Help me make the densest fruit bread known to man

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Wildwood Flour on 30 Nov 2024 at 14:30

We recently drove through CA and stopped at Erick Schat's Bakery in Bishop. I bought an energy loaf, which is now haunting my dreams. 

 

Allow me to describe it: it is a pan bread, about 8.5 x 4.5, and only about 3" tall, although it weighs a pound and a half. Truly a bruiser of a loaf. 

 

 

The loaf is encrusted with rolled oats, and comes pre-sliced 1/2 inch thick. The slices are a dense mosaic of evenly distributed fruit and nuts, with areas of crumb roughly equal in size to the included chunks. That's a lot of fruit. There are also unsoaked rolled oats visible, which are white and powdered where they were cut by the automatic bread slicer. This shows their distribution, which is in the shape of a swirl.

 

The texture when bitten is not only dense but tough, like the resistance of taffy or beef jerky which palpably creaks the back of your jaw when you bite into it with your front teeth. It is a sturdy full-mouth workout, impossible to eat fast.

 

The flavor is mellow and almost vanilla-y from the figs. The walnuts don't dominate the texture, but their toasty oils perfume the whole loaf, and the oats and cracked wheat add wholesome, grainy flavor.

 

The ingredients are unbleached wheat flour, crushed red wheat, oatmeal, raisins, dates, apricots, water, walnuts, yeast, sea salt, and pectin. 

 

What purpose do you think the pectin serves? Is it to add structure in a bread where gluten development is impeded by so many inclusions? 

 

I'm excited to try a few iterations of this concept and work towards a version to make regularly at home. How would you go about developing something like this? I have devoted my baking life to increasing the fluffy lightness of my breads, and this dense solidity is a closed book to me. 

I gave it this prompt. 

I would like a recipe for a dense loaf of bread with fruit inclusions. The ingredients are listed in order of decreasing mass. The ingredients are: unbleached wheat flour, crushed red wheat, oatmeal, raisins, dates, apricots, water, walnuts, yeast, sea salt, and pectin.

And I got this response. It clearly didn't get the part of decreasing mass... It is hard to believe there is so little water...

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Here’s a recipe for a dense, hearty loaf of bread with fruit inclusions, using the ingredients you've provided:

Dense Fruit & Nut Loaf Recipe

Ingredients (listed in order of decreasing mass):

  • 3 cups (375 g) unbleached wheat flour
  • 1 cup (100 g) crushed red wheat (or cracked wheat)
  • 1/2 cup (50 g) oatmeal
  • 1/2 cup (75 g) raisins
  • 1/2 cup (75 g) chopped dates
  • 1/2 cup (75 g) chopped dried apricots
  • 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water (lukewarm)
  • 1/2 cup (60 g) chopped walnuts
  • 2 tsp (7 g) active dry yeast
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp pectin (optional, helps to bind the fruit and moisture)

Instructions:

  1. Prepare the Fruit and Nuts:

    • Chop the dried fruits (raisins, dates, and apricots) into smaller pieces to ensure they are evenly distributed throughout the bread. You can soak them in warm water for 10-15 minutes to plump them up if you prefer a moister texture.
    • Chop the walnuts into smaller pieces, or leave them whole depending on your preference.

  2. Activate the Yeast:

    • In a small bowl, combine the lukewarm water and yeast. Stir gently and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy. This indicates the yeast is active.

  3. Mix the Dry Ingredients:

    • In a large mixing bowl, combine the unbleached wheat flour, crushed red wheat, oatmeal, sea salt, and pectin (if using). Stir well to evenly distribute the dry ingredients.

  4. Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients:

    • Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the activated yeast mixture. Stir the dough with a wooden spoon or your hands until it begins to form into a rough dough. You may need to add a little more water (a tablespoon at a time) if the dough is too dry.

  5. Knead the Dough:

    • Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. You may need to sprinkle a little extra flour on the surface or on your hands to prevent the dough from sticking.

  6. Incorporate the Fruit and Nuts:

    • Once the dough is kneaded, gently fold in the raisins, dates, apricots, and walnuts. You may need to stretch the dough slightly to incorporate the fruits and nuts evenly throughout the dough. This can be a little sticky, but it will come together as you continue working the dough.

  7. First Rise:

    • Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

  8. Shape the Loaf:

    • Once the dough has risen, punch it down gently to release air bubbles. Shape the dough into a loaf by folding in the edges and rolling it tightly.
    • Place the shaped dough into a greased loaf pan, or shape it into a round and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

  9. Second Rise:

    • Cover the loaf with a kitchen towel and let it rise again for 30-45 minutes, or until it has risen about 1 inch above the top of the pan.

  10. Preheat the Oven:

    • While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).

  11. Bake the Bread:

    • Once the dough has finished its second rise, place it in the preheated oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
    • For a crustier loaf, you can spritz the dough with water a few times during the first 10 minutes of baking.

  12. Cool:

    • Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes:

  • Texture: This bread will be quite dense due to the inclusion of crushed red wheat, oatmeal, and dried fruits. It has a hearty, chewy texture.
  • Fruit Variations: You can swap out the raisins, dates, or apricots for other dried fruits like figs, prunes, or cranberries, depending on your taste.
  • Pectin: The pectin is optional but helps with moisture retention and binding the ingredients. It’s particularly useful if you want a slightly more cohesive texture with the fruit inclusions.

 

Enjoy your warm, dense loaf of bread with a beautiful mix of fruits and nuts!

After posting I was thinking about the hydration of this bread. 

  • The ingredients should be listed in order of decreasing mass.
  • Water is 7th in the list so we know it can't be more than 1/7th of the total and likely less.
  • Maybe all of the oats are outside so I won't count them in the hydration calculation.
  • The flour and crushed wheat are at least 2/7th, likely more.
  • So, the maximum hydration is 50%. 

Maybe.

When I make something similar, my dough is more a batter, like pancake batter and it stiffens up after it stands a bit before shaping.  Much more hydrated.  Looks to me like the rolled oats or spelt was added during the shaping as sprinkled on the bench to prevent stickling.

What about a stollen recipe?