Hamelman's Multi-Grain Levain - The third time's the charm.

I made the Multi-grain levain from Hamelman's "Bread" for the first time about 6 weeks ago on Fleur-d-Liz's strong recommendation. I found it very good, but it didn't blow my socks off. Strangely, it developed a more delicious flavor after having been frozen and thawed. I thought the many flavors of the grains and seeds melded.

Well, I made this bread for the third time this morning. I did two things differently: The first was that I gave it an overnight cold retardation. The second was that I tried a new oven trick. I steamed the oven (using Peter Reinhart's method), as usual, except, this time, I removed the cast iron skillet with water after 5 minutes and switched the oven to convection baking with the temperature lowered 20 degrees.

The bread had a really carmelized, crunchy crust and the flavor was ... well, I can't think of a better word than the one Hamelman used ... delectable.

Liz, now I get it. This is a fabulous bread! It has definitely made my favorites list.

Hamelman's Multi-grain levain

Hamelman's Multi-grain levain

BTW, the really dark loaf up front is the one we ate with dinner. That very dark crust had a marvelous taste.

Hamelman's Multi-grain levain - Crumb

Hamelman's Multi-grain levain - Crumb

David

dmsnyder's Blog
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Great job David. This is the one I'm making next. Hope mine comes out as great as yours. You mentioned visual pizazz in your Hamelman's Whole Wheat post. You got it here. weavershouse

Hi, Weavershouse. Fleur-de-Liz told me this bread really benefits from cold fermentation, and I will confirm that. The dough develops nicely following Hamelman's directions for kneading and folding during bulk fermentation. It starts out a bit sticky, but is very smooth by the end. I guess all the water trapped in the soaker results in a dough that feels like 65% hydration when shaping, proofing and scoring but results in a crumb more like a 68-70% percent hydration dough. It remains moist and fresh tasting for days. Have fun making it, and let us see your results.
David

David:

Glad to hear that you liked Hamelman's Multigrain Levain. I do think it benefits from an overnight retardation. At what point did you retard the dough? Did you ferment the dough at all or did the loaves go directly into the fridge? Did you let them sit out at a room temperature before baking? Sorry for all the questions, but your loaves are really outstanding and I want to know how you did it!

One additional plus is that this bread does have, as you mentioned, excellent keeping qualities. It's one of my favorite Hamelman recipes. I made his Miche Point a Calliere this weekend, which is another favorite of mine.

I haven't made the Multigrain one for a while and, clearly, I am overdue. Thanks for reminding me what a 'delectable' loaf it is.

Truly wonderful artisan loaves!

Liz

Hi, Liz.Thanks for pushing me to make this bread!I cold retarded the loaves after bulk fermentation, dividing and shaping and 20-30 minutes proofing at room temp. They retarded for about 20 hours then proofed at room temp. for about 4-4.5 hours before baking. I think I could have let them proof even longer. The Kitchen was probably around 68-70F.
David

Do we have a recipe for this bread?

Cheers

Dave W

Hi, Dave. Fleur-de-Liz posted the recipe today, matter of fact.
David

Yah, I missed this entry because I wasn't a member yet. In the beginning of my sourdough baking I made a multi-grain bread that was an absolute favorite. I'll have to compare! I still have a ton of different grains to make it... but you know how it is, we get sidetracked with other recipes (like baguettes and rye!).

I read the thread about the book and I will take the advice of reading all the initial instructions. I'm very excited about getting in to it. I saw your other bread when it was posted, I think. Looks very good!

Did you see the pizza I made with your idea? It was less chewy than I thought but I didn't do the overnight rise... that probably makes a difference. I really found it good.

I have to find the time to do the write-up for the baguette quest. I have six children in the house these days and seven as of tomorrow. A bit crazy and little time for myself. Margot is waling up a storm and getting very involved with the other's activities and so I have to have a constant eye on her. Where will I find time to read and write??? French expression "Chaque chose en son temps".

Jane