20% Sprouted Ragi 30% Sprouted Red Wheat Sourdough

The bake was kept simple since it was exam period. We’ll have something less boring next week :)

20% Sprouted Ragi 30% Sprouted Red Wheat Sourdough

Dough flour (all freshly milled):

150g      50%       Whole Red Fife wheat flour

90g        30%       Sprouted red wheat flour

60g        20%       Sprouted ragi (finger millet) flour

For leaven:

6g              2%       Starter

32g       10.7%       Bran sifted from dough flour

32g       10.7%       Water

For dough:

268g      89.3%       Dough flour excluding bran for leaven

232g      77.3%       Water

70g        23.3%       Leaven

9g              3%        Vital wheat gluten

5g          1.67%       Salt

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303g        100%       Whole grain

267g       88.1%       Total hydration (I found that most millet varieties absorb little water)

Sift out the bran from dough flour, reserve 32 g for the leaven. Soak the rest, if any, in equal amount of water taken from dough ingredients.

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until ready. It was ready after 5 hours but I extended the time to around 6 hours for more pronounced sourness (28°C).  

Roughly combine all dough ingredients except for the leaven and salt, autolyze for 15 minutes. Knead in the reserved ingredients and ferment for a total of 3 hours. Construct a set of stretch and fold at the 15 minute mark.  

When I got home, the dough rose by roughly 50% rather than the expected 30%, likely due to the use of mature leaven. It was thus shaped right away and retarded for 11 hours.

Preheat the oven at 250°C/482°F. Score and spritz the dough then bake at 250°C/482°F with steam for 20 minutes then without steam for 25 minutes more or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 208°F. Let it cool for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing.

Unsurprisingly, the dough over-proofed during the retard. I had really under-estimated how much the microbial population can grow in an extra hour. Guess the doubling rate is pretty high at 28°C… The purpose of using a mature leaven was achieved though: the bread is distinctively sour. That’s not say it’s lacking in sweetness, quite the opposite in fact, thanks to the malty sprouted grains and fruity Red Fife wheat.

Ragi is rather mild in flavor that I can’t really detect anything special it contributed. Also, it didn’t sprout very well so I’d consider toasting it prior to milling next time. The crumb can definitely be more open yet it’s not too bad being over-proofed.  

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Calamarata al Ragu di Pesce with pan-grilled baby cuttlefish. Feels so sophisticated!

Spaghetti in paprika lemon sauce with mushrooms and smoked duck breast

Mushroom, caramelized onion & mozzarella omelette

White bread of the week: 10% ragi 10% ragi porridge (dry weight) 10% spelt 

Hmm... Rather bland…