Wakame and fermented tofu (Chao) loaf

Inspired by the Red Miso Furikake SD loaf by Benito and the Miso Light Rye Sourdough with Seaweed by txfarmer I tried the above Wakame and fermented tofu (Chao) 50% white spelt loaf.

Very interesting and satisfying bake. The ingredients were as follows:

190g white spelt flour

25g strong wholemeal wheat flour (just to use it up)

150 strong white wheat flour

1/2tsp spelt malt

20g 100% hydration liquid SD starter

20g chia seeds (fully hydrated overnight)

5g dried wakame (fully rehydrated and chopped up)

20g fermented tofu (Chao), mashed and dissolved in 10g of water

2g salt

3tsp of gomasio (an Italian version of Furikake) sprinkled on the flattened dough before each of two laminations 

234g water

I used all the spelt flour, 90g of the water and the SD starter to make a shaggy biga that was fermented for 24h and then mixed all the rest into the final dough which had 4x S&F, 2 laminations during a 5h BF and then final forming and prooving in the banneton before baking at 230C in a dutch oven, 25min lid on and 10min lid off.

With hindsight, seeing that the crust was fairly light and since the loaf was nice and moist upon cutting, I could have left it for another 5min in the oven to brown a little more.

The loaf has a lovely sea smell and flavor, with a little of the fermented tofu (Chao) coming through. The Chao is very pungent, so I was very cautious about putting too much, but it could have taken more to have even more of that super intense umami taste it has. 

Very satisfying to eat, filling (high protein and soluble fiber), and very comfortable to prepare, form, and bake. 

Will fine-tune and post changes and their results here as and when they are incorporated. 

But for next time, I want to try with miso (as per Benito's loaf) and see how it compares with the Chao used this time.