Austrian flour - getting the right hydration & best flour to use
Hi everyone. I'm new here and a first time bread baker. I thought I'd jump in the deep end and start my bread baking experience with sourdough bread. Wowza.
After much research and learning about European/North American flour types, hydration levels and the "how to's" I still can't get the right balance of hydration to get a good rise (or at least that's my conclusion). I know that Austrian/German flours differ from North American flour so I've tried to adapt the recipes. Although my first load tasted good it didn't rise and the hydration (75%) was too high (I think) for the flour I used:
- 250g type 550 German AP flour (700 Austrian)
- 100g type 1050 German flour
- 50g type 700 "Dinkel" flour
- 50g type R960 "Roggen" flour
- 350g water
- 100g starter
- 10g salt
What I would like to master - finding the appropriate flour and hydration level to use:
1. Starer: I use (50%/50% type 550 & whole wheat at 100% hydration) and doesn't seem to triple in volume (starter is 3 weeks old now,) only doubles. I created a Rye only starter out of curiosity and that seems to triple in volume however it takes longer to reach that height and is much "heavier". I can't find the "perfect" formula for the starter
2. Bread recipe: I'm on my third loaf and used:
- 400g type 1050 German flour
- 100g type 550 German AP flour (700 Austrian)
- 350g water
- 100g starter
- 10g salt
This time the water absorbed so quickly that I could handle the dough easily (like pizza dough). After Autolyse it has loosened a bit but it's still very easy to handle (not too sticky) I understand that the protein content is higher in the type 1050 flour but did I use too much of this flour type? Should I have increased the water to compensate? It's currently bulk rising so I don't have a finished product yet but I can tell that it has good strength, I don't know what kind of crumb it will result in?
@MiniOven, Austrian neighbour perhaps you could shed some insight?
The more "whole grain" you go, the more difficult it will be to get a good rise (and those amazing "ears" you see on Instagram). Wholegrain is, of course, fine in the typical Austrian "Fladen/Bauernbrot" recipes, but it is a different product. Try flipping the second recipe around and use less than 10% of more wholegrain flours. You will get much more rise and bigger bubbles that way as the gluten net will be stronger.
btw, if you really prefer wholegrain bread, have a try at this recipe. If your starter is good, it is quite a simple one to follow and it is very tasty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMW7CscV2U
I'll give it a go. I'm surprised that he uses lard/oil in his bread recipes! I wonder what the reason for that could be? As I'm new to the baking experience I shall try out any recipe then will "make it my own". My quest is to develop the perfect sourdough recipe using Austrian ingredients. It's been a long 10 years search to find this bread and have found one bakery that comes close but still not exactly what I'm looking for. The bread here is just too dense for my liking. On a recent trip to Prague I found multiple bakeries that nailed the exact taste & crumb I was looking for. Perhaps I need to return to buy flour from there?
I guess if you don't freeze the bread, adding oil will prevent it from drying out a bit longer. I don't use lard, as the thought of it disgusts me a bit ;)
If you don't like "dense" bread, then maybe that recipe isn't for you. See pictures below what a bread with that recipe looks like.
In general terms, Austrian flour is quite good, I always buy some "Rauch Mehl" when I'm in Austria, the green one. No funny additives.
That looks delicious! It's not that I don't like "dense" bread, I just miss the softer, chewier kind. I think I'll just have to learn through trial and error. Thanks for the feedback :)