5-Grain Levain

gavinc on 14 Mar 2021 at 22:53

I've made this several times lately and it's now on the regular bake list. I wish I had discovered this years ago.

Cheers,

Gavin

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Thats some nice consistent cumb you have going on there - I'd like to make a sammo out of that beauty ! 

Thanks. After several bakes I got this sorted to what I like. Goes well with cream cheese and smoked salmon - and pinot noir. 

:)

 

Gavin, it looks like you have perfected this one. JH would be awfully proud...

IMO, the scoring id perfect for useable sandwich slices. Beautiful! I’ve gone to Pullmans but your scoring is definitely the ticket for free formed sandwich slices. My neighbors could care less a out ears :-)

I’m pretty much done with big holes. Your crumb is da bomb...

Toast

Another Girl on 15 Mar 2021 at 07:37

Great looking loaf! Wonderful spring and crumb. I love the shape for toast and sammies. Will be making mine like this from now on, I think.

Worth a go for sure. I heard Hamelman say in a video that he likes to score his seeded loaves like this; so I copied when we did the rye CB and have done so ever since.

Gavin

You sure get a nice tall profile to your loaves. The perpendicular scores seem to help maintain the hoop strength. You should add this to the 5G CB for posterity.

Don

Thanks Don. I shall add it to the CB today. I don't have any secrets to my shaping, I just follow the techniques and processes in JH's book. I try not to add extra water during mixing unless the flour is too dry, but generally not.

Gavin.

The only time I have not been astonished by the flavor of this bread was the first time I baked it. I added commercial yeast and did not cold retard. I don't know any bread that benefits from an overnight retard more than this one.

BTW, since some one remarked on the round shape of the slices, that is directly due to your scoring. Scoring at right angles to the long axis of a loaf results in the loaf lengthening and having a round rather than oval cross section.

David

Thanks, David. I've taken on board your retarding advice, so I will try that next time. Hamelman suggests eliminating the commercial yeast content and extending the bulk fermentation to 2 hours if the final fermentation is to be retarded. Although I found the taste in this loaf exceptional, I'm now keen to try the retard to compare. The amount of IDY in this 750g loaf was only 0.8 gram and I'm sure it had no impact on flavour.

I agree that the right angle scoring with a serrated knife has ensured a nice round profile of the baked loaf. When I first baked this I went a bit too deep with the cuts due to excitement when moving the dough to the peel; I since curtailed this issue :)

Chees,

G 

Gavin, this bread is inspirational! I've gotta make one soon.

I also think the round cross section and crumb make for some lovely slices for eating.

Jon