My first Oat Porridge Bread
I recently bought a grain flaker and some organic oat groats. By the way; fresh rolled oatmeal (porridge) is very good and nutritious in the morning. The obvious evolution was Oatmeal Porridge Bread. This is my first ever bake of this kind.
I elected Maurizio’s Oat-Porridge SD for my first attempt.
The high percentage of gluten free oats was very unfamiliar to me. The dough was sticky and hand kneading (mostly coil type folds) was fairly sloppy. I omitted the 25 grams of hold out water, and I am glad I did. I BF the dough to approximately 50%, which in hind sight was too much. The dough was shaped, placed into cloth lined bannetons, and retarded. Since the room temp dough takes hours to cool down in the frig, the dough rose considerably. Next time the BF will be cut back to no more that 30% increase.
12 hours after BF the doughs were removed for the frig. They were gassy. One was scored, the other not.
I have never tasted a bread like this before. It is definitely not sour, has a soft texture, and the flavor is interesting and good. I think it will make a great sandwich bread. I am please with the crumb, except for the dense area near the bottom of the loaf.
I am interested in improving this bread. Goals for improvement would be;
- More spring, higher rise.
- Correct the dense crumb near the bottom of the loaf.
Please share your suggestions and ideas for improvement.
Danny
Comments
Danny, I am such a ML fan! Your bread looks delicious. This is a bread I’ve wanted to make but didn’t think I could be successful with it. Great job. The only thing is I might want to use a white whole wheat but nice baking!
Maurizio uses 46% whole grain. I think this bread needs a fair amount of gluten since the formula calls for 21% of oats which contain no gluten at all.
The dough’s gluten development wasn’t very strong. It was wet enough for Slap & Folds, but the consistency wouldn’t allow it. Maybe Maurizio will reply and shed some light on this for us.
I read that oats don’t contain gluten, but it does posses a protein called avenins. I am not sure how avenins affect a bread dough. Maybe someone can enlighten us.
The bread had a very unique texture and flavor. I think most people would really enjoy it. Especially all the non-sour folks out there.
Danny
I find Maurizio’s pretty good at responding to emails on the blog at the end of the recipe. He does say in his write up that the dough is really wet. Which is why I am hesitant to try it, but maybe work up enough nerve to try.
and potato and usually making the loaf stand tall and proud. When it doesn't then it is usually an over proofing issue like this one. This bread need to go in the oven at 85% proof like it was a 50% whole grain bread. Other than that it has to be a fine sandwich bread for sure.
Happy baking Dan
Thanks for the tip, Dab. Let me make sure I understand. I assume when to say 85% proof, you mean that the dough has risen a total of 185% of it’s original volume in the banneton? So, 15% less than doubled? That sounds huge to me for a free formed loaf. Have I got that correct?
Could you make a guess-timate concerning the percentage of rise during the bulk fermentation?
The last bake got away from during the BF and over proofed. I had no prior experience with oats and wasn’t aware of how active the dough would be.
I appreciate your help...
Danny
Oat Porridge bread is one of my favorites (now)...but it can be pretty challenging. A few things that have helped me.
1. Do make sure you have some reasonably strong flour going in.
2. I hydrate the oats at at least 3-1 water to oats. I also try not to cook them a really long time (actually, I'm to the point of just pouring boiling water over them and covering overnight), as the more they thicken, the more difficult it is to incorporate. I also find that if you let them cool, then add a spoonful of starter and let that sit overnight beside your levain, there is some extra flavor, and the oats are much softer and easier to fold in.
3. Mix really, really well, then add oats...then mix well again (no clumps).
4. Try a bit less porridge until you get things where you really like them.
5. (from your loaf) as suggested, go easy on the proofing and watch closely...
I plan to give your suggestions a try. Since I’m using fresh rolled oats, soaking with a little Levain sounds good. I think fresh oat groats have a little more moisture than store bought.
Question. Have you tried toasting the oats before soaking?
What is your favorite oatmeal formula?
Thanks
danny
I have toasted the oats first, and it didn't make a big difference in the bread I made.
Here is my current formula (which has quite a bit lower percentage of oats)...
Your detailed spreadsheet provides a lot of information. I plan to study this...
Not bad to figure out, as it follows the basic structure that the Bread Bakers Guild of America recommends, which you might run across again:
https://www.bbga.org/files/2009FormulaFormattingSINGLES.pdf
Really nice result, Dan. Like @bikeprof said, I'd definitely recommend using a stronger flour next time. I'm not sure which white flour you used, but you could try a blend of lower protein white (like 11-12%) and "bread" flour (13% protein) to give the dough a bit more strength. As you said, the oats really drag down the dough and a little extra strength helps quite a bit. In my writeup I mentioned Sangre de Cristo flour which was a relatively strong flour I found locally (it's no longer available, sadly). When I make this nowadays I use 15-25% high protein white flour in the mix to help.
Regardless, your fermentation looks fantastic and I bet the texture was stellar. Nice work!
Great job. Did it toast up nicely?