Claus Meyer's Oland Bread
Hi,
Has anyone made Claus Meyer's Oland loaf? here and here. I am new to sourdough and found this recipe intriguing as it included commercial yeast and a stand mixture option.
I decided to give this a try as I found some Oland flour at a local farmer's market. I was a bit concerned with the hydration level as it is 90% and I never worked with a dough that wet before. I had a terrible experience with a 75% hydration dough that still gives me nightmares.(it was due to poor flour quality). I did manage to get the measurements in grams which was very helpful.
I decided to reduce the hydration to about 80% and use my stand mixer. I made sure to get good gluten development without over kneading the dough. I put it to proof as directed but when I checked it in the morning it barely rose but did show signs of fermentation activity. I decided that I would shape the dough and put it to finish proofing in banneton baskets. I am not sure if this was a good or bad thing. They proofed up about 2 hours later testing it using the poke test. I baked them without a dutch oven but used lava rocks to create steam in my oven.
I think the loaves I made came out ok. They were very tasty even though they didn't have the same crumb that his loaves did. I also thought the oven spring was decent as I was concerned about not using a dutch oven.
I found this process a bit interesting since it was similar but had clear differences to the "traditional" sourdough process I was used to. Much less starter was used for the amount of flour included and I didn't get any real sour notes. It was tasty and good for those in my household that don't like a sour loaf all the time.
I plan to try it again using the traditional sourdough stretch and fold/bulk fermentation method to see if anything changes.
I would love to hear how this recipe may have worked for others that have tried it. Thanks for taking the time to read.
I like the appearance and the crumb - not open, but regular and it looks tender.
I've heard of Olands wheat and it seems to be highly rated as flavoursome, strong and able to take high hydration, but just about impossible to get in the UK; I think there's one farmer that grows it, but a long way from me.
Lance
Thanks it was very tender and flavorful. I hope you are able to get your hands on the flour one of these days.
I mixed the dough last night without calculating the books hydration, I took the recipe literally and weighed it all out. I’m glad I held back some of the water in the final dough until the gluten was developed in my Bosch. I’m sure I’ll have a learning experience with this super-hydrated dough. I don’t expect mine to look anything like the pictures in the post above. I’m thinking they’ll be flatter than ciabatta.
Very interesting topic! I found Claus Meyer's book in the bargain bin of a book chain here in the U.S. What a find. He has so much advice on process for those like me who are not professional bakers.
For those in the U.S., Øland is an island in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Gotland. I've had to substitute hard white winter wheat.
Like others who have tried, I've found a need to hold back about 10% of the water and only add more as it is slowly absorbed. Øland must be a rather thirsty wheat? I have tried mixing at those hydrations in an Ankarsrum and a Famag but it takes a long time.
His technique of using minimal yeast led me to buy a very small scale to measure accurately as I've done a hybrid of sourdough and instant yeast. The long retardation produces amazing flavor.
Would appreciate advice on how much you let the dough rise before putting it in the fridge? I seem to either put it in too early, or too late, in which case the surface is covered 24 hours later with ping pong sized bubbles even with only 1 g of yeast.
Like you Soniabean, my dough doesn't seem to come to life in the fridge easily. His retardation is so important, yet Claus gives very vague advice on when to know when it's ready for the fridge!
Has anyone else out there found the magic to this?