Easter Bread & Sprouted Struan Bread using 90-100% Sprouted Flour
Happy Easter! I baked this Neapolitan Easter bread (Casatiello), published in the New York Times by Yotam Ottolenghi. Basically, it is a yeast bread dough wrapped up with meats, cheeses, herbs and eggs fillings, for the break fast picnic eaten the day after Easter. It was a fun bake since whatever leftovers you had on hand, you can roll them up tightly, like a cinnamon roll. It's easily adaptable to accommodate any filling ingredients. And you won't be getting your fingers all sticky and gooey. There is no glaze on the bread. Just a yummy savory bread packed with all the Easter leftovers.
I substituted sprouted wheat flour for all the bread flour in the recipe. (I loaded up when I saw the new King Arthur Flour sprouted flour on sale in the local store.) It was a risky move for me since I've never used 100% sprouted wheat flour in any bread before. But I did gain confidence after I baked Peter Reinhart's sprouted struan bread (87% in sprouted wheat and the rest in corn and rice flour) a few weeks ago. I found the recipe in his latest book, Bread Revolution. Struan bread (not the spouted one) was Reinhart's signature loaf and his top-selling bread at Brother Juniper's Bakery. He put in a struan bread recipe in every one of his books.
The sprouted struan bread was outrageously tender and delicious, more than I'd expected. I'm now firmly in the camp of using more sprouted flours in my bread going forward -- in view of its easily digestible benefits.
I added a small amount of sourdough starter in the dough, if not for anything else, just to give the bread another layer of flavor. It's a game changer using sprouted flours. No preferments of any kind, no need for high level of hydration and long and extended fermentation, or the addition of high-gluten flour (bread or all-purpose flour) to achieve the desirable crumb texture. I was floored by how using the sprouted flours alone has changed the usual process of making breads.
I'm sure there are ways to make the sprouted bread even better, or I hate to say it, to be more like white bread and its light and open-crumb texture. Similar to the look and feel of the Vermont sourdough bread I bake regularly? Is it possible?
What have been your experiences in baking breads using high percentage (90-100%) of sprouted flour (not the sprouted pulp)? With increasing availability of sprouted flours and lower prices, I can see shifting to use more of them and less of the all-purpose or bread flour varieties. Any thoughts?
For details and recipes of the two breads, please go to:
http://www.everopensauce.com/sprouted-sourdough-struan-bread-bbb/ and
http://www.everopensauce.com/neapolitan-easter-bread-casatiello-new-york-times/
Comments
Another Sprouted Grain Convert! PR says it is a Revolution and that might be a bit of hyperbole but it is at least an insurrection:-) It started putting sprouts in bread in 2012 as an add in that was just folded into the mix during stretch and folds but have been sprouting and grinding all kinds of grains for bread nearly 4 years now. I'm addicted.
The hardest breads to master are the whole grain ones and sprouted whole grain breads are no different 100% sprouted, high hydration ones were at the top of the difficult list for me. They are so much faster and difficult to retard without them over proofing while you are sleeping. 10 to 40% sprouted whole grain breads I just treat like non sprouted ones but with a bit less water and watching the bulk ferment and proofing closely in case they take off unexpectedly, speed wise, depending on the grains used.
You can easily make =Vermont Sprouted Sourdough and you will like it better too. I prefer the add whole grains one myself. Here was Last Fridays bake - a 30%, 7 whole sprouted grain sourdough - very much like an added whole grain Vermont SD. I do tend to put more mater in than JH does becsue if teh add ed whole grains and to open the crumb.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/51493/bread-special-saturday
Happy Sprouted Baking
Love your sprouted 7-grains sourdough. It's very encouraging to see sprouted breads can look so good. To get something similar to the eating quality of the Vermont sourdough, would you go beyond 30% in sprouted flour? What is a reasonable upper limit for that type of bread? Do you mill your own sprouted flour? How long does it take you to do all the sprouting and grinding? Is it worth considering getting some sprouted grains since they last much longer than the flour. Or perhaps more economical. I won't need any special equipment or setup in my kitchen; I generally use a Vita-mix to mill the grains. Thanks so much for being my guide in all things sprouted.
Spring is a good time to get more sprouting underway!
to sprout since you are done sprouting when they chit, the first time you see any white rootlets popping through the end of the seed. It take 3.5 to 4 hours to dry them in the dehydrator at 110 F. Then about 5 minutes to mill them in the Nutrimill. I then sift out the bran to feed it to the 10 g of starter for the first stage of the levain build.
I think my 40% sprouted 7 grain is my favorite Vermont style of bread. Once you get more than whole grains it starts to have a different crumb. 40% Whole Sprouted 7 Grain Sourdough Bread. I have to start these breads on Wednesday for a Friday bake and have to start them on Tuesday if I want to retard the dough and to retard the levain it is a Monday start. Nothing like fresh sprouted flour when making bread. I sprout grains every week all year long no worries.
Happy sprouting