The Discard Loaf

I needed to refresh two starters, a whole wheat and a rye, and being a positively parsimonious sort of fellow I was reluctant to send 200g of perfectly good starter down the drain. I also needed a new loaf of sandwich bread. What to do? Oh, what to do? Well, I did a discard loaf.

In all fairness I should at this point provide a 'trigger warning' for sensitive sourdough folks. I did use some IDY. However, I offer in mitigation the fact that all flour used in the loaf and the starters was whole grain and home milled.

Another trigger warning for the 'hands on' folks is in order. A 20-year-old KA mixer was involved. In mitigation I offer the fact that the loaf is 30% whole rye and throw myself on the mercy of the court.

The starters, one made from whole hard white wheat and the other whole rye and weighing 200g each were pulled out of the fridge while the water for my coffee was coming to a boil. A couple of hours later they were close to room temp and after stirring them down I spooned out 100g from each and mixed the discards together in a small bowl.

While they were getting re-acquainted (they're distant cousins) I milled an additional 100g of rye and 300g of hard white wheat into the KA's bowl and added 1/4 tsp of Ascorbic acid. Using the paddle I mixed the flours and the Ascorbic together and then slowly drizzled in 260g of warmed, filtered water. 

At that point I was exhausted and took a 30 minute coffee break. Thoroughly re-invigorated at the end of my break I used the paddle to mix in 30g of honey and, when it was integrated, the 200g of discarded starters. Because it was break time I poured another cup of coffee and put my feet up (actually my feet stayed on the floor and I sat my butt down).

Break over I sprinkled 1 tsp of IDY on the dough, rolled up my sleeves (catching a cuff on the dough hook can have serious consequences) and proceeded to knead in the yeast and work up a cohesive dough that would hang together on the hook. Then it was the dough's turn to rest for 10 minutes. Just so it wouldn't get bored I sprinkled on 9g of Pink Himalayan Salt.

When that break was over the dough once again waltzed with the hook while the salt chaperoned. Just before the ball was over I mixed in 20g of ghee.

When the dough had almost doubled I shaped with a few stretches and a roll (on the cutting board - not in the hay), plopped it into my 4x4x9 Pullman pan and took another break. 

The pan was lidded when the highest part of the proofed loaf was even with the upper rim of the pan and placed into a cold oven set to 350f. Thirty-six minutes later the lid came off and the loaf spent 10 minutes picking up a light tan.