm temperature for a short time. This build is to increase the lactic acid content of the sour. After that, the final dough is mixed.

 

Freshening

Wt (g)

Baker's %

Medium Rye flour

8

100

Water

12

150

Mature rye culture

4

50

Total

24

 

Ferment 5-6 hours at 77-79º F.

 

Basic Sour

Wt (g)

Baker's %

Medium Rye flour

100

100

Water

76

76

Freshening sour

24

24

Total

200

 

Ferment 15-24 hours at 73-80º F. (Shorter time at higher temperature.)

 

Full Sour

Wt (g)

Baker's %

Medium Rye flour

270

100

Water

270

100

Basic sour

200

74.1

Total

740

 

Ferment 3-4 hours at 85º F.

 

Final Dough

Wt (g)

Medium Rye flour

422

High-gluten flour

200

Water

422

Salt

18

Instant yeast (optional)

8

Full sour

740

Total

1810

Procedures

  1. Mix all ingredients 4 minutes at Speed 1 then 1-1 1/2 minutes at Speed 2. DDT=82-84º F. (Note: Hamelman's times are for a spiral mixer. If using a KitchenAid, I double these mixing times.)

  2. Bulk ferment for 10-20 minutes.

  3. Divide into 1.5-2.5 lb pieces and shape round.

  4. Proof about 1 hour at 85º F.

  5. Dock the loaves. Bake for 10 minutes at 480-490º F with steam for the first 5 minutes, then lower temperature to 410º F and bake 40-45 minutes for a 1.5 lb loaf and about 1 hour for a 2.5 lb loaf.

  6. Cool on a rack. When fully cooled, wrap in linen and let rest for at least 24 hours before slicing.

These loaves scaled to 807 g. After baking and cooling, each weighed 700 g.

Crumb and loaf profile

Slices

I sliced the bread after it had sat, wrapped in linen, for 24 hours. The crust was chewy, and the crumb was moist and tender. The flavor was very mellow and balanced. It was not as sweet as I remember the 3-stage 70% rye being, but that was 3 years ago(!). The sourdough tang was present but subdued. A lovely flavor.

I had been planning on leaving the loaves unsliced for another 12 hours, but my wife decided she wanted rye with smoked salmon as an appetizer for dinner. How could I refuse such a tempting proposition?

Delicious!

I also made a couple loaves of Hamelman's Pain au Levain today. As simple and straight-forward as it is, this is one of my favorite breads.

Pain au Levain bâtards

Pain au Levain crust

Pain au Levain crumb

 David

Submitted to YeastSpotting

Those ryes look superb David.  Like Mini, I can't wait to see the crumb shot. They are perfectly formed with lovely cracking on the top.  Even the dock marks look attractive. Nice pain au levains, too. 

Syd

I proofed these loaves seam-side down, thinking I might just let them burst willy nilly, but, when I flipped them onto the peel, the seams looked too well-sealed, so I did dock them. As anticipated, I got very good oven spring for an 80% rye, but the seams didn't really open much. The result does look nice to me. 

David

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dabrownman on 6 May 2012 at 09:30

rye bread David and the Pain au levain looks perfectly baked too - as usual.

Nice bake David.

David,

Great looking loaves, each and every one, but your 80% Rye are simply brilliant! If they don't yield a spectacular crumb with the high profile you've achieved, I'll be very surprised. "I got very good oven spring for an 80% rye" indeed! 

You made my day with these two David, thanks for posting them.

Franko

It's a classic win win then! A question or two: what was the weight of the baked loaves, and was it CM rye flour used in the mix?

Franko

The loaves were 807 g pre-bake. After baking and cooling, they are now 700 gms. So about a 13% wt loss.

(Man, you made me un-wrap them! The aroma!! They are never going to make it to tomorrow morning unsliced now!)

No CM flour in these. I used GM Medium Rye and KAF Sir Lancelot. I haven't used any of the CM rye flours as yet, just CM rye chops. 

David

In the medium low range at 13 % then. There should be enough moisture left that the loaves will really need some time before slicing for optimum crumb set. Be strong my friend. Sincere apologies for putting you in that dicey position, not my intent at all. I just figured you had the #'s in your notes somewhere. Tell me to wait next time David, the guilt I'm feeling right now is almost too much to bear. ;^)

Franko

Well, my wife decided we are going to have smoked salmon on fresh rye as a dinner appetizer. So it was meant to be.

Stay tuned for crumb shots.

David

Wow, David, what superb loaves...! The rye loaves look so accomplished, and I'm eagerly awaiting the taste notes and your spouse's ultimate judgement. Compared to a simpler 1-sted build, did you notice any difference in dough handling or volume expansion during bulk fermentation or final proof when you used the full 3-stage sourdough?

I usually build my rye sour through 3 builds, but not with the specific hydration levels or fermentation temperatures called for by the Detmolder method.

This dough was very slack and sticky. I handle most rye breads with lightly floured hands. This dough was shaped with wet hands. The formed loaves did have enough surface tension to not spread on the board.

There was no appreciable dough expansion during the very brief bulk fermentation (20 minutes), but I actually proofed the loaves for about 80 minutes, waiting for the pain au levain bake to finish and the oven to get back up to temperature. The loaves were well risen, and there was no deflation as I transferred them to the peel and docked them.

Regarding the spousal assessment: As she helped herself to a third slice, she told me it was very good, but not as good as the Jewish Sour Rye. She's a hard customer, but her taste for rye bread is coming along.

David

Thanks for the info, David! The look of that crumb is remarkable. That's got to be perfect crumb and loaf profile for this bread; I would not be surprised if Hamelman himself would agree to that. Thanks for the inspiration, David!

Are you thinking of going "pro" David?  There may be an opening on American Baking Idol. ;-)

Really nice bakes.

-Brad

 

I have great admiration for the best (if you will pardon the expression) artisan bakers, but they work way harder than I want to. I am entirely content as a "serious home baker."

David

And it finally dawned on me that 

A dry white with a dip of cream...

 

Refers to a beverage... maybe.  The rye with smoked salmon went well with a Czech Pilzner.

David

I had several of the first photos missing but when I switched to Chome I was able to see your delicious looking breads and the lovely crumb shots..thank you for sharing the formula.

Glad to hear you are enjoying your proofer...I get a lot of enjoyment from mine too!  

Sylvia

Fabulous Detmolder Rye, David! absolutely lovely looking crust and crumb. Picture Perfect! Onions, mmm.. a good idea.

smoked salmonndgreat rye bread what a crumb.  Someone is living and baking right!  Enjoy!

Masterful bake, David, you've really done a superb job!  Must try that Detmolder soon myself, you've inspired me to tackle it :)

Julie

Great looking loaves David as always.

I would think it would be very difficult to make this bread without the convenience of your proofer.

You may be convincing me to invest in one sooner than later!  I just don't know if I have enough room in my house for yet another kitchen gadget!

Ian

I have been able to come close to compliance with Detmolder fermentation temperature requirements by using my microwave oven with a mug of hot water as a proof box. But, clearly, the Folding Proofer is much easier.

The Folding Proofer folds up to a rather compact form. It does take space when in use, but it could be put anywhere close enough to an electrical outlet. Setting it up and folding it each takes seconds. I keep mine folded and in the original box when I'm not using it. It is about as compact as my baking stone.

David

Hi David! I am new to Rye doughs and am fascinated with your recipe and photos. One question I have is in regards to the machine mixing portion of the recipe. I do not have a dough mixer. What are some signs I should look for if I decide to do this step by hand? Is its main function to redistribute ingredients, build strength, or both? I understand the dough is likely to be very sticky and challenging to work with. However, any development clues would be appreciated. Thanks!

With this type of rye, my notion is that distribution of ingredients is the main purpose of mixing. I guess you have to use visual clues to determine how much mixing is enough. 

The dough is super sticky! My current method is to wet the board and to keep my hands and bench knife wet.

Usually, I advise new rye bakers to ease into rye, starting with a 40% rye and working up to 70-80-90% as comfortable. Previous experience with high-hydration wheat flour doughs might help psychologically, but rye is a very different handling experience.

Good luck and happy baking!

David

Thank you David for this clear & easy to follow recipe of using Detmolder 3 stage levain process.  It feels like I have been looking for such an article for as long as it has been posted.  My last three breads have been 100% rye using Patrick Ryan's video and then Jane Mason's recipe from Homemade Sourdough, finally the honey butter 100% rye from Nourished Kitchen.

I am always looking for more sour and flavor to help offset my low sodium diet.  Your directions look promising.  Thank you for your time and effort in helping other bread enthusiasts.

I’ve used the 3-Stage Detmold process for a while now, always turning out delicious rye bread. It’s not a very well known process, even amongst people I’ve spoken with who claim to be avid rye bakers. It certainly develops the flavors! I want to comment on the various stages and their respective acid production. After freshening, which wakes up the yeast, the second stage, basic sour, is a lower hydration and lower temp than the third stage, which is call full sour. The type of acid primarily produced in the basic sour is acetic. This stage favors acetic acid production because of the lower temps and lower hydration. Couple that with the pentosans and a whole lot of flavor is developed therein. The third stage favors lactic acid production with its higher temp and higher hydration. The proofing stage, depending on temps, would also favor lactic production.

I decided to put my newbie rye baking to the test and followed this method through to the letter as well as I could think through it... (my jury-rigged ferm chamber couldn't QUITE get 85 degrees fahrenheit, but all the rest was done fo the gram.)

Thank you for sharing this, it was a fun process and experiment for me...

The builds went well, and I could see the activity and sourness. I finally went to proof after the kitchen aid mixing and realized I hadn't gotten all my flour incorporated, and as such the loaves (I think) overproofed and came out very flat and flabby. I was completely heartbroken after that long to have it go awry so plainly. The crumb still looked lovely, and the flavor is excellent, but the shape was a complete tragedy. I will also ensure I use the banneton liner next time, as after proofing with the spike of yeast I managed to tear the surface while turning them onto the baking sheets. 

I will attempt this again, though I may skip the additional yeast spiking...