Baby steps... what next?
2016 is the only year I've baked bread (real bread), so not very experienced. Essentially I've done the following:
bread build is always 1-2-3 (starter-water-flour) (flour KA AP)
starter is always 100% hydration 1/2 AP and 1/2 Rye
dough weight prior to cooking 600-750 grams per loaf
cooking methods used so far: Wood fired earthen oven, pizza stone in regular oven, cast iron dutch oven in regular oven
5 rounds so far and they went like this:
1. forgot salt
2. too much salt
3. Underproofed
4. Very nice, but not a complex taste
5. Overbaked
EVERY bake has been a learning experience, so that's awesome. I've been getting good LOOKING bread:
So... currently I revive my starter 2 days prior to the bake. 1 day prior I mix, autolyse (30-90 min), add salt and starter, S/F a couple of times, bulk ferment in fridge overnight. Day of the bake I move bread to kitchen counter, S/F a few times as it warms up. 2 hours before bake I divide, shape, proof in baskets, then bake.
Now to my question: What is the next logical step for me to improve my bread? I've tried to use the same technique and basic recipe to limit the variables (I learn better that way). Now that I'm feeling confident that (as long as I pay attention) I can do my basic recipe with decent results, what would you recommend that I change up or do differently to take another baby step? I'm specifically looking for more flavor, if that makes sense. Thanks to everyone on the forum - I've learned SO MUCH in a short time!!
I would add 10% whole wheat, 5% whole rye and 5% whole spelt flour to the dough flour and remove a like amount of the AP and up the hydration from 71% of the 1:2:3 to 75% for the 20% whole grain version which will be be more thirsty.
This will keep you in your comfort zone but give you better flavor overall. You crumb looks great so this is a good next step.
Welcome and happy baking
Looks like you've got a good routine down, and lovely looking bread - well done! As dabrownman says, try different kinds of flours now. Then he and Lucy could teach you a thing or two about simply amazing kinds of starters to change the flavour! Maybe that's for another day though.
Find some add-ins that you like too. One of my favourites is sage and onions. Or olives and rosemary. Roasted garlic and parmesan.
Of using different kinds of flours and add-ins. Once you've got a good working method and bread formula going, then's the time to see what you like in a bread.
30% whole rye is nice as well, as is a similar percentage of malthouse type flour. Raisins are really nice in a dark rye bread.
As for salt, aim for around 2% - it's easy to remember :-)
Buy this book: DiMuzio's Bread Baking. It's a great text book about bread baking. It'll teach you about bread baking moving from start to finish. It has all you'll need as a beginner. It's inexpensive and, better yet, can be purchased on line at Powell's Books or Alibris used.
Working your way through the DiMuzio text will give you expert advice available to you quickly, even when your internet connection dies and it won't leave you wondering whether your questions are being answered at TFL by experts or not. It's like having an expert at your fingertips.
If you want a much more detailed text, look at Hamelman's Bread.
You're making some good looking bread, that's for sure. Since you're new and looking for baby steps, I'd suggest keeping your recipe the same, but manipulating your starter and dough hydration in various ways so that you can learn how both can affect flavor, crumb, shape, dough quality, etc.
By keeping your basic recipe the same, but just altering those two variables you'll really be able to pick out the differences each one makes. That will help you build a solid foundation of technique from which to branch out later on.
Regarding starter: you can try using more or less starter while adjusting fermentation times to compensate. You can compare the flavor of young starter vs. mature starter. Stiff vs. liquid. Old dough vs. fresh starter. Once you really begin to understand how starter manipulation affects the qualities of your bread it opens up a whole new world of opportunities for flavor adjustment.
Regarding hydration: pretty simple here, just mess around with different hydrations and see the results, especially in crumb. Gradually improve your ability to handle wet doughs by increasing the water bit by bit -- it's a lot less frustrating than just jumping right into a wet sloppy dough.
Simply getting a solid handle on those two aspects of bread baking will really set you on the right path.
Cheers!
Trevor
I suggest you start by partially substituting one type of flour so you can see, for example, what 10% rye does to change both the dough and the baked loaf. Then, you can try 10% whole wheat, which will let you see how this changes the dough compared to both your original all-white loaf and the 10% rye one. It will also help you to decide what to try first when you start using a mix of both; i.e. whether you want to use more of one or equal weights.
You should also try each flour but at different percentages in order to learn how 15%, 20%, etc. compares to 10%.
Fwiw, after my first few white loaves, I started my own experimenting by using multi-flour blends, but soon realized that this made it harder to learn about each one. So after a few loaves, I "went back" to the type of step by step approach I've outlined. Of course, it's not a "one size fits all" type of situation, but it was a better fit for me than the direction I initially took.
I decided to make two identical loaves based on my familiar process.
110g starter
235g water (15 g more than normal to get to 75% hydration)
330g flour (AP)
7g salt
For one loaf, I substituted 66g of flour with SPELT, the other 66g WHOLE WHEAT. Mixed, kneaded and put in fridge overnight, room temped the next day and stretch-folded 4-5 times over 3 hours, then shaped and in bannetons for final. Into 500 degree oven on baking stone and hot water poured into preheated pan on top of oven for steam. Results:
The crust was REALLY nice, not as thick as other loaves I've done. The crumb was tasty but I'm not sure why I have the overly large holes (overproof?). Also, I could not really tell the difference between the WW and SPELT breads. Should I go for more than 20% "other" flour? Most of the family who tried both said they liked the WW better than the SPELT - most didn't know why, but some thought the SPELT was more bitter on the finish?? Any thoughts or advice appreciated.