Multigrain and Sprouted Wheat Sourdough

It was like a baking marathon session today. I can only bake 2 loaves at a time and I had 10 loaves to bake! I more than doubled up on what I usually do because I can't bake next weekend and I wanted to give a couple of loaves away to friends and family.

So the first set of 5 loaves were this multigrain and sprouted wheat sourdough. This makes 2 large loaves or 3 small ones.

1. Sprout 75 g of hard spring wheat berries. I used an old variety called Selkirk. This took a few days. When the tails were as long as the berry, I put them in the fridge.

2. Toast 75 g of 10 grain cereal (Bob's Red Mill) and then soak in 150 g of boiling water overnight. In the morning, stir in 30 g of organic yogurt and let sit for a few hours.

3. Autolyse all of the above ingredients with 667 g of water, 391 g of unbleached flour, 293 g of multigrain flour (Robin Hood Multigrain Best for Bread), 99 g of freshly milled Red Fife flour, 197 g of freshly milled hard spring wheat flour. Let sit for at least 2 hours.

4. Mix in 23 g sea salt and 275 g of 80% hydration levain (It was fed about 8 hours prior). Use pinching and folding to integrate ingredients.

5. Do four sets of folds a half hour apart and then let bulk ferment in a warm spot until double. This took almost 5 hours in my oven with the light on and the door cracked open.

6. Divide into 2 or 3 and do a loose pre-shape. Let sit for 15 minutes and do the final shape. Pop into bannetons or baskets and put into plastic bags for an overnight proof in the fridge.

7. The next day, bake as per my usual method of 20 minutes at 500 F, 10 minutes at 450 F, and 27 minutes with the lid off the pre-heated Dutch Oven.

The loaves look great although they are just a shade paler than my usual loaves! Depending on which loaf we cut open this week, you may or may not get a crumb shot. The loaves feel nice and light so hoping for a fairly open crumb.