Spelt Bread with Blueberry Wild Yeast Water
Friday, June 10, 2022bubbly active blueberry wild yeast | |
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A simple artisan bread prepared with wild yeast water that's cultivated with 150 grams of fresh organic blueberries and 500 ml filtered tap water. Mix them in a plastic or glass container and let sit 5-6 days until bubbly and active before using. You don't have yeast water yet? Here you can find out how easy it is to grow and use the wild yeast. A preferment was then mixed and perfemented using a portion of active wild yeast water and flour 12-18 hours in advance of mixing the final dough. Using a preferment in bread is to delay the fermentation, so the yeast and natural enzymes present in flour have time to take action on the starches and proteins in the dough, resulting in a more complex, flavourful bread.
The preferment can be of a stiff texture, it can be quite loose in texture, or it can simply be a piece of mixed bread dough. Some preferments contain salt, others do not. In general, 1/4 to 1/2 of a bread recipe's total flour will be used to create a preferment. The amount of liquid depends entirely on what kind of preferment you are going to use. High hydration poolish (usually 100% hydration), low hydration biga (usually 60% hydration) and pâte fermentée, aka chef, or old dough (the same hydration level of its final dough) are the three “mother preferments”.
Poppy Bread with Pasta Madre Starter
Wednesday, May 11, 2022Pasta Madre (meaning ‘dough mother’ in Italian and has nothing to do with pasta), aka Lievito Madre (mother yeast), is a stiff sourdough starter, more like a dough which is widely used across Italy and favoured for both its active nature, mild flavour profile (no sour flavour) and ability to leaven egg and dairy-enriched doughs, like panettone, an Italian holiday cake that is eaten during the Christmas season. Check out here or here, if you want to learn more about this Italian mother yeast-Lievito Madra.
Last, but not the least, if you already have a liquid sourdough starter with 100% hydration at home, you can easily convert it to the solid pasta madre. Take out your liquid sourdough starter of 100 % hydration and leave it to come to room temperature (22C-24C / 72-75F) and give it 2-3 hours. Now you can start feeding the starter with a feeding ratio - 2:2:1 (2 parts liquid starter, 2 parts flour, 1 part water). For example, 20 g starter + 20 g strong flour + 10 g water. Feed 2 times every 5 hours, or until it doubles in size. You can also leave it in the fridge overnight, just feed the starter before going to bed and feed again in the morning. Repeat the process for 2 days or 3 days if making enriched breads.
Roggenmischbrot German Mixed Rye Bread with Honey
Sunday, April 10, 2022One of the great pleasures of living in Europe is the wide array of breads in various forms, tastes, textures and colours available. Healthy rye bread is gaining popularity because of its wholesomeness, high nutritional value and may be more beneficial in weight loss than wheat. Breads made with rye flour have a longer shelf life and taste fresh longer than breads made with wheat flours. It is also often combined with other flours because of its low protein / gluten content.
Many so-called rye breads are actually a mixture of rye and wheat, or some other grain that’s easier to work with. Rye bread in Germany, according to the law, must be made with no less than 90% rye. Any bread with a lower percentage of rye flour is called Mischbrot, either Roggenmischbrot / mixed rye bread or Weizenmischbrot / mixed wheat bread.
Rye flour is darker than wheat flour and it has higher amounts of vitamins B and E. Earthy, tangy rye bread is often made with additions like honey, malt syrup, or cocoa powder, which add colour, aroma and flavour. Very often bread seasoning / bread spice / Brotgewürz, like caraway, dill, fennel, anis, coriander, or cardamom, is added to the dough according to personal or regional preference, and they make the bread particularly tasty, aromatic and also aid digestion.
While you can make bread with 100% rye, which is difficult to work or knead and the crumb tends to be denser, heavier and tighter, though taste more distinctly of rye, very digestible and nutritious if made as a sourdough. That means it needs a lot of help if you aim to get a fluffy, airy product. One of commen practices is the addition of some wheat flour. Wheat flour can be added in any ratio that suits your taste and liking to help form a better gluten structure and get a good rise but still keeps good rye flavour and aroma.
Light and soft inside with a very crunchy crust, this bread is a great choice for corned beef, roast beef, or pastrami sandwiches slathered with grainy mustard and topped with cheese. It freezes very well too. Wrap it in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, then store in a freezer bag for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature and reheat in the oven if desired.
Rye Mix Bread with Honey
inspired by Roggen-Krustenbrot mit Honig
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- In the mixing bowl of your table mixer fixed with a dough hook, add rye flour, bread flour, sourdough, honey, and fresh yeast. Mix at slow speed while you slowly add in water until the ingredients roughly come together. Increase the speed to medium and stir for 5 minutes. Now add in salt and continue to mix for a further 2 minutes until the a firm dough forms.
- Turn out onto a work surface and shape into a ball. Grease the mixing bowl with a bit of olive oil and return the dough ball to the bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm, moist environment until double in volume.
- Fold the edges of the dough inwards several times and let the dough rise again for 1 hour.
- Lightly flour your work surface and gently shape the dough into an oval batard or round ball. Place the shaped dough into a well floured bread basket with the seam sides up. Cover the dough with a slightly moist kitchen towel and let rise for about an hour.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 240C/470F with a pizza stone on the 2nd bottom rack and a baking tray at the bottom.
- Turn the puffy dough onto a floured parchment paper or the floured back of a baking sheet. Use a sharp knife, razor blade, or bread lame to score a couple of lines across the dough. (here is a scoring tutorial just in case you are interested) Place the dough onto the pizza stone and throw a few ice cubes into the baking tray at the bottom to generate some steam.
- Close the oven door immediately and bake the bread for about 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 210C/410F and bake for 30-35 more minutes until the bread crust is deep golden brown. Remove and cool the bread on a wire rack.
The Mill Loaf With Natural Leaven
Tuesday, November 26, 2019This almost no-knead bread recipe uses a mix of white, wholemeal, spelt flour and a rye sourdough starter, though the recipe could use any other flour or combination. The method is almost identical to the white leaven bread in The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard
angiesrecipes, however the result is a bit different, with a dark, nutty sour taste to the crust and crumb thanks to the use pure rye sourdough starter.
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- In a large bowl, whisk the leaven with the water. Add the flours and salt. Mix the ingredients together to form a sticky mass. Cover and leave 10-15 minutes to stand, to allow gliadin and glutenin proteins in the compound gluten to hydrate and bond.
- On a lightly oiled work surface, place the dough and knead briefly, 20 to 30 seconds will be enough. Shape the dough into a ball and put it back into the mixing bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Next day, scrape the dough on to a lightly oiled work surface and pat it out to form a rectangle, roughly 40cm x 20cm. Fold one end, a third of the length, back to the centre. Fold the other end back over it, so we have 3 layers of dough, like folding puff pastry.
- Pat it out again and fold it once more. Leave one hour at room temperature and repeat. Leave another hour and repeat. The dough should be rising nicely. To check, slash the dough with a sharp knife. It is ready to shape once bubbles formed in the dough. Otherwise leave the dough a further hour to check again.
- Divide the dough into 3 smaller dough. Shape into balls on a lightly floured surface and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Form dough into a baton or round. Turn the shaped loaves into the floured baskets or tins with the seams up and leave them to finish rising. They're ready for baking when doubled in size, about 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 220C/425F. Upturn the loaves on to floured baking trays and slash a few times across it. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling wire.
Sourdough Pain d´Epi
Tuesday, October 29, 2019Pain d'Epi baked with White Levain
Pain d'Epi baked with Rye Sourdough
A stalk of wheat----Epi bread is a type of classic and common artisan bread. Crackly crust and creamy, airy crumb! Store the bread wrapped in butter paper until it is used, and if the bread has started to go stale, sprinkle it with water and bake briefly to refresh it.
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- Sift together the flour and dry yeast in a bowl. Combine the starter and water in a large mixing bowl. Add in the flour mixture and stir on low speed for 2 minutes. Let the mixture rest for 25 minutes, allowing the flour to absorb the water. Add in salt and stir for 4 minutes on middle speed. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Scrape the dough on to a lightly oiled work surface and pat it out to form a flat rectangle. Fold one end, a third of the length, back to the centre. Fold the other end back over it, like folding puff pastry. Pat it out again and fold it once more. Cover and leave at room temperature for 60 minutes. Repeat pat-flat-fold, leave another hour and repeat one more time. Slash the dough with a razor and if bubbles form in the dough, it’s ready to shape. Or leave the dough one more hour and check again.
- Divide the dough into the loaf sizes. Shape each into a baguette by stretching each dough into a rectangles, then folding the bottom and top thirds to the center, pinching the seam together and allowing them to rest for 10 minutes. Fold the dough over lengthwise and press the ends together. Roll each dough back and forth to elongate it to the desired length and taper the ends.
- Place the loaves on a baking sheet dusted with flour, cover and let rise until slightly under proofed. Preheat the oven to 210C/420F. Cut one end of the loaf at an angle with a scissor, pull the cut piece of the loaf to left side. Move down a couple of inches, make a snip and pull the cut piece dough to the right. Alternate directions while cutting the dough. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until golden crispy. Cool them on a rack.
Pain d'Epi baked with Rye Sourdough
Pain d'Epi baked with White Levain
Rolled Oat And Apple Bread with Natural White Leaven
Wednesday, October 16, 2019Natural white leaven refers to sourdough starter made entirely from white flour, either bread or all-purpose flour. The bread made with preferments (either prepared with commercial yeast or wild yeasts and bacteria) yields a more complex flavour and taste. Enjoy this rustic apple oat bread with a bowl of steaming hot soup or a salad for a simple yet satisfying lunch.
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- Put the rolled oats into a small bowl and pour over the boiling water. Leave aside for 5 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. Add the grated apple to the water, leaven, and yeast. Stir the mixture well until the yeast is dissolved, then stir the soaked oats into this. In another bowl weigh the flour with the salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and stir the mixture with your hands until it is evenly combined and you have a soft, sticky dough. Scrape any dough from Your fingers into the bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
- Rub 1 teaspoon olive oil on the work-surface and knead the dough on the oiled surface for 10 seconds, ending with the dough in a smooth, round ball. Clean and dry the howl, then rub lightly with a teaspoon of olive oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and leave for a further 10 minutes. Remove the dough and knead once more on the oiled surface, returning the shape of the dough to a smooth, round ball. Put it back in the bowl, cover and leave for 1 hour at room temperature.
- Lightly flour the work-surface and shape the dough into a baton or a round. Rub a tea-towel with a handful of flour (or use a linen-lined proving basket) and place the dough inside seam-side-up. Wrap the dough snugly in the cloth, and leave to rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until almost doubled in height.
- Preheat the oven to 210C/410F. Upturn the loaf on to a flour dusted tray, then brush the surface of the loaf with the egg wash and dust with rolled oats. Bake the loaf in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 190C/375F and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, until the loaf is a good brown, feels light in weight, and sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Leave to cool on a wire rack.