20% Sprouted Spelt Sun-dried Tomatoes Cheddar Sourdough + Pizza

After working with sprouted wheat, it makes total sense to start venturing into the zone of sprouted spelt. This time, I decided to make it fully-loaded rather than leaving it plain.

20% Sprouted Spelt Sun-dried Tomatoes Cheddar Sourdough

Dough flour:

150g     50%       Whole wheat flour

90g       30%       Whole spelt flour

60g       20%       Freshly milled sprouted spelt flour 

For leaven:

10g       3.3%      Starter

10g       3.3%      Bran shifted out from dough flour

10g       3.3%      Water

For dough:

290g     96.7%      Dough flour excluding bran for leaven 

265g     88.3%      Water

30g         10%      Leaven

9g             3%      Vital Wheat Gluten

3g             1%      Dark barley malt powder

5g        1.67%      Salt

Add-ins:

34g       11.3%     Sun-dried tomatoes

90g         30%      Smoked cheddar cheese

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305g       100%     Whole grain

280g      91.8%     Total hydration

Shift out the coarse bran from the dough flour, reserve 10g for leaven. Mix the rest back into the dough flour or soak them in equal amount of water taken from dough ingredients for a minimum of 4 hours.

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until doubled, about 8 hours.

Roughly combine all dough ingredients and let ferment until ready. My leaven wasn’t ready when I use it so the dough took 16 hours to double. This leads to degradation of dough structure as the excessive activity of protease broke down the gluten. The bulk fermentation should take less than 10 hours if the starter is ripe and this problem should not occur. Fold in the smoked cheddar and sun-dried tomatoes and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Construct 3 sets of stretch and fold over a 1.25 hour proofing period (20+30+25), shape the dough after the last set of stretch and fold and let rise untouched for 25 minutes (part of the 1.25 hour). At the same time, preheat the oven at 250°C/480°F and pre-steam at the last ten minutes.

Score the dough and bake at 250°C/480°F with steam for 15 minutes then without steam for 20 minutes more or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 205°F. Let cool for at least 3 hours before slicing.

The gluten broke down leads to poor dough structure that couldn’t support itself. The dough thus flattened out immediately when put into the oven. However, there was still some oven spring and the crumb wasn’t too bad. It is very moist and chewy: just the way I like it.  Shuuu… I’ll just tell my mom that it’s flatbread when I serve it to her!

As for the taste, there’re no words…They are so delicious! Of course, you can hardly go wrong with sun-dried tomatoes and cheese but the sprouted spelt added something special too. I’d be lying if I tell you I can taste strong sprouted spelt flavour. Yet it is what that takes this bread from tasty to phenomenal.

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I took some extra dough and made it into pizza. It turned out to be the best decision ever! 

Spread with home-made tomato relish. Half with feta cheese and half with smoked cheddar (my mom can’t stand goat’s cheese), topped with caramelized cabbage.

Crispy bottom and crust with a chewy centre! Have you tried cabbage on pizza? Just slice them thinly and put them on top of everything of the dough raw. It’ll come out of the oven perfectly caramelized!