Blueberry Sourdough with Hazelnuts - fresh blueberry that is
Many have made similar breads, notably:
http://noelsbread.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/blueberry-hazelnut-bread/
http://www.farine-mc.com/2009/06/apple-blueberry-bread-with-spelt.html
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/22508/blueberry-maple-walnut-spelt-bread
Here's my version, inspired by all the posts above, adapted to use ingredients I have on hand, and a fermentation process that works for me.
Fresh Blueberry Sourdough with Hazelnuts
Note: makes one 650g boule.
bread flour, 195g
ww flour, 60g
blueberry puree, 45g
water, 115g
maple syrup, 15g
salt, 4.5g
starter (100%), 90g
fresh blueberries, 84g
hazelnuts, 66g, toasted and skin peeled off
1. Mix everything together, autolyse for 30min, knead at low speed for 1min, medium speed for 3min.Gluten is mediumly developed. Add in blueberries and hazelnuts, mix in gently with hands.
2. Bulk rise at room temp (74F) for 3 hours, S&F as needed. I did 3 times at 30min, 60min, and 90min.
3. Round, rest, shape into boule, drop into basket smooth side down. Cover and put in fridge overnight.
4. Next morning, finish proofing at room temp for another 80min, until the dough bounces back slowly when lightly pressed.
5. Bake at 450F for 40 to 45min, the first 13min with steam.
While blueberry puree adds a lot of blueberry flavor to the bread, if too much is added, the acidity would disintegrate the dough completely, no amount of S&F can save it. Don't ask me how I know. Stick to fresh blueberries, frozen ones are too easy to break, release juice, then make the dough too wet - a tip I could've learned from Shao-ping's post if I had read it BEFORE making the bread. This version was my 3rd try, with the appropriate puree amount, and fresh berries, it's actually not difficult to make.
A whole wheat bread with strong blueberry flavor, while hazelnuts add a contrasting texture/taste, I would choose it over blueberry pies anyday!
Sending this to Yeastspotting.
Comments
txfarmer, another great posting - Thank you ;-=)
Ron
Done, be careful, blueberry juice may drip all over your email account. :P
I will take every precaution to avoid letting a single drop go to waste (º¿º)
Ron
Beautiful. Would you mind if I replaced your Pain Meunier post on the homepage with this one?
Of course! I am flattered. Thanks Floydm!
Oh my goodness, what a breakfast treat.
Definitely!
Txfarmer your breads are my gold standard! Two questions- can I use frozen blueberries for the puree, then is it strained? Can I retard the dough at 55F overnight and bake them cold from the fridge and skip the room temp proof in the morning-obviously baking longer. this works very well for your 36+ hr baguettes and I'm hoping will work here too.
P.s. I can't stop eating / thinking about eating the colomba di pasquale that you inspired. Well worth the lack of sleep.
I can't wait to hear what you are baking next.
Pamela
I am sure you can use frozen blueberry for puree, and I didn't strain mine.
Wether to bake from cold (and what temp to retard) depends on how fast your dough proofs. The time my dough spends at room temp after retarding is not to "warm up", but to "finish proofing", to the point where the dough has expanded some, yet some strength is still left for ovenspring. So without making and seeing your dough, I can't say for certain whether your retarding schedule would work - it may very well work, but don't depend on my words, nor the clock, you need to read the dough.
"A whole wheat bread with strong blueberry flavor, while hazelnuts add a contrasting texture/taste, I would choose it over blueberry pies anyday!"
Me too! Me too!
Ha, this kind of bread makes a fantastic dessert huh?
What a perfectly awesome bread! I bookmarked this thread! Coming from Alaska, I think this is a perfect Alaska loaf as well ...especially if made with our wild blueberries, hazelnuts, and Alaskan sourdough starter! Probably good with wild cranberries too...
Thanks, Tex!
Brian
I really like your idea! A purely local loaf.
Hello txfarmer,
Your blueberry sourdough looks wonderful!, and the blueberry puree sounds like a delicious addition to your dough.
Thank you so much for the mention re: my blueberry-maple-walnut spelt bread.
I appreciate you posting a link to Noel's Bread Blog and his blueberry hazelnut bread; he mentions lavender as a possible addition to blueberry bread - another interesting idea! (I tried adding lavender to bread once - loved it - & now wonder how it might be with blueberry - looking forward to trying this).
I really enjoy all of your posts; it's always a pleasure to read about and see your beautifully-crafted and photographed breads and pastries; and I admire, so much, your dedication and hard work in getting it 'just right'!
:^) from breadsong
So glad that you dropped by! In one of my prev attempts, I in fact tried the lavender, unfortunately the fragrance was entirely drown out by other strong flavors in the dough, maybe I should've used more.
So beautiful. I've never thought about putting blueberries in before.
Well done!!!
I saw that post and couldn't get it out of my head - made up my own recipe, but the concept is the same
The moment I saw this I had to make it...ungodly good! I made it with walnuts instead of hazelnuts with a terrifically long cold proof of 20 hours. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe :-) More, please!!
~Krista
Hello Txfarmer,
Well, I have not been on this forum for awhile and so was very happy to see your post! Your bread looks absolutely, wonderfully delicious! You have inspired me to take my poor, starving 100% starter out of the fridge to start nourishing in properly again:)
I want to try your recipe and would just like to know exactly how you made your blueberry puree? Did you just blend blueberries together in your blender and measured out 45 g? Or did you add another ingredient?
Thank you,
Mira
Yes, I just blend the berries, nothing else was added.
Looking forward to trying this. Your photos are beautiful.
that will go in my scrapbook. I'd love to try out. A dumb question - did you chop the nuts into smaller pieces or did you use them whole, it looks whole to me in the picture. I'm just not sure if the chopped nuts would tear the dough. Many thanks. - Judy
I left them whole.
I tried to replicate your recipe with ingridients in smaller quantities using dried blueberries and raisin yeast water that I recently learnt from TFL and here's what I have managed to achieve. I am pleased with the outcome. The crust is thin and crisp, It's the first time I tried using a cake tin and stones to generate steam and it has worked well.
Thank you to all who have helped me understand everything there is to learn about levains and the wonders of natural yeast -Judy
I picked up this idea from TFL. Someone suggested heating up the rocks (I'm simply the large smooth pebbles that were used for my plants before my they died) in a loaf pan and simply pour boiling water on the heated rocks after you've loaded the dough on the baking stone. Easy peasy... It works well and the water is still steaming profusely when I take it out of the oven after 10 mins or more so I'm sure the rocks are giving out plenty of steam when it's in the oven.
- Judy
Great idea using stones for steam. At San Francisco Baking Institute they suggested that we take a cast iron pan and fill it part way with stainless steel nuts and bolts, or chain link, and heat it on the oven rack just below the baking stone. It gets fiercely hot and produces a lot of steam. I pour 1 cup of water in the pan just after loading the bread on the stone. You really need to dedicate a pan to this, as the pan and bolts get pretty ugly, though this doesn't hamper their effectiveness. I just keep the whole assembly with my baking stone and haul them out together. It's essentially the same concept as your stones - just another option.
This looks beautiful. I am making whole wheat sourdough right now and will attempt making this bread. I doubt though that it will turn out as good as yours looks. :)
Hi TxFarmer,
Such a gorgeous loaf you've produced! I just purchased a bag of hazelnuts and this will be the perfect way to use them!
I had a quesetion about the incorporation of whole blueberries. Did you mix them in at the same time as the other ingredients and then knead? Sounds like all of the berries would be completely destroyed if done that way.
As I posted:
'1. Mix everything together, autolyse for 30min, knead at low speed for 1min, medium speed for 3min.Gluten is mediumly developed. Add in blueberries and hazelnuts, mix in gently with hands."
The berries were added at the end of mixing, by hand, gently.
Oops! I feel like such an idiot missing that part of the posting. My apologies!