Sourdough Bread with Old Bread and Seeds

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

To keep bread fresh for longer, it really only needs one thing: more water. Easier said than done, because simply dumping more water into the dough just doesn't work. Depending on the variety, flour can only absorbs a limited amount of liquid. The higher the W-value of a flour or its protein content, the more water can be bound. For example, the most highly refined soft flour has a W index of between 90 and 180. It absorbs up to 50% of its weight in water. Plain flour has a W index of between 180 and 250 and absorbs up to 65% of water. Spelt contains less gluten than wheat, and can therefore bind less water. As a general rule, the darker the wheat flour, the better its ability to absorb liquid. The lighter the flour, the more coarse-pored, fluffy and soft the crumb of a loaf can develop. Basically, old bread porridge is just flour cooked with water, which causes some of the starch to gelatinize, very similar to 'tangzhong' method, which helps retain a lot of moisture in dough. But in this recipe I am using old bread instead to make this 'pudding or porridge-like' starter.
I love adding nuts and seeds to my bread. If you do too, then one thing to rememeber is to soak the seeds and nuts beforehand. Otherwise, they take the moisture out of the dough and the bread will become dry again. The seeds are brewed with boiling water and get swollen with water. Cool it before adding to the bread, where they provide taste, bite and great nutritional value.

 

Preferment	Old Bread 'Porridge'
80 g Active sourdough starter 80 g Water, lukewarm 80 g Organic wholemeal flour	50 g Stale bread or breadcrumbs 140 g Water 14 g Salt 1/2 tsp Honey
Seed Soaker	Main Dough
70 g Seeds (sunflower, flax and sesame seeds) 50 g Boiling water	400 g Plain flour 210 g Water 240 g Prefement 160 g Old bread 'porridge' (part of the water evaporated during boiling) 120 g Seed soaker

1. Combine the sourdough starter with the warm water, then add the flour. Let rise for about 3 hours until the preferment has doubled.
2. Grind the stale bread into crumbs in a blender. Toast the bread crumbs in a medium skillet over medium heat. This will provide an intense flavour for the bread. Add the salt to the breadcrumbs and then mix everything with the water. Bring the mixture to the boil. Simmer until the mixture has thickened considerably. Remove from heat, stir in the honey and leave to cool, covered.
3. Put the seeds in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Cover and leave to cool as well.
4. Roughly mix the flour and water, cover and set aside for 30 minutes. If the preferment has still not doubled yet, then leave the dough in the refrigerator until the preferment is ripe.
5. When the preferment has doubled, knead it with autolysis dough and the old bread soaker in the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix slowly for about 7 minutes, increase the speed and knead the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 8 minutes. Now lower the speed and knead in soaked seeds.
6. Place the dough in a lightly greased container and for 3-4 hours and let it rise at room temperature until it has significantly increased in volume, but not quite doubled. Stretch and fold the dough after 60 and 120 minutes.
7. Scrape the dough on a floured work surface. Stretch the bottom end a little and then fold it up. Fold in the sides one by one and press down, then fold over the top. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
8. Repeat the procedure and form the dough into an oval. Place the dough in well-floured proofing basket with the seam side facing up. Let rise for another 2-3 hours. The dough should spring back quickly when lightly pressed.
9. Preheat the oven to 250C/500F with a Dutch oven or a Roman pot for an hour. Turn out the bread dough onto a piece of baking paper, score the dough with a sharp blade if desired.
10. Lift the baking paper with the bread into the preheated Dutch Oven or Roman pot. Cover with the lid and bake for 35 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 210C/410F and remove the lid. Bake for about 25 minutes until brown and crusty.

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com