Making Whole Wheat Bread on Saturday, just because

When you hear the term “artisan bread,” do you automatically think preferment, overnight sponge or sourdough (aka wild yeast)?

Usually when I make an artisan loaf, I like to add some sort of preferment or at least let the dough rest in the refrigerator overnight to help develop the flavor.

However, this past Saturday, I decided to answer the question: Can you make a whole wheat artisan loaf in one day and will it taste good?   

I started the effort late morning. I chose a multi-grain bread which utilizes the straight dough method. Straight dough means it doesn’t include any preferment such as an overnight poolish or a sponge or sourdough. It’s just a straight dough.

This bread is based on the method for the 75% Whole Wheat Saturday Bread from Flour, Water, Salt & Yeast by Ken Forkish.  The total amount of whole grain flour used (375 grams) is seventy-five percent of the total flour used (500 grams). I used a combination of hard red spring wheat, Durum wheat and rye flour for the whole grain portion.

I’m happy to report that you can make a whole wheat artisan loaf in one day and it does taste pretty good, especially with peanut butter, which is my litmus test to see if I like a bread.  It also tastes great with butter or  cheese. I haven’t tried it other ways because I ran out of it.

 

75% Whole Grain Saturday Bread

Adapted from: Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza by Ken Forkish

Makes: One loaf (about 1 1/2 pounds)

Ingredients:

• 125 grams (~ 7/8 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 35 grams (scant 1/3 cup) coarse rye flour
• 200 grams (scant 1 1/3 cup) whole wheat flour
• 140 grams (scant 7/8 cup) Durum wheat flour
• 360 grams (~ 1 3/4 cup) warm water (90 degrees F. to 95 degrees F.)
• 10 grams coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant dried yeast

Directions:

1) Mix the flour and water

Combine the all-purpose, whole wheat, Durum and rye flours and water and mix by hand using a wooden spoon or a Danish dough whisk until thoroughly incorporated.

2) Autolyse (rest the dough)

Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

3) Mix in the Salt and Yeast

After the dough has rested, sprinkle the salt and yeast over the top of the dough. Mix by hand until the salt and yeast are fully incorporated into the dough. Using wet hands for this part makes it really easy. Continue to wet your hands as necessary throughout the mixing process.

 

4) Fold and Turn the Dough

Instead of kneading the dough, Mr. Forkish uses the pincer method.  I love the name of his method, but I’m more proficient with the fold-and-turn method from Chad Robertson’s Tartine Bread so that’s the method I usually use for mixing dough.

With the fold-and-turn method, you basically do a series of turns and folds in the bowl to develop the gluten structure.

Refer to my Tartine Bread post for a photo tutorial on performing the fold-and-turn method.

   

5) Bulk Fermentation

Cover the dough and let it rise. Do two folds during the first 1 1/2 after mixing. The first fold should be done about 10 minutes after mixing and the 2nd fold should be done within the next hour.  When you see the dough spread out in the bowl, you’ll know it’s ready to be folded 

You can fold the dough a little later if necessary, but be sure to let the dough rest during the last hour of rising. The dough should be triple it’s size in volume after about 5 hours after mixing. I started this process at Noon and the dough was ready to be shaped at 5 pm.

 

6) Shape the Loaf

I only made one loaf so I didn’t need to divide the dough. I just shaped it into a ball and placed it in a well-floured banneton basket. A mixture of all-purpose and rice flour works really well for this purpose.

   

 

7) Final Proof

Lightly flour the top of the dough. Cover the basket with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let the loaf proof for an hour to an hour and a half. If your kitchen is warm, it will only take about an hour.

Use the finger dent test to see when the loaf is fully proofed and ready to be baked.  Watch a demonstration by Ken Forkish of the finger-proof test.

 

8) Prepare the Oven for Baking

45 minutes to an hour before baking the loaf, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.  Remove the middle rack from the oven and place a Dutch oven on the bottom rack. I used the Dutch oven combo baker for this bread but you can use any Dutch oven.

 

9) Transfer the Loaf to the Dutch Oven

When the loaf is fully proofed and the oven is sufficiently preheated, carefully remove the Dutch oven using heavy oven mitts. Be careful not to burn your arms or hands on the sides of the oven or the pot. Gently invert the loaf from the proofing basket onto the bottom of the Dutch oven combo baker or into the large part of a regular Dutch oven.  I sprinkled the bottom of the combo baker with cornmeal before inverting the loaf onto it.

 I didn’t score this loaf, but you can if you like.

 

10) Bake and Enjoy!

Place the Dutch Oven on the bottom rack of the oven and cover it with the lid. Turn the oven down to 450 degrees F. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes with the lid on.

Remove the lid and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the loaf is a medium dark brown.  Just be careful not to burn the bottom of the loaf. 

Remove the loaf from the Dutch oven to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

 

 

I’m sending these loaves to be Yeastspotted and to Bake Your Own Bread.

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Five-Grain Loaf with Walnuts & Cranberries

This is not your ordinary multigrain bread.  This 5-grain loaf is made with all-purpose and whole grain spelt four, oat and rye flours and brown rice flour.  Carola, of the Back to the Future, Buddies chose to revisit this bread for the monthly bake for March.

 

The Bread Baking Babes made a version of this bread back in 2009, but I missed it. I’m glad I got the chance to try it this time. I enjoyed this loaf spread with homemade Cran-Strawberry Jam.  It was delish!

The loaves can be made with all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour, but I wanted to make my version using a good portion of ancient grains so I used Spelt instead.

If you want to make pan loaves instead of hearth loaves and use all-purpose flour instead of Spelt, refer to Carola’s post.

This bread can be baked in a loaf pan, but as I was kneading the dough, I realized that because I had changed the grains and the hydration level of the dough, it would make a wonderful freeform loaf. So that’s what I did. I baked the loaves in a preheated Emile Henry Cloche. The dough was well suited for baking in the cloche.

This bread is supposed to be about the walnuts, but unfortunately I didn’t have the amount of walnuts called for because I got hungry for a snack one day and ate most of the stash of walnuts I bake with. It made a very tasty snack, but left me with only about 100 grams of walnuts. To compensate, I added 100 grams of dried cranberries and then I added some more. The combination of the walnuts and cranberries, along with the spelt, rye, oats and brown rice flour, made a tasty loaf of bread.

I tried two different scoring methods and a new pattern. I think it’s my new favorite. I used a curved scoring tool, and I really like the way the loaf opened up. I proofed the loaves in lined banneton baskets, and I really like the contrast of the flour design the lined baskets left on the cranberry-colored loaves.

 

5-Grain Bread with Walnuts & Cranberries

The original loaf is also known as Pane ai Cinque Cereali con Noci

Makes: 2 Large Loaves

Adapted from: The Italian Baker by Carol Field

Ingredients:

• 125 grams (1 1/4 cups) walnuts, chopped roughly
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) lukewarm water
• 675 grams water, room temperature *
• 600 grams all-purpose Spelt flour
• 125 grams oat flour
• 125 grams rye flour
• 125 grams whole grain Spelt flour
• 125 grams brown rice flour
• 200 grams dried cranberries

Directions:

Toast the walnuts. You can toast them in the oven for 10 minutes (400°F/200°C), but I find it easier to toast them in a pan over the stove. Let them cool down and then chop them coarsely with a sharp knife or in a food processor fitted with the steel blade or. Do not grind them finely or you’ll miss out on the walnut crunch.

I mixed the dough by hand since ancient grains, especially Spelt don’t like to be over mixed.

Mixing the Dough

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large mixing bowl; let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the water.

* I held back some of the water because Spelt doesn’t absorb water the same way that all-purpose flour does. I used about 675 grams of water. If you make this bread using different flour, you might need more water.

Mix the flours, and salt and stir into the dissolved yeast, 1/2 cup at a time stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk. The dough should come together fairly easily.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead in the cranberries and walnuts. Sprinkle the dough with additional Spelt flour as needed, and knead for a few minutes.  The dough will still be tacky. Don’t over knead it!  Spelt requires a shorter mixing time due to the fragile proteins.

 

 

First Rise (and retard in refrigerator)

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

The dough had doubled in size, but it was still pretty tacky. So after the first rise, I deflated the dough, folded it into a ball and placed it back in the bowl and recovered it with plastic. I let it retard in the refrigerator overnight. You can try this to add flavor and structure to the dough or continue to the shaping and second rise if you prefer.

If you retard your dough in the refrigerator, the next day, bring the dough to room temperature before shaping.

Shaping and Second Rise (or retard in refrigerator):

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. The dough should be firm and noticeably elastic. If you retarded it in the refrigerator, it shouldn’t be sticky anymore.

Cut the dough in half and shape each piece into an a round boule.  Let the balls rest on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes. Dust two lined banneton baskets with a mixture of spelt/rice flour.  Reshape the dough into tight boules and place seam side up in the baskets. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until fully doubled about an hour to an hour and a half. Or, immediately place the covered baskets in the refrigerator again and let the loaves retard for 5 hours. That’s what I did.

 

 

Preheat the Oven and Bread Baker:

Preheat the oven to 450°F (205°C). with the Emile Henry Cloche, La Cloche,  Dutch Oven or other baking pot on the bottom rack.  Let it preheat for at least 30 minutes before baking the loaves.

 

Scoring the Loaves:

When you’re ready to bake the loaves (after 5 hours), remove the baskets from the refrigerator and gently turn the loaves out onto a piece of round parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the Emile Henry Cloche.

Score the loaves using the pattern of your choice. As I mentioned, I used a curved lame and scored 2 different patterns.

You can leave one loaf in the refrigerator and prepare it while the cloche or Dutch oven is getting back up to 450 degrees again, or you can take them both out at the same time.

 

 

Baking:

When the oven and bread baker have preheated sufficiently, remove the lid and carefully transfer the scored loaf to the bottom of the baker. I used a pizza peel to slide the loaf (on the parchment paper) onto the bottom of the cloche like you would slide it onto a baking stone.  This worked really well for me. I didn’t have to worry about getting burned. 

If you are using a Dutch oven, you can invert the loaf directly into the bottom, just be very careful because it will be really hot.

Place the lid on the baker and bake the loaf for 40 to 45 minutes (or until the bread's internal temperature reaches 200°F - 93°C).  Remove the lid and the parchment paper during the last 10 to 15 minutes of baking to brown the bottoms and sides.

Let the loaves cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed making and eating this bread.  It is delicious and nutty and makes great toast. Thanks Carola for choosing this bread.

 

 

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

 

Bread with Sprouted Grain Flour

I’ve had this Bread with Sprouted Grain Flour on my list to make for several months. In fact, one of the reasons I bought KAMUT flour was to try this loaf.

This bread can be made with sprouted wheat flour or any other type of sprouted flour. I made this version with sprouted wheat flour, but I am curious to find out how it will perform with sprouted bean flour or perhaps sprouted rice flour. I hope to try one of those soon. The proportion of sprouted wheat to the overall flour is only about 30%, but using a gluten-free flour will give it a more dense crumb.

The formula for this bread is from the San Francisco Baking Institute. The original formula made more dough than I needed so I decided to scale the formula down to a more manageable yield. Two loaves seemed about right.

I’m currently beta-testing the iPad version of BreadStorm™ and have been looking for opportunities to use it. I figured this handy little app would make this task a piece of cake – or bread, rather. Unfortunately, the measurements from SFBI were in kilograms and the software utilizes grams.

I was just getting used to the idea of doing the conversion manually when I received an email with an updated version of the software. One of the updates allows you to switch between kg and grams. Perfect!  Now, it really would be easy. I like it when that happens. I only had 325 grams of sprouted wheat flour so I plugged that into the software to get the percentages for the rest of the flour.

 

Bread with Sprouted Wheat Flour

This bread utilizes a levain made with whole grain KAMUT flour and KAMUT sourdough starter; an overnight poolish made of bread flour, water and yeast; and a soaker made of sprouted whole wheat flour and water. I used sprouted whole wheat flour that I had purchased a while back and stored in the freezer, but you can sprout your own wheat berries and grind them into flour if you prefer.

The final dough adds some additional bread flour and KAMUT white flour. The original formula also included some toasted wheat germ. I didn’t have any so I omitted it. Instead, I sprinkled the top of the dough with spelt bran before baking.

 

Makes: Two 2.25 pound Loaves

Adapted from: Bread with Sprouted Wheat Flour from the San Francisco Baking Institute

Ingredient:	Total	Levain	Poolish	Soaker	Final Mix
WW Kamut flour	53.0 g	53.0 g
Water	856.3 g	53.0 g	270.8 g	272.4 g	260.1 g
Liquid Levain	2.0 g	2.0 g
Salt	27.0 g	pinch			27.0 g
Bread Flour	541.5 g		270.8 g		270.8 g
Yeast	1.3 g		0.3 g		1.0 g
Sprouted Flour	324.8 g			324.8 g
White Kamut Flour	162.4 g				162.4 g
Wheat germ, toasted	32.7 g				32.7 g
Levain					108.0 g
Poolish					541.8 g
Soaker					597.2 g
Yield	2,001.0 g	108.0 g	541.8 g	597.2 g	2.001.0 g

Note: The hydration may vary with the quality and moisture content of the flour. I added 55 g additional water to the sprouted wheat soaker. It could’ve used more water.

 

Mix the Levain:

Mix all ingredients until well incorporated with D.D.T. of 60°F.

Allow to ferment 12 hours at room temperature (65 - 70°F).

 

Mix the Poolish:

Mix all ingredients until well incorporated with D.D.T. of 60°F.

Allow to ferment 12 hours at room temperature (65 -70°F)

 

Prepare the Soaker:

Mix all ingredients until well incorporated. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

 

 

Mix the Final Dough:

I used my stand mixer to mix the final dough.

Add the levain to the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in most of the water to break up the levain. Since I had added additional water to the soaker, I held back some of the water until after I had added in the rest of the flour in case the dough was too wet.

Add in the poolish and the soaker along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix on 1st speed for 5 minutes. Sprinkle in additional flour if necessary.

Increase to second speed and mix for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

 

Bulk Fermentation:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it ferment at room temperature for 2 hours. I think this dough could benefit proofing a longer proofing time.

Fold the dough every 45 minutes to further develop the dough. You should perform 2 folds total or do the fold-and-turn method in the bowl. I prefer the fold-and-turn method. 

Refer to the Tartine Country Bread post for details on folding and turning the dough.

 

Divide and Shape the Loaves:

Divide the dough into 2 or 3 equal pieces. I made two loaves at about 2.2 lbs. each, but you can make 3 smaller loaves if you prefer.

Preshape the dough pieces into round boules and let them rest for 30 minutes to further strengthen the gluten.

Reshape the pieces into tight boules and place in flour-dusted bannetons (lined or unlined) or shape into blunt batards and place in oval bannetons. I did one of each shape for variety.

 

Retard Loaves in the Refrigerator:

Cover the baskets with plastic wrap and/or a kitchen towel and immediately place the baskets in the refrigerator.  Let them ferment overnight until ready to bake.

 

Prepare the oven for hearth baking:

At least 45 minutes prior to baking, place a baking stone on the bottom shelf of the oven and a steam pan or iron skillet on the top shelf. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

 

Scoring the Loaves:

The loaves can be baked right directly from the refrigerator.

Remove the loaves from the refrigerator. Carefully flip each loaf from the banneton baskets onto lightly floured parchment paper. Score the loaves in the pattern of your choice.  I tried my hand at making an “S” for sprouted on the oval shape and “B” for bread on the round shape.  The B didn’t turn out so great.

 

Baking the Loaves:

Slide the loaves onto the preheated baking stone using a pizza peel or the back of a baking sheet. I baked each loaf separately because they were to big to both fit on my baking stone.

Quickly throw 3 or 4 ices cubes into the iron skillet and shut the oven door. You can also spritz the oven walls with water if you like. Bake the loaves for about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the loaves. The loaves should be dark golden brown in color and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

Repeat the process with the remaining loaf. Remove the loaves to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Here is the crumb shot of the oval loaf.  I was very pleased with those holes.

 

This bread is slightly earthy due to the sprouted wheat flour.  It’s very tasty.  I’ve been enjoying it plain with butter and as crostini topped with red pepper spread and a garlic spread.

 

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Would you like some bread with your jam?

It’s been raining so much lately, that I haven’t wanted to venture out to the store to get food supplies. I decided it was time to make some comfort food using some grains and other ingredients I had on hand. Can you guess what I made?

 

I’ll give you a clue. I love to make jam during the summer months when berries and stoned fruit are at their peak, and I always end up with a bunch of jars at the end of the season. I decided to make some bread to go with the jam.

If you guessed that the comfort food I was craving was a PB&J sandwich, you’re right!  For this sandwich, I made a multi-grain bread using a mixture of seven grains, and then I spread it with some CranStrawberry Jam. I also added some creamy organic peanut butter (not shown). It was very comforting on a loud and stormy night!

To learn how to make this multi-grain bread, look for my Multi-Grain Bread for a Rainy Day post on the Grain Mill Wagon.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Sourdough Multigrain Bread with Ancient Grains & Overnight Soaker

The bread of the month for the Artisan Bread Bakers’ Facebook group is a Multigrain Bread. The original recipe, from Pastry Affair, makes a simple multigrain bread using the straight dough method. With the straight dough method, the bread is made without any preferment.

I changed things up a bit by incorporating an overnight soaker to soften the grains and a sourdough starter to ferment the dough. I used white Spelt flour instead of bread flour, Einkorn flour instead of regular whole wheat flour and my EK (Einkorn) sourdough starter. I also added a little bit of honey to sweeten the pot.

Due to the inclusion of the sourdough and ancient grains, what I ended up with was a completely different multigrain bread; full of nutrients and fiber and easier on the digestive tract.

 

I used my Einkorn starter for this recipe.  I had just fed all of my starters, but I used the Spelt and apple starters to make sourdough crackers.  The only starter I hadn’t used yet was the Einkorn starter so in the pot it went. A Spelt starter would also work well in this bread or you could use a starter made from white bread flour if you want to make it with regular wheat rather than ancient grains.

 

Sourdough Multigrain Bread with Ancient Grains & Overnight Soaker

Inspired by this Multigrain Bread from Pastry Affair

Makes: 1 Loaf

 

Ingredients:

Multigrain Soaker:

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds
• 10 ounces tepid water

Final Dough:

• 1 cup sourdough starter (I used this Einkorn Levain)
• 2 cups white Spelt flour
• 1/2 cup whole grain Einkorn flour
• 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• ~2 ounces lukewarm water (you might need more or less water, depending on whether you use a liquid or stiff starter)
• Additional oats (and/or seeds) for garnish

* Due to the inclusion of the multigrain soaker, I added a little bit of yeast to help give some lift to the dough. 

Directions:

1) Make the Multigrain Soaker

The night before you plan to make this bread, place the oats, sunflower seeds and flax seeds in a small bowl and cover them with the water.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it sit overnight.

 

2) Mix the Dough

The next day, whisk together the Spelt and Einkorn flours, salt and yeast in a medium bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, add the multigrain soaker and sourdough starter.

 

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon, Danish dough whisk or mix on low speed on the mixer.  Add the water and mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  If the dough is too dry, add a little more water, or if it is too sticky, sprinkle a little more flour until it becomes a workable dough.

 

3) Knead the Dough

Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it gently. It’s easy to over knead Spelt so I only kneaded it for a short time, then I put it in a lightly greased bowl. 

 

4) Bulk Fermentation

Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let the dough proof in a warm spot (about 70 degrees F.) for 3-4 hours. Fold the dough a couple of times during the first hour to help develop the gluten. 

 

5) Shape the Loaf

At the end of the bulk fermentation, gently punch down the dough and let it rest in the bowl for 10 minutes.  Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface.  Shape the dough into a rough rectangle.

 

Fold the top third down and the bottom third up and gently press the edges together.

 

Place the loaf seam-side down in a greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Using a spray bottle, spritz the top of the loaf with water and sprinkle with oats (and more seeds if you like). 

 

6) Final Proof

Cover the loaf with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it proof for another 30-40 minutes, or until it doubles in volume.

 

7) Bake the Loaf

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Bake the loaf for 40-50 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when thumped.

 

8) Cool and slice the loaf

Remove the loaf from the oven and immediately remove it from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

 

This bread makes a good sandwich bread.  I enjoyed it toasted with cheese and with peanut butter and jelly.

 

Happy baking!

Cathy