Country Sourdough
I baked this loaf as a present to thank neighbors of ours who will be taking care of our plants while we are away on our first vacation of almost two years. It was a last minute decision to make a country sourdough and there was a weird issue with the aliquot jar measuring rise. I have rarely had this happen but the aliquot jar never rose past 15% increase in volume. It is really odd that this should happen, the dough for the aliquot jar was removed from the main dough after a very thorough mixing. In fact, for the first time I used my stand mixer to knead this dough so you’d think that the levain would have been well incorporated in the dough. Anyhow, since I’ve been following pH I used that along with the expansion of the main dough to decide when to call bulk quits. The pH of the white flour levain at time of addition was 3.87. At the end of mixing in the stand mixer the pH of the dough was 5.45. End of bulk was pH 4.45 when the dough was shaped. End of warm proof was pH 4.02. Cold retard at 3ºC overnight and at the time of baking the next day the pH was 3.9.
This dough is 80% hydration, 15% stoneground whole wheat, 5% whole rye, 50% bread flour and 30% all purpose flour.
Not a bad bake, but it certainly had a bit more spread than I would have liked, I suspect that the hydration may have been a bit too high for these flours.
Comments
Here’s a time lapse video of this bake.
Based on my last time lapse video where I saw the dough was still opening up at the end of the 20 mins of steam baking, I extended this bake to 25 mins with steam to see if the bloom could be a bit larger. I think that 25 mins seems to be better than 20 mins based on what is happening in the oven at the end of the 25 mins of steam baking.
when the batard springs to open that second split and the craggy nature of the crust appears. Which, to me, greatly enhances and helps makes the loaf a thing of beauty. Another lovely bake, even if it went a bit too sideways. (BTW Sideways is a pretty good movie about wine, CA wine country and relationships).
Florida? Mon Dieu. You at least could have told me 🤓.
vaya con perros, (you can call me) Al
Yes I remember the movie Sideways, it was alright and popularized Pinot Noir and demonized Merlot. Hope to see you in Florida in the next couple of weeks Alan.
Benny
I keep the kids on my pots for 25 minutes so it’s nice to see that your time lapse video supports my timing.
It has been very instructive doing the time lapse video. I had been doing 20 mins 450ºF and then 10 min 420ºF lid on baking prior to trying open baking with steam.
Benny
Nice scoring along the sides. Hope you enjoy your vacation.... stay safe!
Thank you David, still have to work this week so needed to get this baked today to gift to our neighbors. Heading down to Florida for 2 weeks so no baking planned.
Benny
And I bet your neighbors will love the bread!
Maybe you can explore some fun bakeries while you travel. Have a great trip!!
Mary
I hope they do enjoy the bread Mary. Since I have discovered that baking these loaves open rather than in a dutch oven seems to lead to thinner crusts I have been baking them this way. The time lapse videos are fun but they also led me to increase the steam portion of the bake to 25 mins because my previous video showed the bloom still opening when I ended the video at 20 mins. I believe 25 mins is the better length of steaming for me.
Four more sleeps before we go. I may visit a fellow TFLer when I’m down there, we’ll see, some baking may be involved.
I’m in Florida right now (Naples). If you get the urge to bake I have some starter I brought with me?
I’m sure your neighbour is having a nice slice of toast right now.
That’s great Glenn, how long are you in Naples for? We often do a day trip to Naples from Fort Lauderdale when we’re down for long enough. Do you own a place there?
Benny
We have a place in Naples (between Naples and Marco). If your down this way I have cold beer, starter and maybe even a sour dough pizza!
Such a kind offer Glenn, thank you. We have a place in Fort Lauderdale! Lovely to get away from Canadian winters, but it have been almost two years since we’ve been able to use it. Not sure what state our apartment will be in when we arrive this Friday.
Benny
We have not been here for 28 months but all is well! In case your wondering, it’s very hot and humid now
Our apartment building is undergoing concrete restoration so I'm not sure what to expect. I sort of expect it to be very dusty from the building vibrating during that work which is still ongoing. Fortunately our side of the building is complete and we should have access to our balcony again. Good to know that the weather there is as usual.
I’m in Florida right now (Naples). If you get the urge to bake I have some starter I brought with me?
I’m sure your neighbour is having a nice slice of toast right now.