Return to Wild White

I haven't baked a white loaf since my disastrous encounter with Leckford Estate bread flour, so I thought it was time to excise some demons and have another try - with a different flour!

Having had success with a bulk retard in my last bake A Trio of High Extraction Loaves I decided to use the same technique again.

The only thing I wasn't totally happy with last time was the scoring and ears on the loaves baked uncovered, so I thought I might as well give the "double retard" a try on one of the loaves; I've always had good loaf appearance after a retarded final proof.

Flour mix

• 3% Aldi whole grain rye passed through a fine kitchen sieve
• 20% Walk Mill stoneground BF
• 38.5% Marriages strong BF
• 38.5% Waitrose strong Canadian BF

Levain

• 22.5% young levain at 56% hydration, 30% of flour is Rubaud wholegrain mix

Other

• True hydration 72%
• Salt 1.8%

Process   

• Levain made in a 2 1/2 stage build at e5, e11, m8. The half build is a small top up one in the morning 1:0.21
• At m11, autolyse all flours in all water for 20mins. in mixer
• Add levain, mix in, stand 15min
• Add salt, mix in
• Mix on high speed 1mins 55secs
• Turn out of the mixer into proofing bowl, dough temp 25C (I was looking for 27C)
• Bulk ferment at 28C for 2hrs with in bowl S&F at 45mins and 120mins
• Transfer to fridge for retarded bulk
• Out of fridge next day (14 elapsed hours)
• Rest 50mins at 24C
• Preshape to 3 rounds, BR 25mins
• Shape to 2 650g boules, 1 680g bat
• Boules FP in woodpulp brotforms for 1hr 15min at 24C
• Boules baked with steam for 12mins, 13mins without.
• Bat FP for 15mins at ambient, then into fridge for rest of FP (8hrs 30mins)
• Bat baked same as boules

Thoughts

• Nice loaves with good flavour and very open crumb. The double retarded bat was much easier to score than the boules, as you would expect with chilled dough.
• It baked with a good ear and nice blisters.
• The flavour of the single and double retarded loaves was similar
• The double retard makes for a long process cycle, but seems to give the best of both worlds - a good flavour from the retarded bulk and good appearance from the retarded FP.

    After the mix:

Start of Bulk Proof:

Out of the fridge:

Nice & bubbly!:

Onto the bench:

Preshaped:

Ready for FP:

Baked boules:

And the batarde:

Nice blisters!:

Lance