Ian's Multi Grain Potato Bread with Guinness

When I read Ian's recent blog post, I put this one on my short list for bakes.  Not only because of the Guinness, but the blend of grains as well.

I translated his recipe into two standard loaves for me and stayed as true to his recipe as I could.  Only a few small changes that I don't think changed anything significantly.  
1) I omitted the EVOO;
2) I used my standard method for potato bread prep (caramelizing the potatoes).  With that I increased the hydration in the formula, but in all likelihood, his method of mashed potatoes (higher hydration than fried potatoes) probably yielded a similar final dough consistency;
3) I used a combination of a stiff starter (45% hydration) and a liquid starter (100% hydration) to achieve his 60% hydration.

My stiff starter is relatively new and I don't have much experience with it.  Due to weekend schedules and work travel, I was only able to get one refresh in after 2 weeks in the refrigerator.  It responded well, but was a little more acidic than I would have liked.  The dough developed well after mixing.  I used my standard 4 sets of bowl kneading for gluten development.  I was finished with gluten development and the dough went into the proofer 90 minutes after mixing.  It appeared to be fermenting quickly at the 30 minute fold and looked even further along at the next 30 minute fold, so I moved to shaping.  This is quicker than I expected, but maybe not surprising given the amount of pre-fermented flour.  Next time, I think I'll do more kneading early to get through gluten development quicker so I can get a better feel for the fermentation progress.  After shaping however, the dough drastically slowed and was in final proof for almost 3 hours.  It was nice and jiggly, but did not reach the level of expansion I expected.  I attribute that to the acidity in the stiff starter but that's a bit of speculation at this point.  Need to get more experience with that starter before drawing too many conclusions.

That said, I did get some good oven spring and very happy with how the loaves turned out.  One is scored with a single long score and the other is coated with the bran from sifting the whole grain and baked seam side up.  The aroma is whole grain with a hint of sweetness and that comes through in the flavor as well.  A firm flavorful crust with a moist crumb!  I used it for a grilled turkey sandwich today and it was great!  The toasted bran on the crust gave the loaf a nice little crunch.  I will make this one again!

Levain #1
113.3g  All Purpose Flour
73.3g   Water
55.3g   White Flour Starter, 60% hydration

Levain #2
113.3g  All Purpose Flour
68.2g   Water
All of Levain #1

Caramelized Potatoes
127.8g   Russet or Gold Potatoes, chopped into small cubes (~1/2")
3.8g       Butter

Final Dough
178.9g   Bread Flour
144.8g   Whole Wheat
133.8g   Whole Rye
115.9g   Whole Spelt
330g      Guinness Extra Stout (or your preferred Stout/Porter)
96.1g     Water
16.2g     Salt
21.3g     Honey

1) Mill grains and sift through a #40 sieve.  Set bran aside.
2) Combine ingredients for Levain #1 and ferment 5-6 hours at 76 deg F (expanded to about 150% and well domed)
3) Combine ingredients for Levain #2 with all of Levain #1.  Ferment for 2-3 hours at 76 deg F
4) Caramelize potatoes by frying at low heat for 1-2 hours in a covered, buttered pan.  Stir occasionally.  The goal is to soften/caramelize the potatoes without forming any brown fry crust on the potatoes. Cool to room temperature.
5) Combine the fried potatoes with the final dough water and puree them in a food processor.
6) Combine all the final ingredients, Levain #2, and potato puree and mix to a shaggy dough.  Autolyse 15 minutes.
7) Add salt and perform 4 sets of bowl kneading with 10 minute rests between sets.
8) Bulk ferment at 76 deg F with folds every 30-45 minutes until dough has expanded 50-75%
9) Divide dough and pre-shape.  Bench rest 15-20 minutes.
10) Final shape and final proof at 76 deg F until doubled in size and jiggly.
11) Preheat oven to 465.  Steam oven and bake at 465 deg F (2 minutes) and 400 deg F (18 minutes); vent oven; bake at 435 deg F (20 minutes)

Pictures and videos of yesterday's bake.

Levain #1 ready for Levain #2

My version of bowl kneading.  3rd set of 4.

Crumb reveal video.  Very happy with how this turned out, especially given 50% whole grain and potato puree. Bit of a shaping error in the center of the slice...
https://youtube.com/shorts/2xLL27EoN34