100% Durum with Harvest Grains
I haven’t made a 100% (or pretty close) Durum bread in quite some time. After seeing some excellent posts of recent Durum bakes on TFL I decided to try a new version myself.
I decided to do a 2 step build for the levain to make sure it had a lot of strength to give some nice rise and structure to the Durum flour and it really did make a big difference.
I recently went on vacation to Vermont and of course stopped by King Arthur Flour and stocked up on some goodies including their Harvest Grain Blend. This includes whole oat berries, millet, rye flakes, and wheat flakes and four seeds (flax, poppy, sesame, and sunflower). I soaked these in hot water for a couple of hours and drained them completely before adding them to the final mix. I’m sure it added some extra hydration to the dough which is not included in the formula.
I was very happy with how this one turned out. The golden crumb is nice and fluffy and open. The crust was perfect and overall the bread tasted fantastic. This was incredible grilled, brushed with some olive oil and topped with some fresh mozzarella.
Formula
Levain Directions Build 1
Mix all the levain ingredients for build one (including the seed starter) together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for around 6-7 hours or until the starter has almost doubled. I used my proofer set at 76 degrees so it took around 5 hours for me.
Levain Directions Build 2
Add in the flour and water as indicated and mix until incorporated by hand. Cover and let sit another 3-5 hours until doubled and you should see plenty of activity.
Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.
Main Dough Procedure
Mix the flour and water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute. Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes. After 30 minutes or so add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), Harvest Grains drained and mix on low for 5 minutes. If you are using the Ankarsrum mixer like I do, add your water to the bowl first then add in the flour. After your autolyse add in the starter, salt, Harvest Grains and olive oil and mix on low to medium low for 15-20 minutes.
Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds. Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold. Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold. After a total of 1.5 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.
When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours or if using a proofer set at 80 degrees for one hour. Remove the dough and shape as desired and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap Sprayed with cooking spray and let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 – 2 hours. (I use my proofer set at 80 F and it takes about 1 hour to 1.5 hours).
Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.
After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for around 35 minutes or until the breads are nice and brown and have an internal temperature around 200-210 F.
Take the breads out of the oven when done and let them cool on a bakers rack for as long as you can resist.
Comments
Those are beautiful indeed. I wish I could eat seeds ! The grain/ seed mix sounds delicious. Have you tried toasting the mix? I find the grains I make into porridge really benefit flavor and texture wise when I toast them in butter . Just a thought. I bet a grilled cheese would go great on that bread. Nicely done.
I will definitely try toasting this mix next time. I agree it would add another level of flavor for sure.
Happy Baking!
Ian
Nice loaf Ian. The crumb looks nice and moist, and the whole grains look like they’d add great texture as well. Nicely executed!
Did you notice additional sour with the double levain? It sounds like you kept the levains “young” so guessing the sour was mild and didn’t overpower the grain/seed blend?
This one was not that sour and you’re correct the young Levain tends to have that type of result. It was very flavorful and I find when doing a 2 step build it helps the overall fermentation.
Happy baking.
Ian
Semolina bread is the most photogenic of all the breads and yours are real beauties. I have been using the two stage levain since reading more about it in Chad Robertson's latest book. It is less sour with a stronger and more reliable rise. The timing works better for me and it is much easier to monitor it's progress compared to the overnight version.
In a perfect world there would be a King Arthur store in every state but I would settle for free shipping.
Don
Appreciate your kind words. I have not done a 2 stage build in quite some time so I was very happy how well it performed in this bake. I just did another one for a simple bread flour levain that will have some Vermont cheese and some fresh cherries mixed in the main dough. I'm hoping it comes out as good as this one did.
We love visiting Vermont and always have a good time stocking up at KAF and tasting some of their freshly baked breads and pastries. We also enjoy visiting local cheese farms and shops and end up bring back a years worth of cheese !
Best,
Ian
Beautiful crust and golden crumb with all those delicious grains hidden within Ian, that must be a delicious loaf. Wonderful bake.
Benny
Well, your bake reminded me I have not done a 100% Durum bake in a while so I have you to thank for trying this one. I was very happy with how this one came out. I made another bread at the same time that had Apple Cider in place of the water and fresh milled whole wheat and some Vermont Cheddar cheese but I think the Cider through off the fermentation and the crumb was very dense. It was good toasted but was not nearly as good as the Durum one.
Look forward to seeing your next bake. I have one ready to mix this afternoon using fresh cherries and some more Vermont Cheese. Hopefully it will come out better than the last one, but no cider this time.
Happy Baking Benny!
Oh a bake with fresh cherries sounds amazing, this is the time of year to bake such treats. I look forward to seeing this next bake of yours. You have always been an inspiration to me, seeing your creativity with ingredients made me think, I want to be able to bake like Ian does! Thanks for inspiring me.
Happy Baking Ian
Benny
That’s too kind of you but I’m glad I could inspire you. You have become an amazing creative baker in such a short time and inspire so many more as well.
Best regards,
Ian
And the Harvest Grains mixture must add both a flavor and texture boost. I occasionally use a four-grain mix from Country Life Natural Foods which contains flaked barley, flaked oats, flaked rye, flaked wheat, and sunflower seeds.
Paul
This was a very tasty bake. I really liked the extra flavor added by the Harvest Grain mix. Your mix sounds like it would be very flavorful as well.
Best,
Ian
is going to get my attention. As with these Ian. Lovely. With the harvest grains added, it reminds me of Mr. Hamelman's 5 grain bread, and I'll bet that some version of this will be a future mix for me since that bread is so darned good.
I finally made it to KA last summer halfway between our friends in Rutland and a stay in Woodstock N.H. Just in time for a pair of lunch sandwiches on their patio. I understand the draw but they were, understandably, way too crowded for my agoraphobic tendencies.
"grilled, brushed with olive oil and topped with fresh mozzarella." That sounds like a meal in itself.
Maybe I'm behind the times but it looks like your Breadstorm days are kaput based upon the formula format.
Alan
I figured this one would be right up your alley! I hope you give it a try as I’m sure you will love it. We were fortunate that it wasn’t too crowded the 2 days we stopped by KAF and the dogs enjoyed their walk around the grounds!
Unfortunately BreadStorm ceased to exist a few years ago and now my home Mac is so old and slow I just can’t use it anymore. I can still browse and printout my library from my iPad but it’s too painful to modify and make new formulas on my IMac. I wish someone had a replacement that was as easy to use but I haven’t seen anything to my liking.
Happy Baking
Ian