Long time reader, first time poster.
I've made bread on and off for over forty years, from necessity in college, to fiscal sanity nowadays. My wife and I work from home, and when I bake during the day, she claims the aroma creates a "hostile work environment".
I was bitten by the sourdough bug about five years ago, and that led to an obsession with rye flour. I don't use the "best" flours, perhaps, but my bread does not seem to suffer. In fact, just this year I did something I have never done before: I entered two loaves in the Orange County Fair! I won a blue and white ribbon (first and third place); blue for a honey Whole Wheat loaf, and white for a Dark Sourdough Rye.
But that was yesterday. Last night - since I do not know what I cannot do - I started a vollkornbrot. I mixed the levain; made the soaker; rehydrated the dried fruit. I also added the salt to the soaker, but this may have been a mistake because I used salted sunflower seeds. Time will tell...
Next morning, I mixed all of the ingredients first by hand, then in my KA - 5 min with the paddle on low, 5 min on #2 (I forgot the autolyse).
I scraped the paste into a 13" Pullman pan (greased and floured), sprinkled it with more rye flour, and left to rise. After 2 hours or so, it about crested the pan, and the surface was beautifully cracked.
It went into a 475°F oven for 15 minutes (no steam), then the heat was turned down to 425°F and the loaf baked for another 50 minutes. I removed the loaf from the pan, and placed it directly on the stone for a final 15 minutes.
The house smells incredible! I know I have to wait a couple of days before slicing, and that will be a trial.
I got a good rise in the pan, moderate oven spring, although the loaf collapsed as it baked (something I have seen before); so far, so good.
Attached is a picture of the outcome. The light band around the top of the sides is where the loaf rose in the pan but did not absorb the flour.
I will add to this post when I slice the loaf.
badotz
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Your bread looks delicious and I find it hard to believe the aroma creates a hostile work environment.I bet it smells delicious.
-Niccolo
Sarcasm is hard to text :-)
and is on my to-do list after my birthday gift from hubby of a Pullman pan. I cannot wait to make this bread. May I ask which recipe you used? Thanks in advence
hester
The first time I saw the recipe was in a KAF catalog; turns out it is almost word-for-word to a post at TFL (if I can locate it, I'll post it). I can post mine if you wish.
on my to-do list. The one w sunflower seeds, which I adore. lol
I have not seen Hammelman's, but he is the Bakery Director at KAF, so that may be the source of my original recipe.
I offer my take on vollkornbrot, as yet untasted:
BAKER'S PERCENTAGES
Flour 904g 100.0%
Water 894g 98.8%
Seeds 100g 11.0%
Fruit 100g 11.0%
Honey 50g 5.5%
Salt 16g 1.8%
Yeast 6g .7%
----- ------
Total 2070g 228.8%
LEVAIN
28g Starter (100%)
400g Rye Flour (Hodgson Mill Stone Ground 100% Rye Flour)
400g Water
SOAKER
280g Rye chops (used my Vita-Mix to chop rye berries)
280g Water
16g Salt
SEEDS and FRUITS
100g Water
100g Roasted, salted sunflower seed
100g Dried cranberries
100g Dried cherries
DOUGH
210g Rye flour
57g Water
50g Honey
6g Yeast (SAF Gold)
Night before: Mix levain ingredients until smooth; cover. Combine soaker ingredients; cover. Combine seeds, fruits, and water; cover. Rest everything on countertop overnight.
Next morning, drain seeds and fruits, reserving liquid. In bowl of stand mixer, combine starter, soaker, seeds, fruit. Stir to combine. Add dough ingredients; mix until incorporated. Dough will be slack but not pourable.
If dough seems stiff, gradually add add reserved water from seeds and fruit; mix until batter resists the spatula but yields to pressure and is smooth. Add more water, if necessary.
Autolyse (30 minute rest).
Lightly grease 13" Pullman pan; dust with rye flour. Scrape dough into prepared pan. Sprinkle with rye flour. Let dough rise to lip of pan, about 2 hours, and top of loaf shows many cracks in the flour.
After 1 hour, put baking stone on middle rack of oven; set heat to 475°F.
Bake loaf, in pan, on stone, 15 minutes, without lid. Reduce heat to 425°F; bake 50 minutes longer, until surface is cracked and dark brown.
Remove bread from pan; place directly on baking stone. Bake 15 minutes longer.
Remove loaf from oven; cool on wire rack. Place loaf in paper bag (or wrap in kitchen towel) for 24-48 hours before slicing.
Thank you so much. Can't wait to see the crumb shot.
hester
That's about the best looking Vollkornbrot I've ever seen. Can't wait to see the crumb.
Thanks, I hope it's as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside.
Ah, yes, the "crumb shot" - I'm anxious, too. I figure Saturday around noon I'll be...oh, wait - I have a haircut scheduled then. Looks like 6 PM on Saturday, about time I'm serving the Weekly Feast. (sigh) Sunday, then, if all goes well.
look forward to seeing the crumb shot too!
Leslie
I'm really most interested in the tasting. Years ago I supplied friends and family with fruitcake - not with that plastic red and green stuff, with dates, whole pecans, figs, apricots, golden raisins - and although I loved it, the response was, well, let's just say it was "underappreciated". So after reading about vollkornbrot, and seeing it can have fruit and nuts in the mix, I thought: maybe I've found a new fruitcake base. I do not mean to demean vollkornbrot in any way, and should I arrive at a formula for "fruit bread", I will not refer to it as vollkornbrot.
I do not want to raise hackles over dogma!
Looks great. What are the dimensions of your loaf pan?
13" x 4" x 4", made in the USA and available online. It is non-stick, well made, and the sides have ridges ostensibly to help the dough in climbint to the rim, and beyond!. I also have two 9" x 4" x 4" pans, and have used them in baking pain de mie.
whole grain bread. Yours is a whole grain rye that came out great. Can't wait to see the inside of it with all of those wonderful add ins. I think Lucy would have upped the hydration to 100% just say 100% Rye at 100% hydration:-)
Lucy has come up with her own 100% whole 8 sprouted grain vollkorbot at 100% hydration for this week's Friday bake with seeds, nuts and fruits at 60%. All the sprouts are sprouting away right now. Don't think she can top yours though. These are the kinds of breads that make bread making well worth doing! The house smells grand, rather than hostile though:-)
Welcome, well done and happy baking badotz - We don't like bad oats around here.....maybe Lucy does but that doesn't count.
is close, but it's actually "badOTTS", from a patois my cycling buddy and I created one long 100+ mile afternoon on bike, on the way to San Diego. It means, "on your left", which describes - in general - my outlook on life.
I am in awe of the bakers at TFL. Such incredible breads! And the support is unlooked for as well. I like it here!
100% Rye @100% Hydration - would that be a Rye On The Rocks? Count me in!
Sprouted grains - seems advanced to me. The malting, the constant temperatures, the fermenting at different temperatures: these are not in my playbook. I only just realized I need a grain mill, that my Vita-Mix will do for now, but it isn't the question to my answer :-)
Since I tumbled from the rye cliff, I have a vision of a Perfect Loaf of 100% sourdough rye bread. Airy, but not like Pâte à Choux; dense, but not like Mrs. Douglas' flapjacks (think "Green Acres"); something moist, chewy, with unambiguous rye flavor supported by sourdough's unique presence. So far, it has not shown up in my kitchen, but I will persist!
Sorry for babbling...
WIsh to see the inside. Well done!
Palwithnooven! I'm sure there's a story there, eh?
Looks so good!!
i haven't mustered up the courage to do a 100% rye yet, i've made it to 72%.
Great job, i'm looking forward to the crumb shot. I'm sure it'll be fantastic :)
Great first post!
ends with a headlong fall into rye flour! Fear not, there are unbelievable bakers here, and I'm sure they will guide you!
Thanks for your kind words, and I can't wait to see your first 100% rye loaf!
Congratulations on an Awesome looking Rye loaf! No Kidding, no puns, you know it is!
Now for the killer Question..... (drum roll please)....... (not to bring you back down to earth...but) Did you "dock" the loaf?
If not,
the suspense continues up a steeper slope until the crumb shot.
Two whole days? My ggooodnesss, are you locking it in a cupboard and swallowing the key? I know if my hubby caught even a slight whiff of a rye bake, that loaf is in danger of going under the knife. (bing! light goes on!) .....Ah, that's where the "hostility" comes in. Keeping our designated recipients calm. :)
You must have hit the "sweet spot" in the hydration, just look at that volume!
Thanks, Mini! Can I call you Mini? We've only just met...
Did I dock the loaf? I'm sure I didn't. What does it mean?
BTW, I broke down and sliced the loaf last night - I gave in to "peer pressure": everyone wanted to peer inside the vollkornbrot :-)
Pictures soon!
Figure 1. Heel sliced off Figure 2. Center slice
The loaf is heavy, with a dry exterior. It was hard to slice off the heel (about 1/4"); despite its dark exterior. The interior was moist, chewy and full of flavor. Ski is not a fan, but Linda said, "Yummy!" Ski (short for LaVaun-ski) is my much better half, and Linda is a dear friend.
I put the loaf to my nose and inhaled. Ah, sourdough rye. There is nothing that compares to that aroma.
I sliced another piece and this better represented the style. Moist but not gummy, a bit on the dense side, perhaps, but hey, it's 100% rye!
The seeds and fruit are well-dispersed, but I want more of them.
My fear of over salting was unfounded (I used salted sunflower seeds, and added another 16g salt to the dough). If anything, it could use more salt.
I'm happy to have gotten this far with the loaf. I have to chew my way through a12" more of what Ski affectionally calls "not-bread". I am surrounded by non-believers! Well, one out of two infidels. Linda will eat anything that comes out of the kitchen!
My journey on the dark side continues. I foresee a bread loaded with dried fruits and toasted seeds...
Whatever emerges next from my Helena oven will be embraced by sourdough.
was unfounded,
Figure 1. End slice (1/4" heel removed) Figure 2. Center slice
On the left, after I sliced off the 1/4" heel. On the right, a center slice.
badotz
tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to keep in moisture as the moisture moves from the inside toward the crust. This normally softens the crust by the time it's ready to cut.
Ah, the "nose in the bread moment" love that. Never gets old. (let the others stare as time stops)
The crumb says to me that the dough came a little too close to over-proofing (you knew that already) so the pan needs to get into the oven sooner, with a little less fermentation. The bottom and lower sides appear tighter than the centre crumb. This density could also be the photo or the cutting of the bread giving that impression.
All in all a very successful bake!
I'm thinking... a thin smear of butter/ slices of blue cheese/ chunks of fresh roasted walnuts on top.
Freeze a few slices as a flavour addition to your next loaf. The slices can be thawed, crumbled and put into the starter along with the building water and flour.