1) Rye flour lacks the high gluten content that wheat flours have. For this reason, dough made with rye flour will not develop a strong gluten web and will have a denser structure.

2) Rye flour has a higher content of bran and fiber than wheat flour. This allows it to absorb more water. The bran and fiber also inhibit the gluten development due to their sharp edges, which cut the gluten network.

3) Rye has more soluble sugars that wheat. Therefore rye doughs will ferment more rapidly than wheat doughs. This quality, as well as rye’s inability to form a gluten network, means that you must keep a careful eye on your rye doughs so that they don’t overferment and collapse.

4) Rye breads have a high content of pentosans (about 8%), a polysaccharide found in plants. Pentosans absorb much moisture and compete with the glutenin and gliadin (the two compounds that form gluten) for moisture, inhibiting gluten development. In addition, these pentosans are quite fragile and will break down if a rye dough is over-mixed. (This should only be problem if you are using a machine to mix. Hand-mixing is gentle enough for rye doughs, but can be tricky due to their sticky nature).

5) Rye flour contains lots of amylase, the enzyme that converts starch into sugar. Starch provides the structure for breads and is essential to form a well-risen loaf. Sugars do not contribute to a good crumb structure, and, if anything, will cause the crumb to be gummy if they exist in too high a quantity. During baking, starches gelatinize between 122º – 140ºF. Amylase activity, however, is accelerated at higher temperatures and will not stop until the amylase is destroyed when the internal temperature of the loaf reaches ~176ºF. This means that the amylase will continue to break down the starches, preventing a well-developed crumb from forming. This is known as “starch attack” and leads to a gummy crumb. Wheat-based doughs do not have this issue as they have less amylase and because wheat starch gelatinizes at a higher temperature (~158 – 194ºF), providing the amylase with less of a “window” to damage the crumb. Bakers, however, have an excellent weapon against “starch attack”: sourdough. The acidity of the sourdough inhibits amylase action and allows for the crumb to stabilize.

I could go on, but I think that is enough to explain the recipe I settled upon. Please do check out Hamelman’s book, though, it is informative, scientific, and very well written. So, at the end of my rye investigation, I decided that due to the inherit qualities of rye flour, a 100% rye bread loaf is destined to have a closed crumb structure. But, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A dense, moist slice of rye bread is often the perfect partner to a strong cheese, mustard, or fruit preserve. So, instead of trying to find a recipe that attempted to lighten the interior texture of the rye bread, I looked for one that focused on bringing out all the excellent qualities of rye sourdoughs.

Hamelman’s book has a section on the Detmolder method of rye bread baking. The Detmolder Method is a three-stage method that involves a series of rye sourdough builds each designed to bring out a specific quality in the sourdough. Rye sourdough cultures are characterized by yeast, acetic acid, and lactic acid. Each of these components is enhanced under different conditions of hydration, temperature, and duration of the sourdough ripening. The Detmolder Method focuses on developing each of these qualities by controlling the conditions of each build to favor either the formation of yeast, acetic acid, or lactic acid. The first build is called the “freshening,” which encourage the development of yeast activity with a high-hydration paste at ~78 ºF for 5 to 6 hours. The second build is known as the “basic sour.” The “basic sour” enhances the acetic acid in the dough, requiring a stiff (low-hydration) sourdough that ripens in cool conditions for 15 to 24 hours. The last build is the “full sour.” This stage lasts 3 to 4 hours at a high temperature (around 85 ºF), encouraging the development of lactic acid. For the best results, the upmost precision (with regard to temperature control and length of duration) is required at each of the stages.

As a home baker, I do not have a temperature-regulated proofing box or any fancy equipment to do full justice to the Detmolder method. But, I approximated as well as I could. The backdoor hallway in my apartment is always slightly cooler, so I stuck the bread there during the basic sour stage. Placing the proofing container on top of the oven pilot light got the starter up to around 85 ºF during the full sour stage. So I fudged a bit, but I was pleased with the results. The dough rose actively, indicating healthy yeast, and I could taste both the subtle creaminess of the lactic acid and a slight sour bite of the acetic acid in the final loaf.

There is one caveat about this bread. If you are planning on making it without a mixer, be warned, it is very sticky due to the high rye content. I didn’t use a mixer and ended up doing a version of “kneading,” which involved me slapping the dough around on my countertop, attempting not to make too much of a mess. (A bench knife was very useful in this process.) The stickiness also makes shaping the loaves much more difficult. I suggest using plenty of flour on your work surface, being careful to brush off any excess that clings to the loaves. Hamelman offers two other versions of the Detmolder rye with 80% and 70% rye content as well. These loaves will be lighter in texture for those wanting a slightly loftier, but still richly rye-flavored loaf.

Detmolder 90% Sourdough Rye
Yield: ~1500 (two medium sized loaves)

Freshening:

3 g mature 100% hydration rye sourdough starter
11 g water
9 g whole-rye flour

Disperse the mature sourdough starter in the water. Add the whole-rye flour and mix thoroughly. Ripen this paste for 5 to 6 hours at 77 to 79 ºF.

Basic Sour:

freshening sour (all of above)
70 g water
90 g whole-rye flour

Disperse the freshening paste in the water. Add the whole-rye flour and mix thoroughly. Allow the basic sour to ripen for 15 to 24 hours at 73 – 80 ºF (with cooler temperatures use longer ripening times and with warmer temperatures use shorter ripening times).

Full Sour:

basic sour (all of the above)
245 g water
245 g whole-rye flour

Disperse the basic sour in the water. Add the whole-rye flour and mix thoroughly. Ripen the full sour for 3 to 4 hours at ~85 ºF.

Final Dough:

full sour (all of the above)
388 g water
473 g rye flour (I used whole-rye, but you can use medium rye for a lighter loaf)
91 g high-gluten flour (such as King Arthur’s bread flour)
17 g salt

Disperse the full sour in the water. Add the flours and salt. “Knead” by hand for ~10 minutes or, if you have a spiral mixer, mix for 4 minutes on full speed and 1 to 1.5 minutes on second. (This is what Hamelman calls for. I don’t have a mixer so I don’t fully understand the various speeds, but I hope those of you out there with them can follow this). There will be only a minimal amount of gluten development. You may not even notice it.

Ferment the dough for 10 to 20 minutes. (Due to the high percentage of ripening that occurred during the three stages, a very short bulk fermentation time is required.)

Divide the dough into two pieces and shape either round or in long batards. Score the loaves and place seam-side down on a proofing cloth. Proof at ~82 ºF for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 480 – 490 ºF with a steam pan. (The high oven temperature will help to get the internal temperature of the loaves quickly above the point where amylase activity ceases.) When the loaves are ready, place them in the oven and bake for 5 minutes with steam and another 5 without. Then turn down the oven temperature to 410 ºF and bake for 40-50 minutes. Remove the loaves from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Store the loaves for at least 24 hours before slicing into in order to stabilize the crumb.

I’m pleased to submit this post to YeastSpotting this week!

Mom sent me the recipe for sourdough waffles this past week and I have eagerly been anticipating this weekend when I would have time to do a proper pancake breakfast. I made pancakes and not waffles simply for the lack of a waffle grill. I do have a good cast iron skillet though, perfect for pancakes. It was put it to good use this morning. The recipe that follows is versatile, perfect for either sort of breakfast treat you want. Feel free to experiment with the flours too, using whatever you have on hand. With a bit of jam or maple syrup, these pancakes are absolutely delicious … light, fluffy, and just slightly tangy. Thanks, Mom!

Mom’s Sourdough Waffles (or Pancakes)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sourdough starter, at room temperature
2 cups warm buttermilk (about 100 degrees)
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, starter, and buttermilk. Mix well. Cover and let stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes (or covered and refrigerated overnight).

Beat together eggs, milk, honey, and oil. Add to flour mixture and stir until blended. Combine baking soda and salt. Stir into batter, then let stand for 5 minutes.

For pancakes, drop batter by spoonfuls onto a moderately hot greased griddle. Cook until tops are bubbly and appear browned. Flip and cook through. Makes about 2 dozen 4-inch pancakes.

For waffles, bake in a pre-heated electric waffle iron, however you usually do. The waffles should be richly browned. Serve immediately. Or let cool on racks, package airtight and freeze. You can reheat the frozen waffles in a toaster or warm oven later. Makes twelve 4-inch square waffles.

In my perusal of bread books, I came across numerous recipes for breads with sprouted wheat or other grains. These recipes excited me as I had never sprouted grains before, but had heard of the nutritional benefits of doing so. When seeds are placed in water they will begin to germinate. During this process the seeds begin to break down due to enhanced enzyme activity, nutrients are transferred between the endosperm and germ of the seed, and new molecules are created. Importantly, vitamin content, in particular vitamins A, B-complex, and C, is increased, and calcium, potassium and iron are released. In addition, the carbohydrates are transformed into a more digestible form.

Hard Winter Wheat Berries

Sprouting grains turns out to be pretty easy as well. I have outline the process below. It does take some planning ahead of time, but the actual work is minimal. The recipe that follows is my own creation. I wanted to ensure a rich wheat flavor in the bread so I used a whole wheat starter in addition to the sprouted wheat grains. In order to achieve sufficient gluten development and a light crumb, however, I opted for adding white flour into the recipe, as well. I also decided to use a bit of barley malt to ensure a well-browned crust. Because the sprouted grains increase enzyme activity, the sugars in the dough are depleted more rapidly, resulting in a pale crust. The barley malt gives the enzymes a little extra food so that some sugars will be left in the dough to caramelize during baking into a dark, attractive crust.

I was pleased with the results. The crumb is moist, but light. The sourdough contributes a slight sourness to complement the nuttiness of the sprouted grains, ultimately yielding a well-rounded flavor to the bread. You could also try this bread sprouting other sorts of grains such as rye, alfalfa, or barley. Use whatever you have on hand!

I’m happy to be part of this week’s YeastSpotting. Make sure to check out what others are baking as well!

Sprouted Wheat*

255 g wheat berries (I used hard winter wheat berries, but you could use soft ones too)
510 g water

Rinse wheat berries to eliminate dirt or other foreign matter. Cover the wheat berries with the water and let soak for 12 to 24 hours at room temperature.

Drain the wheat berries and save the water. This water is full of minerals and enzymes so you can either drink it (I tried this, but could only stomach about one sip), water your plants with it, add it to the final bread dough, or use it in soups. Rinse the wheat berries and return them to the container. Cover with water again and let them sprout at room temperature. You should see the beginning of a tail within 3 to 6 hours. If not, drain, rinse, and cover the wheat berries again. The wheat berries will be ready to use as soon as a tiny white tail shows itself.

Refrigerate the sprouted wheat berries until you are ready to use them in the final dough.

*This recipe will yield about 420-425 g of sprouted wheat berries, the amount needed for the recipe below.

Sprouted Wheat Sourdough
Yield: ~2 kg of dough

420 g sprouted wheat berries
595 g mature 100% hydration whole wheat sourdough starter
350 g water
30 g barley malt
580 g white all purpose flour
20 g salt

Grind the sprouted wheat berries in a food processor to as fine a pulp as possible. Try not to overheat the wheat berries, which will over enhance enzyme activity. If the wheat berry pulp does start to feel warm, stop processing it, and let it sit for a bit to cool off before continuing.

Place the sprouted wheat berry pulp, water, whole-wheat starter, and barley malt in a large bowl. Stir until the starter is loosened, the wheat berry pulp is distributed, and the barley malt dissolved. Then add the flour and mix all of the flour is hydrated. Let rest or autolyse for 20 minutes.

Add the salt and continue kneading until the gluten has developed enough so that the dough feels elastic and supple. It may be able to pass the window pane test, but any large grain may make this difficult. In any case, you should be kneading the dough by hand for at least ~15 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, place it in a well-oiled container, and cover.

Allow to ferment for 3 hours with a fold at 1 and 2 hours. By the last hour the dough should double in volume.

After the bulk fermentation, uncover the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Cut it into four equal pieces, tuck the edges under each piece, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes.

Uncover the dough and shape the each piece into a boule or batard. Place the shaped loaves, seam side up, into flour proofing containers. Allow the loaves to proof at room temperature for 1to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 475 ºF one hour before baking. Prepare with a baking stone and steam pan. Invert the loaves onto a peel, score them, place them in the oven, and turn down the oven to 450 ºF . Bake for 15 minutes with steam and another 20 minutes without steam. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and leave loaves in for another 5-10 minutes. Remove the loaves from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into.

After completing my bread catalog, I then attempted to pick which one I wanted to work on first. I settled upon a recipe for a rye sourdough with sunflower seeds from Jeffrey Hamelman’s Bread for no real particular reason other than the fact that I had just bought a large quantity of sunflower seeds that were taking up space in my already tiny pantry. Upon reading the recipe, however, I realized that I did not have all the ingredients. I lacked rye chops. I solved that dilemma, though, deciding I would use rye flakes instead, altering the water content appropriately when the time came. Then I saw that Hamelman used instant yeast in his recipe. I did not want to use yeast. I’m not a yeast snob; there is a place for instant yeast in bread baking, but not in this sunflower sourdough. The last few weeks have been too rushed for me, racing to meet deadlines and ignoring personal relaxation. Finally, time constraints are not an issue. I wanted to let this bread have all the time it needed to develop a true sourdough flavor. So, out went the yeast and in went a few more hours of me lounging on the sofa with a good novel waiting for the dough to rise.

So, the recipe below is inspired by the Hammelman’s recipe, but as usual, a bit tweaked to my own preferences. I will warn you now that the high rye content makes it quite sticky and that the dough feels heavy initially. I thought that it would be dense and, while not unpalatable, not one of the better breads I’ve baked. Yet, if you give it adequate time to rise fully both during the bulk fermentation and final proof, you will get splendid results. The dough becomes lighter, resulting in a pleasantly light crumb, and the flavor of the dough develops a creaminess that compliments the dark nuttiness of the toasted sunflower seeds.

I’m not claiming perfection on this one yet, but it tastes pretty damn good. I think I am going to play around with it a bit more, but will soon check it off the ‘Bread List’ and start thinking about my next endeavor.

I am also delighted to be part of this week’s YeastSpotting. Make sure to check out the other delicious baked goods there!

Rye Sourdough with Sunflower Seeds
Yield: ~2050 g (2 large loaves)

Sourdough:
182 g whole rye flour
145 g water
20 g mature soudough starter

Soaker:
150 g rye flakes
225 g water

Final Dough:
All of the sourdough
All of the soaker
14 g malt syrup
430 g water
675 g white flour (~11% protein content)
20 g salt
182 g toasted sunflower seeds + extra for topping

Place the sourdough, soaker, malt syrup, and water in a large bowl. Stir the mixture to roughly combine. Add the flour and stir until all the flour is hydrated. Cover and let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes.

Add the salt to the dough and knead until the dough has the strength to pass the window pane test. This will take a while (~15 minutes by hand) as this dough is quite sticky and has a high percentage of rye. Next, add the sunflower seeds and knead until they are evenly distributed.

Transfer the dough to a well oiled container and let rise at room temperature for 4 hours, folding the dough at 1, 2, and 3 hours.

Remove the dough from the container and divide into 2 pieces (or 4, if desired). Shape into loose balls and let rest for 15 minutes. Shape the dough into tight boules and place upside dough in a floured proofing basket in which you have sprinkled a good quantity of untoasted sunflower seeds.

Let the dough proof until it has risen to a little less than twice its original volume and feels light and springy to the touch (~1.5-2 hours). (You can also retard the proofing, if desired. Just make sure that the loaves have risen sufficiently before baking them or else they will be too dense.)

About 1 hour before baking, preheat the oven to 475 ºF with a baking stone and steam pan. When the loaves have risen, invert them onto a peel, score them, and place them in the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 450ºF and bake the loaves for 20 minutes with steam and another 25-30 minutes without steam. Turn the oven off, crack the door, and leave the loaves in for another 5-10 minutes. Remove the loaves from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before eating.

Amidst all this work, I find relaxation in preparing simple, satisfying meals. Basic, but rich and flavorful ingredients are what my body and mind seem to be craving at the moment. The other day as I was poking through the freezer, figuring out what winter leftovers needed to be cleaned out, I came across a bag of saved bits of bread that had gone stale before we had a chance to eat them. I recalled a simple meal I had in Florence years back of tomato-bread soup or Pappa al Pomodoro and decided at once that I was going to try and recreate it.

I picked out old bits of rye crusts, tangy sourdoughs, and some whole-grain slices, leaving the chunks of stollen and fruit and nut breads for another day when a craving for bread pudding arises. I chopped up the pieces into small, manageable bits and then thought about what else to include in the soup. The essentials I decided were olive oil, onions, garlic, a bit of spice, whole tomatoes, hearty vegetable stock, and basil. I had some home made vegetable stock on hand and plenty of canned tomatoes. While fresh, ripe tomatoes would most certainly be preferable, it is April and there are no tomatoes growing in the local area at the moment. I must confess, however, that I did sin a bit … I bought a bunch of basil. While dried spices could have worked in a pinch, the large leaves of whole basil I thought were key to the flavor and texture of this soup.
So here is my rough version of Pappa al Pomodoro. I make no claims to authenticity. The beauty of this soup is that it is flexible and hard to mess up. Put in the amount of the ingredients that you think are appropriate for the texture and flavor you desire. I love the richness and the warmth it provides on these still blustery April days. As I eat it, I also enjoy remembering all the loaves of bread that I baked this last winter, still being able to taste the various unique flavors of the breads through the tomato, garlic, and onions.

Pappa al Pomodoro

Lots of olive oil
Chopped onions
Roughly diced garlic
Chopped hot chile pepper (seeds removed to your taste)
Whole canned tomatoes
Stale bread, broken into small pieces
Vegetable stock
Fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

In a large dutch oven or other big soup pot, heat a generous amount of olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, and chile pepper and sautee until the onions are soft and starting to brown. Add the whole canned tomatoes and all of their juice. Bring to a simmer and leave for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the stale bread chunks. The bread will absorb a lot of liquid so add stock as necessary. You may end up adding a significant amount to get the soup to your preferred consistency. It should be pretty thick. Allow the soup to simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring every once in awhile. Stir in the basil, salt, and pepper and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve topped with parmesan cheese, grated or shaved.

Annie appreciates good bread, but is especially fond of those loaves that are grainy with a hearty crust. (I must admit I am partial to those myself…) The other day I made a recipe that I adapted from Nancy Silverton’s ‘Multigrain Bread’ in Breads from La Brea Bakery. Upon biting into the first slice, I thought to myself, ‘This is a bread for Annie.’ I liked the crunchiness of the millet and flax seeds in the pleasantly light crumb for a whole-grain bread. I also liked the tangy sourness that the wet rye starter gave the bread. It crust was crunchy, but not too thick or too chewy.

Annie hasn’t tried this bread yet, but I decided to name the recipe after her anyway because she will be the person I think of when I bake it. We do have a dinner date coming up though and I am planning on baking this recipe. I’m looking forward to breaking this bread with her. I hope that there will be many more loaves shared between us in the years to come.

Annie’s Bread
Yield: ~2100 g (two large or four small-medium loaves)

Sponge:
370 g rye starter (150% hydration)
315 g water (room temperature)
30 g barley malt syrup
330 g white all-purpose flour
5 g sea salt

Loosen the rye starter in the water. Add the other ingredients and stir until thoroughly combine. Leave the sponge at room temperature for 2 hours and then refrigerate overnight or for 8-12 hours.

Final Dough:
Sponge
285 g cool water
4 g instant dry yeast
310 g white all-purpose flour
200 g whole-wheat flour
140 g multigrain cereal (Use whatever blend of grains you like, but the texture should be like coarse grits.)
60 g flax seeds
50 g millet
10 g sea salt

Pour the water over the sponge and stir to loosen the mixture. Add the multigrain cereal, flax seeds, and millet. Stir to combine. Then add the flours and yeast. Knead for 3-4 minutes. Then add salt and continue kneading for 10-12 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a well-oiled container and allow to ferment for 1.5 hours at room temperature.

Divide the dough into 2 or 4 pieces and shape into loose balls (the baking time/temperatures below are for 2 large(!) loaves). Allow the dough pieces to rest for 15 minutes. Then shape the dough into boules or into long oval loaves.

Allow the loaves to proof for 1 hour at room temperature. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 475ºF with a baking stone and steam pan.

When the loaves are ready place them in the oven using a peel. Reduce the oven temperature to 450 ºF and bake the loaves for 20 minutes with steam. Then bake for 30 minutes without. Turn off the oven, crack door, and leave the loaves in for 5-10 more minutes. Allow the loaves to cool completely before cutting into.

I am delighted to be part of this week’s YeastSpotting at the Wild Yeast Blog. Also, if you have a chance, I’d recommend reading this entry at the Wild Yeast Blog. It is beautifully written, succinct, and conveys the importance of bread and the experience of making it beyond being merely a source of nourishment.

Whole Wheat Boule
Yield: ~1700 g (two medium-sized boules)

454 g water
482 g whole wheat starter (150% hydration)
25 g barley malt syrup
284 g whole wheat flour
411 g all-purpose flour
17 g wheat bran
17 g fine sea salt

Place water, whole-wheat starter, and malt syrup in a large bowl. Stir until the starter is loosened and the malt syrup is dissolved. Add the flours and wheat bran to this mixture. Stir/knead until well-combined and all of the flour is hydrated. Let rest or autolyse for 20 minutes.

Add the salt and continue kneading until the gluten in the dough has developed enough to pass the window pane test. Form the dough into a ball, place it in a well-oiled container, and cover.

Allow to ferment for 3-4 hours with a fold at every hour. By the last hour the dough should double in volume.

After the bulk fermentation, uncover the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Cut it into two equal pieces and slap each piece against the work surface a few time to release the gas bubbles that have developed. Tuck the edges under each piece, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes.

Uncover the dough and shape the each piece into a boule. Place the boules, seam side up, into flour proofing baskets or banettons. Tightly cover the proofing baskets in with plastic and let the dough proof in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and take off the plastic wrap. The dough should have filled the bottom of each basket, but will not have risen very much. Cover the baskets and let the dough continue to proof at room temperature for 3-4 hours or until the dough reaches an internal temperature of 62 F.

Preheat the oven to 475 F one hour before baking. Prepare with a baking stone and steam pan. Invert the loaves onto a peel, score them, and place them in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes with steam and another 20-25 minutes without steam. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and leave loaves in for another 5-10 minutes. Remove the loaves from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into.

I’m most pleased to be part of this week’s YeastSpotting, as well. Make sure to check out the other delicious yeasted treats there!

I checked out the ingredient list for the Mad River Grain and here is what I found:
Unbleached wheat flour, whole wheat flour, sunflower seeds, steel-cut oats, flax seed meal, brown flax seeds, whole blue cornmeal, whole rye chops, whole sesame seeds, golden flax seeds, water, culture, salt.

I was lacking whole blue cornmeal, whole rye chops, and golden flax seeds, but I had everything else. I also had some whole yellow cornmeal and whole rye berries on hand. I substituted the yellow for the blue cornmeal and roughly chopped the rye berries in replacement of the rye chops (though, looking back on it, I’d recommend using a grinder to do this … the chopping wreaked some havoc on my knife). I decided that the grains would have to be soaked before hand to soften them up and allow them to integrate into the dough. I also knew that the bread was leavened only by sourdough starter and that it was sour enough that the final proof was probably retarded in a cool environment. The recipe I developed is below. While it’s not up to the quality of the Red Hen Bakery, I’m pretty content with it.

Also, I am delighted to be part of this week’s YeastSpotting. Make sure to check out the other delicious yeasty treats at the Wild Yeast Blog.

Multigrain Sourdough

Yield: ~2200 g

Ingredients:
360 g white, 100% hydration, mature sourdough starter
25 g sunflower seeds
25 g steel cut oats
25 g flax seed meal
25 g whole brown flax seeds
25 g whole yellow cornmeal (or blue, if you have it!)
25 g rye berries, chopped or ground roughly (or rye chops…)
25 g whole sesame seeds
195 g boiling water
350 g whole-wheat flour
550 g white flour
600 g water, at room temperature
23 g salt

Combine the sunflower seeds, steel cut oats, flax seed meal, flax seeds, cornmeal, rye berries, and sesame seeds. Pour the boiling water over this mixture, cover, and let sit until cool or overnight.

Gently loosen the sourdough starter in the water (600 g). To this add the soaked seed/grain mixture and flours. Knead this mixture until all the flour is hydrated. Let rest or autolyse for 20-30 minutes. Add the salt and continue kneading until a medium level of gluten is developed (or until the dough can pass the windowpane test). Transfer the dough to a well-oiled container.

Allow the dough to ferment for 4 hours with a fold at 1, 2, and 3 hours.

Divide the dough into four equal pieces for ~500 g loaves. Shape each piece into a loose ball and leave for 15 minutes. During this time prepare your bannetons or other proofing containers.

Shape the dough pieces into a boule or batard, place seam-side up into your proofing container, and cover. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour at room temperature. Then, cover tightly in plastic, and place in the refrigerator to proof for 8-12 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator and allow dough to rise until the internal temperature is ~62 F. This will take 3-4 hours.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 475 F with a baking stone and steam pan. When the loaves are fully proofed, place in the oven with steam and lower the oven temperature to 440 F. Bake for 15 minutes with steam and then for another 20 minutes without steam at 425 F. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and leave loaves in for another 5-10 minutes. Then, remove the loaves from the oven and let cool completely before cutting into.

As for the wine, I talked to a man at The Wine Thief, a local wine store that is an absolute gem in this town. Whenever I go there I always find wonderful people helping connect me with wonderful wines. I told him that I wanted something that was relatively inexpensive for baking, but still full-bodied and drinkable (as I knew there would be some left over for my consumption). He pointed me to a delicious $6 Chilean Merlot, which I was quite content with.

Thus, with my ingredients identified, I set about creating a recipe. I outlined a couple of stipulations. 1) The chestnuts and figs would have to be soaked in the red wine for a good long while. 2) A combination of whole wheat and white flours would be required. 3) Only sourdough starter would leaven this bread. It seemed appropriate. A loaf of love should take time and care. No shortcuts would be allowed.

Below is the recipe I came up with. The final result: light, open loaves with a moist crumb, a pleasant sweetness of wine and figs, and a smooth, subtle flavor of chestnuts. Devin was quite content. I was quite content. Bread and love … I don’t think I need much more than that.

Red Wine, Fig, & Chestnut Loaf
Yield: ~2500 g (two very large loaves)

Sourdough:
50 g mature 100% hydration sourdough
150 g water
150 g whole wheat flour

Dissolve the sourdough in the water until you have a frothy mixture. Add flour and stir until thoroughly combined. Leave covered, at room temperature, for 8-12 hours or overnight.

Fruit, nut, and wine soaker:
250 g red wine
160 g chestnuts, roasted and roughly chopped
260 g dried figs, cut into small pieces

Combine all of the soaker ingredients in a small saucepan and heat to boiling. Simmer for a minute and then remove from the heat. Allow to cool, covered, overnight.

Final dough ingredients:
all of sourdough
all of soaker
650 g liquid (drained soaker + extra water)
300 g whole wheat flour
575 g all-purpose flour
18 g salt

Method:

Drain the soaker by placing it in a colander and pressing on it gently. Reserve the drained liquid and add enough water to it to make 650 g of liquid total. In a large bowl combine the sourdough with the liquid. Stir the mixture so that the sourdough is loosened. Add to this the flours and stir until all the flour is hydrated. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Add the salt and knead until the dough achieves a medium level of gluten and is able to pass the windowpane test. Gently knead in the drained figs and chestnuts. (The figs and chestnuts will still be quite wet, so this process may be difficult. Don’t worry if the chestnuts fall apart and the figs get a little smashed around. Just keep working them in until evenly distributed and the dough has absorbed the extra liquid.)

Allow the dough to ferment for 4 hours with a fold at 1, 2, and 3 hours.

Divide the dough into two pieces and shape them into balls. Cover the balls with a cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape the balls into tight boules and place upside down in floured proofing baskets. Allow to rise for ~30 minutes at room temperature. Cover the proofing loaves tightly with plastic and place in the refrigerator. Retard the dough for 8-12 hours.

Remove the loaves from the oven and allow to sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until the loaves are almost doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 F with a baking stone and steam pan. When the loaves are fully proofed, place in the oven with steam and lower the oven temperature to 440 F. Bake for 20 minutes with steam and then for another 30 minutes without steam at 425 F. Remove the loaves from the oven and let cool completely before cutting into.

Thumbing my way through bread book after bread book, I didn’t find anything startlingly attractive or intriguing. Finally, wrestling my old Beard on Bread from the corner of the book shell, I gave my last resource a go. I was pleasantly surprised by his variety of yeasted breads and was immediately taken with his recipe for ‘Black Bread.’ The ingredients called for in this loaf were unique to me: unsweetened cocoa powder and instant coffee, to name two. After a quick search on the internet, I found that ‘black breads’ can also contain molasses, shallots, grated onion, onion powder, apple cider vinegar, eggs, old coffee, caraway & fennel seeds, and the list continues. Black bread, I discovered, is just a generic name for what used to be a lowly form of peasant bread, often containing the scrabbled-together leftovers and coarse grains found in a peasants’ kitchens during the hard times of the days of old. Every culture seemed to have their own version of Black Bread, reflecting their unique ingredients and traditions. Black breads used to be considered a poor quality bread, but today they are looked more kindly upon as they often have a high percentage of whole-grain flours and pair wonderfully with cheeses and other salty foods.

Below is a modified version of the black bread that James Beard preferred. I changed the mixing and baking methods a bit. As well, I left out the caraway seeds, substituted molasses for brown sugar, and used instant instead of active dry yeast.  It seems like the ingredients used in black breads are pretty versatile as long as you aren’t claiming allegiance to any national traditions. So, when I call this ‘black bread,’ think of it as one of the many versions inspired by the necessity to improvise.

I thought black bread, in its modest and non-stringent ingredient requirements, would be appropriate for my last minute scrambling to pull together a loaf. The other reason that black bread was appealing is that these loaves are relatively dense and hearty, perfect for a winter road trip snack, perhaps with some good jam, cheese, or butter. I must say, this isn’t the most attractive or delicious loaf I’ve ever baked. The scoring pattern did not quite come out, it’s a little bit odd-shaped, and it doesn’t have the complex flavor that breads made with pre-ferments due. But as I write this, my black bread is packed away in the back seat of the car, set aside for those long stretches of highway hunger. Knowing it is there makes the drive ahead a little less daunting…

Black Bread
Yield: ~1100 g (one large loaf)

Ingredients:
50 g cornmeal
220 g water (at room temperature)
220 g boiling water
13 g salt
45 g molasses
8 g unsweetened cocoa
8 g instant espresso powder
10 g instant yeast
160 g dark rye flour
130 g whole-wheat flour
270 g all-purpose flour

Add the cornmeal to the cold water and mix well. Pour boiling water on top of cornmeal mixture. Then stir in the salt, molasses, cocoa, and instant coffee.

Combine the flours and yeast and add them to the wet mixture. Stir until thoroughly combined into a sticky mass of dough. Turn out onto a prepared work surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. (It will probably not be able to pass the windowpane test due to the high level of whole-grains.) Form the dough into a tight ball and place into a well-oiled container. Allow to proof until double in bulk (~ 1 hour).

Remove the dough from the container and knead for 10-15 minutes. Reshape into a ball and let rise again until double in bulk (~45 minutes – 1hour).

Remove the dough from the container, deflate, and shape into a tight ball. Let the dough rise until almost doubled in volume.

Preheat the oven to 450 F with a steam pan. When fully proofed, score the loaf and put in the oven with steam. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 F. Bake for 15 minutes with steam and another 20 minutes without. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and leave the loaves in for another 10 minutes. Remove loaves from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into.