Ming's blog

This is basically a repeat of last week's loaf with 50% wholegrain but with about 30% of the water replaced with sourwort. If your goal of getting an open crumb with sourwort then I would say you might be disappointed. As shown, the crumb is more and less the same with and without sourwort. Fortunately, that is not the reason I like sourwort, I was after it for some additional aromas and flavors and I think it did deliver which obviously not showable here. This is my first official baguette bake with sourwort so it is possible I still have not unlocked its potential. Regardless, I am happy with using sourwort and will continue to use it since it will be a SD starter replacement for me to get my bread some mild sourness. 

Here is the link that I baked last week without sourwort: 

50% wholegrain baguette with 25% red fife 25% WW 50% bread | The Fresh Loaf

Here is the link about making sourwort also called FLAS:

How I make 'sourwort' | The Fresh Loaf

Baked my weekly 50% wholegrain baguette this morning per following spec:

25% wholegrain red fife from Breadtopia

25% WW from Bob's Red

50% bread flour from KA

77% hydration

Did a Biga preferment with all the flours for 24 hours in my 55-degree F basement

0.2% instant yeast

2% salt

Mix with a spiral mixer for about 25 min

Dough temp was consistently kept at around 80-degree F throughout the process

Bulk ferment for about 2.5 hours starting from the mixing, pre-shape, final shape, and final proof within another 1.5 hours

Did two very gentle slap and folds during bulk rise just to redistribute the dough but not for gluten development as it passes windowpane with flying colors out of the mixer

Bake 12 min covered with my steel graniteware pan at 450-degree F and 8 min uncovered at 425-dgree F

I was going to do this bake with my newly brewed FLAS but decided not to use it because there was still a little bit cheese smell in the solution. I am working at different ways to pure all the unwanted smells from a FLAS before I want to use it in my bread. 

I think that is it. Oh, forgive my lousy scoring, as I probably can take a scoring lessen from alligator Al. I am not happy with a broken strap though as sometimes I end up with some close to perfect score lines and then come with an explosive oven spring and end up breaking all the ears. Let me know if anyone knows how to control the oven spring, as I can take a lesson from that as well. 

Cheers!

I upped the ante from a loaf I baked yesterday for an 80% whole grain baguette I baked today. It had 50% whole grain Kamut, 22% whole wheat, 8% dark rye, and the rest with bread flour. Hydration was around 75%. The process was the same with a slap and fold and a stretch and roll during the 7 hours bulk rise. I was gauging it for a 100% rise, but I think I got fooled as I think the crumb seems under fermented. Yesterday's loaf took 8 hours to double but this loaf did seem to rise quicker perhaps due to a having higher percentage of the whole grain. I hate to say I was disappointed, but it was definitely worth trying for a challenge.  

Crumb shot for Benny, sorry Doc to disappoint you with a very tight crumb: 

Shaped and ready to proof:

Bulk rise ended with dough doubled:

Bulk rise gauge:

Ingredients for the bake: 

It had been a while since I used my SD starter as a standalone leavening agent since I adopted a biga preferment approach for my baguette making. Anyhow, I gave it a run to see where my SD starter stand strength wise, and I have to say I was disappointed even though it did okay but no match for a biga with instant yeast. 

For this recipe, it had 40% whole grain Kamut, 20% whole wheat, and the rest with bread flour. I mixed everything together right from the getgo. i did about 3 min of slap and fold and then did a stretch and roll halfway during bulk rise. It took about 8 hours to double during bulk rise with a 10% inoculation. That signature sour taste that I did not quite like dominated this loaf like it had before, but it was a nice change of taste from the aroma of biga and sweetness of Kamut. 

I made a batch of pizza dough balls last night for next week's and it just occurred to me to steal one to make a baguette this morning, which is exactly what I did. It had 20% WW, 30% whole grain Kamut, and the rest was with bread flour. My pizza and baguette doughs share the same recipe except the pizza dough had a lower hydration and less developed, all made with a 95% biga and a 5% SD starter. I was very pleased with the expansion in the oven, which had twice the height and roundness of a 50% rye loaf I baked yesterday. Obviously, this baguette does not have alligator's ears and doc's bee nest crumb but I am very happy with it, felt much better than yesterday after uncovering the baking pan and seeing the expansion of the loaf. Cheers!