Pain au Levain + Multigrain

Baked 2 loaves this week. Leader's Pain au Levain my staple plain bread and Hamelman's rye multigrain.

No pictures of the entire loaf of the Pain au Levain this time round but here's the crumb shot.

The addition of 22% whole wheat flour and 5% rye flour makes for a tasty loaf. I upped the hydration to 73% and soaked the flour overnight which I think contributes to a sweeter, more complex tasting loaf. The dough is very easy to manage with a few stretch and folds thrown in. Shaping is easy and the extra hydration contributes to a moderately open crumb which makes it a really flexible loaf to go with anything.

For the 2nd loaf of the week, I decided to go for a multigrain bread. Hamelman's rye multigrain is one of my favourite breads to make and eat. The mixture of flax, sunflower, cracked rye and oats gives it a delicious taste and bite. My favourite among the other multigrain variants in bread, I find the addition of a rye sourdough contributes to a nice complexity and sourness. Here's a picture of the loaves. Don't mind the dirty stone!

And here's the crumb shot, studded with seedy goodness!

It has been almost half a year since I baked this but after this bake its in my breads to bake again soon list.

-Tim