Spelt-Einkorn bread with coriander

My success with whole-spelt flour has been limited so far, up to a point where I wanted to abandon the idea of using it ever again. Although delicious, it does bake to a rather dry crumb. Using sourdough, a soaker and a little fat is recommended (or increase fermentation times of a direct dough drastically). And then I did remember Einkorn greatly increasing crust and flavor of most hearty and whole-grainy breads I’ve added it to. Spelt is no exception, it also benefits from the powers of Einkorn, here added in a soaker. I also put the whole tin with the dough inside one of those fancy baking bags used for the Sunday roast because I’ve had about one meter of it left. Haven’t cut into it yet, but looks promising fresh out of the oven. The lemony aroma of coriander dancing under my nostrils at this moment next to the warm and robust smell of whole grains is quite seducing. Stay tuned for crumb piccies…

…the bread is dense, moist and has that wonderful crispy Einkorn-crust, which I have grown quite fond of. The coriander is barely offering anything substantial to the flavor, it is the aroma that enters through sidestreams which augments the fine taste that this otherwise simple and bold loaf of bread provides.[/babble]

Einkorm soaker

• 100g coarse Einkorn meal
• 100g water

Let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours.

Dough

• Einkorn soaker
• 180g whole-spelt sourdough, hydration: 80%
• 280 whole-spelt flour
• Enough water to make a loose dough, 26°C, approx. 150-200g.
• 1 tsp of crushed coriander seeds
• 5g fresh yeast
• 9g sea salt
• 15g sunflower oil

Mix briefly with a fork, let stand for 15 minutes, mix again. Let stand for 20 minutes, then give it a turn. Let stand for additional 45 minutes at room temperature.

Dust the dough with rye flour, give it a turn, then dust again. There should be thin coating of rye flour on the dough (some of the flour will be incorporated, that is okay, but use only a little flour). This will make pouring the dough into the tin easier.

Let rest for 20-40 minutes. The short final rise will make for a dramatic burst of the crust and prevent the weak dough from collapsing under its own weight. Bake in a small and narrow tin at 240°C for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 200°C and bake for further 40-50 minutes until the crust is a golden brown.

Raison d’être

Sometimes I ask myself why people visit my blog and what search terms they use to find it. Now I’m a bit wiser.

P.S. Disclaimer: This post, of course, is not meant to mock any alleged dyslexia but merely would like to stress the comical and lyrical nature of errors most of us make make every day of their lives. I suspect there is one in this disclaimer.

The basis of minimal and “no” kneading

In the Google books preview of the German book “Handbuch Backwaren Technologie” (a +1000 page whopper) there is an image that caught my interest.

Source: Google

The subtitle says:

“Spontaneous forming of gluten structures during hydration of a wheat flour particle on water surface”

Me thinks it is the spontaneous (not instant though) bonding ability of this proteine that makes less or “no” kneading of bread dough effective. The article does not say anything about strengthening gluten networks, as far as I can tell.

Ze 60/40 (Upd. 22 May)

Neither as naughty as you might think nor an algebraic theory of mine, “60/40″ refers to a standby in German bakeries. Probably the most popular bread around here or at least close to the top. 60% rye and 40% and wheat result in bread that is robust enough to be slathered with Wurst, but with jam it is very good too. Many bread books, especially French ones, suggest pairing rye bread with fish. I’ve never gotten far with that combination, maybe it is the flavor of German rye, which can have a bitter note? I love a Pumpernickel with smoked trout or eel though, together with cranberry jam and freshly grated horseradish a triumphatic combination, if I may say so.

In this bread I’ve reduced yeast quantity to less than 0.5 percent and added more water to get a dough of 75% hydration. A very comfortable 75%; the water retention of fine rye flour is high. Half of the rye flour is incorporated into a sourdough. This is the “60/40″ I will keep in memory from now on. Good.

Update from 22 May. “Zeb” (Jo) from Bristol in the UK, a member of the forum at Dan Lepard’s has made this bread with Shipton Mill flours. Take a look now. Great. Thanks, Zeb.

Nils’s 60/40

• 270g rye sourdough, hydration: 100%, made from fine dark rye flour, Type 1150
• 135g fine dark rye flour, Type 1150
• 180g strong white flour, Type 550
• 200g warm water, temperature: 52°C minus Your ambient temperature
• 2g fresh yeast
• 9g sea salt

Mix to a smooth dough, let rest 45 minutes, give a turn and let rise for another 45 minutes. Shape oblong or round, proof for about 1 hours, slash and bake at 260°C for 5 minutes with steam, reduce heat to 220°C and bake for a further 45 minutes. Let cool completely.

Richard Bertinet’s Ciabatta

…from his second book I should add, since the first one has a recipe for this bread too. Very good and easy to do. Yes, the dough is wet at a hydration of 75% including oil, but a batter like dough is mandatory for most Ciabatta recipes. Ciabatta is a dramatic bread with its random big holes and using different ingredients changes the bread a lot too. I like to use this bread to try different flours. You can substitute strong white flour for the ‘00′ flour.

Ciabatta (2 small ones)

Biga

• 60g strong white flour
• 60g Italian ‘00′ flour (Here: Molino Alimonti ‘00′ Verde)
• 70g water
• 1g fresh yeast

Mix together and let stand for 14-18 hours at room temperature, covered.

Dough

• Biga
• 100g strong white flour
• 100g Italian ‘00′ flour
• 165g water, 28°C
• 15 olive oil
• 3g fresh yeast
• 6g sea salt

Mix dough by your preferred method, adding salt last. Let stand 1.5 hours. The original recipe didn’t state this, but I’d recommend giving the dough one or two ‘turns’ or ‘folds’ during this bulk fermentation of 1.5 hours. Use a thin coating of olive oil in the bowl to prevent the dough from tearing too much (a little is okay).

Put / pour the dough onto the floured workbench and divide into two pieces. Let rest covered on a flowered towel. After 45 minutes stretch the pieces a little and turn them over to put them on parchment paper. Now I always give the shaped Ciabatta another rest for about 30-45 minutes. Bake at 230°C for 20 minutes.

Source: A variation on Richard Bertinet’s Ciabatta recipe in ‘Brot und Gebäck für Genießer’. (Original title: ‘Crust’)