Sweet Potato Spelt Flour Roasted Garlic with a Hint of Raspberry Maple Syrup Bread

I had some leftover sweet potatoes from dinner the other night and after refreshing my starter I decided it was time to concoct something new and different.

I figured I would throw in some dried roasted garlic and what better than maple syrup to go with sweet potatoes. Naturally I had to be different and use some raspberry flavored maple syrup that we had picked up in Vermont a while ago. I love the nutty flavor spelt flour adds to bread along with roasted wheat germ and cracked wheat.

Including the water and syrup the total hydration for this dough is 73% and it definitely a wet style dough. If you are not comfortable working with wet dough you can certainly add some additional flour or decrease the amount of water a bit.

The final bread came out with a wonderful complex nutty flavor. You can taste the toasted garlic for sure, but the raspberry maple syrup is not noticeable at all. It has certainly added to the dark appearance of the bread, but the flavor is hard to notice. The sweet potatoes contribute to the rich flavor and dark color of the bread and were a great addition to the overall formula. The crust is nice and dark and crunchy with a moist and flavorful slightly chewy interior. I had a few slices with some cream cheese for breakfast a few minutes ago and it was very tasty. I'm sure this is going to make great toast and would be ideal for a steak sandwich.

Starter Ingredients

227 grams AP Flour

71 grams Starter (65% Hydration White Starter)

151.5 grams Water

Final Dough Ingredients

425 grams 65% Hydration Starter (All of Starter Above)

230 grams Bread Flour (I used KAF)

200 grams Spelt Flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

70 grams Cracked Wheat

40 grams Roasted Wheat Germ

17 grams Dried Roasted Garlic (you can roast your own garlic and use that instead)

8 grams Raspberry Maple Syrup

160 grams Roasted Sweet Potatoes

400 grams Water (90 degrees F.)

18 grams Seas Salt or Table Salt

Directions

Starter

Prepare the starter the night before and let it sit at room temperature for at least 10 hours. After 10 hours it should be doubled or more in volume. Deflate the starter and put in your refrigerator for up to 2 days or use it immediately.

Final Dough

Take the starter out of the refrigerator and let it warm up for about 20-30 minutes. Break it up into 5-10 pieces and put it in your stand mixer or work bowl. Add the cracked wheat to the water and let it soften for about 5 minutes. Next add the water with the cracked wheat with the starter and mix on low for 30 seconds to break up the starter. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to break up the starter. Now add all of the flours, sweet potatoes (mash them slightly before adding), maple syrup and roasted garlic. Mix on low for 2 minutes. Let the dough sit for 15 to 20 minutes.

Next sprinkle the salt over the dough and mix on medium for 4 minutes. The dough will still be fairly wet and loose at this point which is fine. Resist the temptation to add too much additional flour. If the dough is like soup then you should add some more flour until it starts to come together.

Remove the dough to your work surface and using a dough scraper stretch and fold the wet dough for a couple of minutes and form it into a ball. Let it sit uncovered for 15 minutes.

Do another stretch and fold several times and cover the dough with either a moist clean towel or a slightly oil sprayed piece of plastic wrap. Let it sit for another 15 to 20 minutes before you do another stretch and fold. The dough should start to feel more tacky than wet and sticky at this point. Let it rest again for 15 to 20 minutes and do one more stretch and fold. Form the dough into a ball again and place it in a slightly oiled container or bowl and cover it tightly. Let it sit at room temperature for 1.5 hours and then put it in your refrigerator for 24 hours or up to 3 days.

When ready to bake the bread, take it out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Now shape the dough as desired on a floured work surface being careful not to handle the dough too roughly so you don't de-gas it

.

Place it in your bowl, banneton or shape into baguettes. I made 2 loaves with this recipe and shaped them into boules.

Let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours covered with oiled plastic wrap or a wet cloth.

Pre-heat oven with baking stone (I use one on bottom and one on top shelf of my oven), to 500 degrees F.

Slash loaves as desired and place empty pan in bottom shelf of oven.

Pour 1 cup of very hot water into pan and place loaves into oven.

Lower oven to 450 Degrees and bake for 25 - 35 minutes until bread is golden brown and internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. Leave the loaves in your oven with the door cracked for 5 minutes longer with the oven off. After 5 minutes remove them from the oven and place on your cooling rack. Try to resist the temptation to cut into the bread until they have cooled sufficiently.