Sourdough Rye with Flaxseeds
I've finally gotten round to it, making
Sourdough Rye bread. I haven't really been spending a lot of time
baking in the last months and forgotten how long you need in
preparation for bread baking. This is my first time making
Sourdough Rye and I think I might have added just a teeny tiny bit
too much culture because the final result was a little too tart to
my liking. Then again, it might be the case that I left the
sourdough to ferment more hours than usual. I'm not too sure.
This recipe also created a very hydrated dough. I'm not very
experienced in handling wet dough so I added more flour to have it
hold up a little more and made it easier to shape. This time round
I also decided to use a thermometer to measure internal
temperatures to be certain the insides were done. I was so idiotic
too with this part too because the recipe reads in Fahrenheit and
my thermometer was in Celsius but somehow thought it was reading in
Fahrenheit and of course I thought "No no! The insides still not
done!!" The thermometer came out with tiny bits of wet dough on it
so I decided to bake it some more. I then proceeded to check the
conversions of what it should be and realised 10-15 minutes later
that my bread was already done and I'm just getting the tops of my
bread burnt!
Also what is quite lacking from this
experiment is steam - I've yet to be courageous enough to spray or
introduce water in an extremely hot oven. The last thing I need is
shattered bits of oven glass all over my kitchen and the stress
that comes with it! This was nonetheless an interesting experiment!
I need more practice! This recipe is taken from Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread: A Baker's Book of
Techniques and Recipes. Apart from the slightly over-tartness
of the bread, I quite enjoyed the flavour of rye and flax in this.
It has a lovely texture to it, not to chewy or dry - nice strong
crumb.
I'm not sure if it's fate or coincidence but I'm so glad I can now
participate in the new food blog event Bread Baking Day #03 originally created by Zorra (Goddess of
wonderful food blog events)! This time round it's hosted by
Ulrike
of Küchenlatein who is a wonderful cook and regular of
food blog events, so I am quite certain it will be a success!! I've
been meaning to take part but been too busy and only just minutes
before realising the theme for this month's Bread Baking Day is
Sourdough Rye!
Flaxseed Bread
Makes 2 large loaves
Sourdough:
3¼ Cup Medium Rye Flour
1¼ Cup Water
2 Tbspn Mature Sourdough
Culture
Soaker:
⅝
Cup Flaxseeds
1¼ Cup Water
Final Dough:
1⅝
Cup Medium Rye Flour
3 Cups Bread Flour
½ Cup Water
1 Tbspn Salt
1½ Instant Dry Yeast
Soaker
Sourdough (All minus 2 Tbspn)
Sourdough:
Prepare sourdough and ripen for 14-16 hours at 70°F (21°C). I left
mine at room temp for 30 hours.
Soaker:
Pour cold water over flaxseeds. Cover with plastic to prevent
evaporation. I left it alone at the same temperature and time as
the sourdough.
Add all the ingredients to the mixing bowl of a very sturdy mixer.
Mix for 3 minutes on the first speed and 3 minutes on the second. I
realised I should have added the water last a little at a time
because I found the dough too wet to handle so at after 6 minutes I
proceeded to add about ½ cup of bread flour. Desired dough
temperature should be at 80°F (26°C).
Bulk fermentation: 30-45 minutes. I left mine out for 1 hour before
refrigerating it overnight - I did this because it was quite late
and didn't have time to continue.
The next day, I took the dough out and sat it out to de-chill for
an hour before handling it.
Divide the dough into 1.5 or 2 pound pieces, shape round or
oblong.
Leave for final fermentation for 50-60 minutes at 80°F (26°C).
Preheat the oven at 460°F (240°C) at this point.
Bake with normal steam (I left this out) at 460°F (240°C) for 15
minutes, then lower to 440°F (225°C) for 30-35 minutes for a 1.5
pound loaf, 40-45 minutes for a 2 pound loaf. For the best eating
quality, cover the cooled loaves with baker's linen and let it
stand at room temperature for at least several hours or up to 24
hours before slicing.