Elsie_iu's blog

Since I started working with white dough, I’ve come to recognize the importance of gluten development in bread. Whole grain dough tends to be stiffer even when fully hydrated, which gives a delusion that dough mixing is neglectable. Wrong. I was so wrong! Two rounds of 3 minute mixing and 1 set of lamination contributed enormous elasticity and extensibility. The dough felt completely different and it does show in the crumb.

30% Sprouted Sorghum SD

Sift out the bran from dough flour, reserve 27 g for the leaven. Soak the rest, if any, in equal amount of whey taken from dough ingredients. 

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until ready, about 5 hours (29.5°C). Roughly combine all dough ingredients. Ferment for a total of 4 hours (27.8°C) or until quite proofy. Construct 2 rounds of 3 minute Rubaud mixing at the 20 and 30 minute mark. Do a set of lamination at the 40 minute mark. 30 minutes before shaping, do a set of coil fold. Shape the dough then put in into a banneton directly. Freeze the dough for 30 minutes then retard in the fridge for 9 hours.

Preheat the oven at 250°C/482°F. Score and spritz the dough then bake straight from the fridge at 250°C/482°F with steam for 20 minutes then without steam for 25 minutes more or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 208°F. Let it cool for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing.

Sorghum tastes pretty mild. Not really much to be excited about. It makes the crumb a tad dense and dry as well… It’s too early to judge though. Let’s see how it performs in wheat/spelt dough later.

Last week’s bread. No freezing and thus slightly over-proofed.

 
Collapsed in the oven 

Because of the increased extensibility, there’s a higher tendency for the dough to spread out in the oven. Letting it become quite proofy before shaping improves its strength. Yet, this leads to another problem of over-proofing… Freezing it briefly before the retard helps solve the issue by lowering the dough temperature.

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Korean japchae topped with a fried egg

Garlicky linguine with salmon & brussel sprouts

Scrambled eggs with shrimps & Stir fried leeks and cabbages with steamed rice

Spicy grilled chicken breast with pan grilled zucchini & bell peppers, and potato rosti

Dry brined

Shrimp & spicy chorizo paella, rutabaga & leek casserole, pressure cooked pork chop braised in a tomato-carrot-onion-caperberry sauce, and pan grilled asparagus & brussel sprouts with boiled eggs & diced red peppers

Tomato herb (rosemary & thyme) soft bread

Huge thanks to my friend who kept bugging me to work the dough more :)

No formula really worth posting so I’ll just be sharing some recent food photos today.

30% sprouted spelt 20% durum 50% Red Fife wheat

10% each purple rice, sprouted spelt & sprouted rye ciabatta

Sweet & spicy shrimps and soft scrambled eggs with rava upma

Korean rice rolls with baby herrings

Pressure cooked rutabaga lamb shank stew

Chinese sausage & brussel sprouts risotto with baked grouper. Sounds weird but it's good

Farfalle with sugar snap peas in porcini mushroom cream sauce, and seared chicken thigh

Rutabaga biryani with egg drop mushroom curry

Vietnamese Pho (oxtail broth and all the fixings), peanut butter coconut curry with coconut toast, brussel sprouts and green beans in XO sauce, and sweet and sour salad (peppers, daikon radishes, cucumbers and fried shallots)

50% kamut egg yolk bread

Happy eating :)

This week’s durum was a bit over-sprouted due to the hot weather. The grains thus smelled very sweet after dried, almost like caramel. I made two loaves (one whole grain, one white) with these candies and gave the white one away.

Durum & Kamut Sourdough

Sift out the bran from dough flour, reserve 25 g for the leaven. Soak the rest, if any, in equal amount of whey taken from dough ingredients.

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until ready, about 5.5 hours (29.5°C). Roughly combine all dough ingredients. Ferment for a total of 2.5 hours (27.8°C). Construct a set of Rubaud mixing for 5 and 3 minutes at the 30 and 50 minute mark respectively. Shape the dough then put in into a banneton directly. Retard for 10 hours.

Preheat the oven at 250°C/482°F. Score and spritz the dough then bake straight from the fridge at 250°C/482°F with steam for 20 minutes then without steam for 25 minutes more or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 208°F. Let it cool for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing.

The fermentation went quicker than usual as the levain was quite ripe when used. The dough already reached its maximum volume after the retard so there was no oven spring.

From past experience, yellow grains such as kamut and durum are naturally sweet. The sweetness would be vastly intensified when sprouted, sometimes even more than desired. However, this bread isn’t dominantly sweet, rather it has quite some acidity as well. The use of mature levain probably accounts for this.   

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Sweet and salty sautéed pork & veggies with rice

Curried pork & cabbage pot stickers

Miso lamb shank ragu with homemade alkaline ramen

Korean fried rice with crispy pulled pork knuckle

Jerk chicken & roasted sweet potatoes, nectarine salsa, stuffed eggplant, masa crusted hoki fillet, sautéed green beans & red peppers, rice with black beans

White bread of the week: 10% toasted corn porridge 15% sprouted kamut 8% kamut 5% each sprouted rye & sprouted white whole wheat

Stiff dough (70% excluding porridge) yet crumb isn't too close

For some reason, I’ve been badly craving the cheddar-overspilled pizza rolls sold in a Canadian supermarket. Of course, there is no way I could buy them now, being in HK. Because plain pizza rolls sound a tad boring, the plan was to make pizza-flavored lye pretzels with spinach dough.

I felt that the formula was still missing something. Pepperoni appeared too common and I didn’t have it on hand as well. What happens when a pizzeria runs out of pepperoni? Pizzaioli from all over the world have countless solutions to offer: sausages, pulled pork, chicken, seafood, steak, veggies, extra cheese, along with a few thousand more. As for me… May I suggest Chinese sausage? No doubt I ain’t the first to put it on pizza, nor would I be the last. Its sweetness goes surprisingly well with savory cheese and tart tomatoes. With this in mind, I paired cheddar and sun-dried tomatoes with Chinese sausages. Cilantro has to be included next since it is Chinese sausage’s best friend (think Chinese fried glutinous rice生炒糯米飯). Long story short, we now end up with pizza-stuffed pretzels.

Cheddar, Sun-Dried Tomato, Chinese Sausage & Cilantro SD Pretzel

Sift out the bran from dough flour, reserve 26 g for the leaven. Soak the rest, if any, in equal amount of whey taken from dough ingredients. 

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until ready, about 3 hours (28°C). Roughly combine all dough ingredients. Ferment for a total of 4 hours. Slap and fold the dough until gluten is developed (around 5 minutes) at the 15 minute mark.  

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a long strip with thin ends and a thick centre. Flatten the centre of the dough with a rolling pin and place the filling over the middle. Roll the dough up and pinch the edges together to seal the opening. Shape into pretzels. Put the shaped dough onto a baking sheet with greased parchment and refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 250°C/482°F.

Prepare a 4% lye solution (For those who are new to working with lye, please read the safely precautions before you start. Strong alkaline is highly corrosive.) by dissolving 16 g food grade sodium hydroxide in 400 g lukewarm water. Piece by piece, dip the cold pretzels into the lye solution for a few seconds. Drain well before placing them back onto the baking sheet or they might stick to the parchment.

Score the dough at the centre to expose the filling. Bake at 250°C/482°F with steam for 12 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 208°F. Let it cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Red fife wheat and sprouted rye were chosen as they are strong flavors less likely to be masked by the lye and pizza filling. Although this combo sounds strange, its taste and texture is in fact  well-balanced. The cilantro helps to tie up different elements of the bread and is absolutely not optional in my opinion.

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Greek platter (Roasted carrots, eggplant, peppers & potatoes, falafel and olives)

Xinjiang lamb & carrot rice

Homemade alkaline noodles in an addictive HK-style sweet and spicy pork sauce 京都炸醬麵 

Garlicky charred corn & shrimp spaghetti with shrimp oil & white wine

Black bean chili enchiladas

Cheesy black bean oat patties with millet pilaf

Baked spicy pomfret, pan-grilled shrimp and beef skewers, semola flatbread with smoky eggplant dip & roasted carrots, caramelized cabbage wedges with sautéed onions & mushrooms, and bulgar pilaf

White bread(s) of the week: 50% durum & kamut SD

65% hydration T55 baguette

OK-crumb

Ahem, awful crust… lol

I’ve always liked the nuttiness of barley bread. It thus bothered me a bit when I couldn’t find whole barley anywhere… That’s until recently, I discovered some hull-on barley in a tiny Indian grocery store. Of course I ended up sprouting it for this week’s bake. Since the hull is inedible, it was sifted out and discarded after milling.    

30% Sprouted Barley Sourdough

 Barley hull sifted out

Sift out the bran from dough flour, reserve 29 g for the leaven. Soak the rest, if any, in equal amount of whey taken from dough ingredients.

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until ready, about 3.5 hours (29.5°C). Roughly combine all dough ingredients. Ferment for a total of 3 hours. Construct a set of stretch and fold at the 15 and 30 minute mark.  

Shape the dough then put in into a banneton directly. Retard for 12 hours.

Preheat the oven at 250°C/482°F. Score and spritz the dough then bake straight from the fridge at 250°C/482°F with steam for 20 minutes then without steam for 25 minutes more or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 208°F. Let it cool for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing.

It was boiling hot in HK in the past week so my home almost reached 30°C. I had to let the dough ferment at room temperature for 3 hours to suit my schedule. Unsurprisingly, it was beginning to degrade at the time of shaping. Thanks god it still turned out fine (read: not liquefied…yet)!

Updated: The bread is a bit too dense for my liking, probably due to the high percentage of gluten free flour. That said, it's still much lighter and softer than 100% rye bread. Pearl barley is relatively mild so it didn't really shock me that sprouted barley has a subtle flavor as well. To be honest, I might not be able to detect its presence if I weren't the one who baked it. Its flavor might better come through when used with white flour. Moreover, this bread is quite sour thanks to the elevated temperature. This has certainly masked the delicate characteristics of barley further.  

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Double shrimp & mushroom seaweed fried rice

Eggplant, soya chunk & mushroom coconut curry with paniyaram

Smoked salmon, seasoned soft-boiled egg & napa cabbages with homemade semola “ramen”

Spinach, mushroom & tuna lasagna with herby tomato sauce & provolone piccante

Ethiopian-inspired dinner: Doro wat & injera, mixed dal, green beans & cabbages in tomato sauce, and shrimp oil toasted rice

White bread of the week: 40% mixed grains SD (10% each red & white wheat, spelt & rye)

Provolone Piccante… again? Yup, last week’s bread tasted so good that I want Provolone in my bread for another week. Although I’ve kept the cheese, the rest of the formula is completely different. However, that’s still saying a lot considering how afraid of boredom I am. This bread is inspired by Danni’s and Alan’s takes on Maurizio’s cinnamon raisin bread.

Cinnamon Thyme Provolone Piccante 20% Germinated Red Rice SD

Sift out the bran from dough flour, reserve 38 g for the leaven. Soak the rest, if any, in equal amount of whey taken from dough ingredients.

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until ready, about 4 hours (27.5°C). Since I was out for dinner, it was retarded for 4 hours.  

Roughly combine all dough ingredients. Ferment for a total of 2 hours 10 minutes. Construct a set of stretch and fold at the 15 and 30 minute mark, and fold in the add-ins at the 45 minute mark.  

Shape the dough then put in into a banneton directly. Retard for 8.5 hours.

Remove the dough from the fridge and let it warm up at room temperature for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven at 250°C/482°F. Score and spritz the dough then bake at 250°C/482°F with steam for 20 minutes then without steam for 25 minutes more or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 208°F. Let it cool for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing.

The cinnamon did lengthen the bulk but not by much. I’d say the dough took 20 minutes longer to rise in the bulk than usual, which is less than 17% in this case. Amazing aroma filled the kitchen while the bread was baking and it stayed for another few hours. There was decent oven spring and the crumb is moderately open.

Updated: This bread no doubt has a sweeter scent than last week's. The half a tsp of cinnamon comes through well yet it's no over-powering. I like sweet & salty combo and this one is no exception. The thyme is subtle but it complements the cinnamon nicely. The bread has a balanced sweetness-acidity flavor. It has an exceptionally crispy crust thanks to the fat of the cheese. 

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Smoky refried black beans, cheese & cilantro quesadillas with yogurt. Yum…

Spaghetti Carbonara with spicy shrimps

All beef meatballs with SD rye breadcrumbs in a pressure-cooked tomatoes sauce, served with farfalle

Cahr Koay Teow. Not exactly but close…?

Pressure-cooked beef shank and daikon radishes with rice vermicelli, shrimp bhuna, potatoes rendang, mixed veggies slaw in a tamarind sesame dressing, quick pickled daikon radishes

Lye pretzels. So much better than the baking soda and baked baking soda versions! 

For the longest time, provolone equaled provolone dolce to me. I use it as a sharper alternative to mozzarella. Only until recently, it’s aged cousin, provolone piccante was introduced to me. Oh what had I missed! Provolone piccante is true to its name: pungent, salty and just full of flavors. I’d even go as far as to compare it with 24-month Parmigiano Reggiano!

Provolone Piccante Fennel Seed SD with 30% Sprouted Kamut

Sift out the bran from dough flour, reserve 41 g for the leaven. Soak the rest, if any, in equal amount of whey taken from dough ingredients.

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until ready, about 4 hours (28°C). Since I was short on time, it was retarded for 24 hours.  

Roughly combine all dough ingredients. Ferment for a total of 2 hours 15 minutes. Construct a set of stretch and fold at the 15 and 30 minute mark, and fold in the add-ins at the 45 minute mark.  

Shape the dough then put in into a banneton directly. Retard for 8 hours.

Preheat the oven at 250°C/482°F. Score and spritz the dough then bake straight from the fridge at 250°C/482°F with steam for 20 minutes then without steam for 25 minutes more or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 208°F. Let it cool for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing.

The levain became very active, well, way more than I expected, after the retard. That’s why the dough was a bit over-proofed. I scored it very lightly to reduce the risk of collapse.

Despite the ripeness of the levain, the bread isn’t assertively sour. Rather, its sweetness-acidity balance is pretty close to my taste. As we all know, durum and kamut are the candies of nature. When sprouted, they can be too sweet (yes, that’s a thing to me). Using a mature levain definitely helps to balance out everything. Of course I wouldn’t forget about the provolone piccante and fennel seeds :) These pungent additions provide the touch of saltiness and freshness much needed in this bread. 

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German cured pork knuckle, whole grain mustard carrot salad, black beans, onion sautéed spinach, and pan-grilled corn. Knuckle and shanks are the most under-priced cut in my opinion! The meat is so juicy and you get all the tendon, cartilages and ligaments!

Thai-inspired shrimp soup (dipping sauce?) with fish cakes and 30% toasted buckwheat noodles

Baked hoki fillet with olive tapenade, mashed chopin potatoes (I adore this super creamy variety) and ghee roasted carrots

Shrimp molee with rava upma

Farfalle pasta salad in a coconut fish sauce dressing, with poached scallops & Indian mangoes

Provolone piccante & black pepper semola SD crackers

Jumbo shrimp gumbo, salty fried shrimp heads + shrimp oil, Caesar salad (?) with green beans, pancetta & provolone piccante, spicy roasted chicken drumsticks with tomatoes and carrots, and raisin bulgar pilaf   

50% rye caraway seed SD

Gajar ka halwa aka carrot halwa is a popular Indain dessert savored by many. Although I do enjoy its caramelly aroma, it’s overly sugary for someone like me who doesn’t have a sweet tooth. Therefore, I decided to transform it into bread form as always!

Carrot Halwa Sourdough with 20% Sprouted Golden Quinoa

Make the ghee roasted carrots. Heat the ghee and 3 green cardamoms over medium heat. Remove the cardamoms after the ghee is infused with their flavor. Pour in the carrots and milk powder then sauté over medium high heat, until mostly dry and caramelized. I got 26 g toasted carrots from 100 g raw carrots, 1 tsp milk powder and 5 g ghee.Make the ghee roasted carrots. Heat the ghee and 3 green cardamoms over medium heat. Remove the cardamoms after the ghee is infused with their flavor. Pour in the carrots and milk powder then sauté over medium high heat, until mostly dry and caramelized. I got 26 g toasted carrots from 100 g raw carrots, 1 tsp milk powder and 5 g ghee.

Sift out the bran from dough flour, reserve 36 g for the leaven. Soak the rest, if any, in equal amount of whey taken from dough ingredients.

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until ready, about 4.5 hours (27.5°C).  

Roughly combine all dough ingredients except for the levain and salt, autolyze for 15 minutes. Knead in the reserved ingredients and ferment for a total of 2 hours 45 minutes. Construct a set of stretch and fold and fold in the add-ins at the 15 minute and 30 minute mark respectively.  

Shape the dough then put in into a banneton directly. Retard for 11 hours.

Preheat the oven at 250°C/482°F. Let the dough warm up at room temperature for 20 minutes. Score and spritz the dough then bake at 250°C/482°F with steam for 20 minutes then without steam for 25 minutes more or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 208°F. Let it cool for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing

Due to the low gluten property of this dough, the crumb isn’t quite open. However, it is exceptionally soft and moist from the moisture of the carrots.

Though the carrots can’t really be detected in the final bread, you can definitely taste the caramel flavor. The walnuts added some toasty aroma and crunchy texture, which I find indispensable. This bread is no doubt on the sweet side thanks to the caramelized carrots, sprouted grains and durum. The bit tang helps to balance out the flavor.

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Pulled lamb tacos. No more words needed.

Lotus root & king oyster mushroom SD pizza (50% spelt) with makhani sauce

Layered squash mozzarella bake

Quinoa jambalaya with pan-seared scallops

Smoked salmon & ivy gourd sushi rolls with wasabi yogurt. When you don't have cucumbers or salmon sashimi...

Shrimp & pork siu mai, steamed garlic ribs and glass noodles in louts leaves, lotus roots & bean sprouts salad in a Sichuan peppercorn infused mustard oil vinaigrette, fried glutinous rice with Chinese sausages, mixed veggies in a Jinhua ham & dried shrimp broth  

The bake was kept simple since it was exam period. We’ll have something less boring next week :)

20% Sprouted Ragi 30% Sprouted Red Wheat Sourdough

Dough flour (all freshly milled):

150g      50%       Whole Red Fife wheat flour

90g        30%       Sprouted red wheat flour

60g        20%       Sprouted ragi (finger millet) flour

For leaven:

6g              2%       Starter

32g       10.7%       Bran sifted from dough flour

32g       10.7%       Water

For dough:

268g      89.3%       Dough flour excluding bran for leaven

232g      77.3%       Water

70g        23.3%       Leaven

9g              3%        Vital wheat gluten

5g          1.67%       Salt

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303g        100%       Whole grain

267g       88.1%       Total hydration (I found that most millet varieties absorb little water)

Sift out the bran from dough flour, reserve 32 g for the leaven. Soak the rest, if any, in equal amount of water taken from dough ingredients.

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until ready. It was ready after 5 hours but I extended the time to around 6 hours for more pronounced sourness (28°C).  

Roughly combine all dough ingredients except for the leaven and salt, autolyze for 15 minutes. Knead in the reserved ingredients and ferment for a total of 3 hours. Construct a set of stretch and fold at the 15 minute mark.  

When I got home, the dough rose by roughly 50% rather than the expected 30%, likely due to the use of mature leaven. It was thus shaped right away and retarded for 11 hours.

Preheat the oven at 250°C/482°F. Score and spritz the dough then bake at 250°C/482°F with steam for 20 minutes then without steam for 25 minutes more or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 208°F. Let it cool for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing.

Unsurprisingly, the dough over-proofed during the retard. I had really under-estimated how much the microbial population can grow in an extra hour. Guess the doubling rate is pretty high at 28°C… The purpose of using a mature leaven was achieved though: the bread is distinctively sour. That’s not say it’s lacking in sweetness, quite the opposite in fact, thanks to the malty sprouted grains and fruity Red Fife wheat.

Ragi is rather mild in flavor that I can’t really detect anything special it contributed. Also, it didn’t sprout very well so I’d consider toasting it prior to milling next time. The crumb can definitely be more open yet it’s not too bad being over-proofed.  

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Calamarata al Ragu di Pesce with pan-grilled baby cuttlefish. Feels so sophisticated!

Spaghetti in paprika lemon sauce with mushrooms and smoked duck breast

Mushroom, caramelized onion & mozzarella omelette

White bread of the week: 10% ragi 10% ragi porridge (dry weight) 10% spelt 

Hmm... Rather bland…

Green bread might be my favorite after yellow bread.

Pandan Candlenut 20% Sprouted White Quinoa Sourdough

Dough flour (all freshly milled):

150g      50%       Whole white wheat flour

90g        30%       Sprouted white wheat flour

60g        20%       Sprouted white quinoa flour

For leaven:

10g        3.3%       Starter

30g         10%       Bran sifted from dough flour

30g         10%       Water

For pandan-infused water:

5 strips          -%       Pandan leaves, frozen (freezing damages plant cells and softens the leaves, which eases the grinding process)

~190g      63.3%       Water

For dough:

270g         90%       Dough flour excluding bran for leaven

190g      63.3%       Pandan-infused water

60g           20%       Whey

70g        23.3%       Leaven

9g               3%       Vital wheat gluten

5g          1.67%       Salt

Add-ins:

30g            10%       Toasted candlenuts

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305g        100%       Whole grain

285g       93.4%       Total hydration

Sift out the bran from dough flour, reserve 30 g for the leaven. Soak the rest, if any, in equal amount of whey taken from dough ingredients.

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until ready, around 4 hours (27°C).  

Make the pandan-infused water. Using a pair of scissors, cut the pandan leaves into small pieces then process them with 50g water in a blender. Strain out the fiber by filtering the mixture through a sieve, pressing out as much liquid as possible with the back of a spoon. Add enough water to get a total volume of 190g.

Roughly combine all dough ingredients except for the leaven and salt, autolyze for 15 minutes. Knead in the reserved ingredients and ferment for a total of 3 hours 15 minnutes. Construct a set of stretch and fold and fold in the add-ins at the 15 and 30 minutes mark respectively.

Preshape the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes. Shape the dough then put in into a banneton. Retard for 11 hours.

Preheat the oven at 250°C/482°F. Let the dough warm up at room temperature for 20 minutes. Score and spritz the dough then bake at 250°C/482°F with steam for 20 minutes then without steam for 25 minutes more or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 208°F. Let it cool for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing.

As hard white wheat is much weaker than hard red wheat and spelt, the dough wasn’t quite elastic or extensible. The fact that I over-hydrated it only made the situation worse. Fortunately, it didn’t lose too much strength during the bulk and managed to rise without excessive spreading.

I was torn between using cashew or using candlenut but finally settled on the latter as it has a milder taste. Pandan, sprouted white quinoa and sprouted white wheat are all delicate in flavour that cashew can easily dominate over them. The taste of the bread is sweet in a mellow way with hints of pandan undernote. I find it lacking in sourness personally but some would probably find this ideal.

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Shanghai fried noodles + green beans with olive pickles minced meat + pastudon (100% semola homemade “udon”)

Thai basil fried rice with a fried egg

Spaghetti in herb & garlic white wine sauce with eggplants and pan-seared salmon

Thai basil pesto rice vermicelli with pan-grilled baby cuttlefish, bell peppers and toasted cashews

Red curry risotto with shiitake mushrooms and a soft pressure-cooked egg

Mixed veggies Thai green curry, scrambled eggs with shrimps & bitter melon, pandan leaf wrapped pork loin, sweet & sour green bean, bean sprout & red pepper salad with toasted cashews, and served with plain white basmati rice