gavinc's blog

Inspired by Tony’s (CalBeachBaker) last week, I couldn’t wait to give the Hazelnut and Fig Levain a try. Last night I made the stiff white levain and this morning I hand mixed 1400-gram dough and found the dough a bit sticky to start with but soon smoothed out as the gluten developed. I thought that the number of figs and hazelnuts were a lot, but I was surprised that I got them combined into the dough. Bulk proofed at 24C for 2 hours, divided and shaped into two 700-gram oblong doughs. Final proof at 24C for 2 ½ hours in a Couche seam side down. Laterally scored with a steak knife and baked with steam on stone. I may have baked them a bit dark; I should have pulled them a few minutes earlier. The aroma in the kitchen was amazing with the anise seed prevalent. The figs and hazelnuts were evenly dispersed, even down to the end bits (my wife was too quick for me again).

The taste can only be described as fantastic. I will definitely make this again.

Cheers, Gavin

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I just prepared my rye starter for an 8 week holiday. I took 10-gram of my ripe stiff rye culture and crumbed it using 100-gram whole rye. Air dried for a couple of days and stored in a clean old sock. It's now laid to rest in the cupboard.

When I get home in November, I'll rehydrate it into a paste and feed for a couple of days. Should be good to go :)

Cheers,

Gavin

I was lucky to get some winter red wheat (RGT Accroc) directly from the farm. I cleaned and stone milled enough berries to bake Debra Wink’s 100% whole-wheat sandwich bread. I had made this before with white wheat and wanted to get a better taste. I made two adjustments for this bake; use the red wheat and replace cold pressed walnut oil with toasted walnut oil. The difference is remarkable, a richer whole-wheat crumb, texture, aroma, and flavour. The crumb is soft for use in sandwiches. The loaf was baked in a 330mm Pulman pan sans lid.

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This is Debra Winks 100% whole-wheat sandwich loaf. I've previously baked this in the Pullman pan sans lid, but my family prefers the square cut of the lid version. Increased weight from 800-gram to 900-gram and test baked. I'm happy with the result. Shaped into a blunt cylinder, I let the dough rise in the final proof to about 1.25 cm (1/4 inch) from the rim and slid the lid into place. Baked at 190C (374F) for 30 mins.

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Pullman Bread baked today, 4th Feb 2022.

This is Hamelman’s Pullman Bread, a straight dough that can be mixed and baked the same day with no pre-ferments. It is perfect for sandwiches. I mixed a 1 kg dough suitable for my 330-mm (13-inch) pan with the lid. The entire process took about 5 hours. Very happy with the result. I’ll let it cool and slice it later tonight.

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Background

My first attempts at this bread were flawed in that I got very little rise. Debra Wink (DW) contacted me and suggested some tweaks. As a result, I introduced some Vital Wheat Gluten (VWG) to increase the protein percent of my whole-wheat flour. I also pre-fermented 5 percent of the flour in a stiff levain. I wasn’t sure what effect the levain would have; rise, flavour enhancement, crumb or all. I’ve had a great result by incorporating both the VWG and the levain now for many weeks.

Today’s Experiment

I wanted to check what effect the levain was having on the rise, crumb, and flavour of the baked loaf. Today’s bake: I eliminated the levain and recalculated the formula.

Result

I compared the rise, crumb, and taste of both loaves (my lovely wife was also a judge).

Rise: at all stages throughout the process, the rise hit the milestones. Picture 1 is at the start of the final proof. Picture 2 is at the end of final proof after 3 hours at 22C/71F. I concluded that the levain did not enhance the rise in speed or volume over time. The baked loaf had a good oven spring and baked with a nice golden colour. Pic 3.

Crumb: The crumb of both loaves was identical. I put this down to the low per-cent of pre-fermented flour. DW advised that 4-5% would not have a detrimental affect of the crumb. Both were soft as a sandwich loaf should be. Pic 4.

Taste: This was the only discernible difference. The loaf with the levain had an enhanced flavour. The loaf baked without the levain was very nice but lacked the flavour of the levain loaf.

Conclusion

I will continue to include the 5% PFF in the formula.

Cheers,

Gavin

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Summer here where I live. Family favourite; Base is Neapolitan pizza dough. 

Today’s bake is a new recipe from Jeffrey Hamelman in Bread 3rd Ed.

The recipe includes 25% whole-spelt flour that I stone-milled the day before baking. I recalculated the recipe for two 680-gram doughs.

I oven-roasted the butternut pumpkin and toasted the pumpkin seeds the evening before the bake and allowed them to cool at room temperature overnight. I also prepared the poolish and let stand for 14 hours at 21C.

The next morning, I hand mixed all the ingredients except for the seeds, and I held back 10% of the final water (bassinage). Once moderate gluten development was obtained, I gradually added the bassinage water until incorporated. The seeds were incorporated last.

The bulk fermentation is 3 hours, folding at 45-minute intervals at 24C. I pre-shaped and once rested, shaped into bunt cylinders, and placed them into 23 x 13 cm loaf pans. Final fermentation for 60 minutes.

Baked in a 232C pre-steamed oven with steam for 15 minutes. 215C for 20 to 22 minutes. The use of the bread pans ensures less crust and hero the crumb.

Hamelman notes: “This bread hits a lot of flavor bases – it is smooth and moist thanks to the squash and the honey; the roasted pumpkin seeds are a nice flavor addition; and visually it is pretty to look at – the crumb has an attractive golden hue and contrasts well with the pumpkin seeds studded throughout.”

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I saw a picture of your Debra Wink’s 800-gram loaf in a 330 mm / 13 inch Pullman pan. It looked terrific, so I ordered the pan from the USA. It arrived this week, so today I baked using the pan and was very pleased, apart from a shaping mistake (I shaped as per a batard out of habit instead of a blunt cylinder). I’m learning with each iteration of this wonderful bread. It’s such a beautiful taste that it is now has a place in our weekly breadbasket. A nice light soft crumb.

Cheers,

Gavin

I was prompted to make a time lapse of my sourdough during the oven spring. This is the start of the bake condensed into 37 seconds. Sorry about the background reflection, but you’ll get the gist. They are 750-gram oval loaves, Vermont sourdough with 10% whole wheat.

You can view the video on my YouTube https://youtu.be/c90Yqi3gLBE

Cheers,

Gavin