reconciliation

bread and i are going to stay together. it's official news. we had 'the' talk earlier today, to work things out, to share our views. i was resistant at first, i will admit, bread, a little spicy, a little rye. frankly, given both our wild hearts, i was dubious this day, and made my peace that one of us from the other would probably fly.


bread asked me to consider that i might be a hint demanding, especially since our relationship is new. i thought it uncanny, you can imagine, because this was my biggest complaint too. there are many intricacies about one another that we have yet to discover, i used to see bread as demanding and selfish, but i'm impatient, bread reminds, unreasonable, at times; if i could yield a bit, i might see instead all of its exciting mysteries to uncover. bread also declared that just like me, it has a unique place in this world too, and that this relationship is not solely about feeding my needs. i've been selfish. i confess. what bread was saying was true.

i heard bread loud, its voice was clear. i had been placing upon it capricious demands. because of this, i was blind to its intrinsic beauty, summing it up as a handful of meaningless grams.

bread, with grace, pointed out that with all my charms, an unyielding person i sometimes am.

we both decided to take things slow, to let go of expectations. this will take compromise. there will be mistakes between us, and ornery days, this, without judgement, i surmise. it is with recognition of our foibles and weaknesses that together we will grow strong. through trial and error we will better understand one another, our requirements for success, what to avoid, so that every day we spend together, less and less may go wrong.

pain complet avec rosmarin, piment et huile d'olive

pain aux raisins à la cannelle et pacanes rôties

focaccia in onion rye, a compromise

pain complet avec rosmarin, piment et huile d'olive, or, whole wheat bread with rosemary, chili and olive oil

210g KA bread flour

210g BRM whole wheat flour

150g 50/50 whole wheat/white starter

350g h2o

10g salt

20g olive oil

2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped

2 tsp chili flake

mix flour, water and starter. refrigerate 12 hours. knead in salt and olive oil. back in fridge 9 hours. after this 21 hour stint, add the rosemary and chili then accomplish 3 turns at 0, 30, 60 minutes, refrigerating between turns. at 22.5 hours, pull out of fridge, shape into boule and nest in linen-lined bowl or banneton. proof at room temp for an hour and a half. 45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 500 degrees, with your cast iron combo cooker. at 24 hours, score, slide into combo cooker, cover and turn down oven to 475 degrees. bake for 30 minutes covered. after 30 minutes, remove the cover and bake until you think its done, or 210 degrees. my boule took 1 hour and 5 minutes total.

taut rosemary-chili dough.

resting.

scored.

after 30 minute steam.

interior.

close.

chili slices. great toasted with avocado, and drizzled with avocado oil.

Verdict:

Crust: crispy. Crumb/texture: big, beautiful, airy holes. moist. Flavor: spicy and floral. Aroma: totally rosemaried my kitchen. and the dough smelled creamy and sweet before baking. Dough temperament: simple. nice, taut dough. easily shaped and handled. perfect hydration amount, fermentation and proof time. baked with fabulous oven spring Worry factor when fermenting: nil.

pain aux raisins à la cannelle et pacanes rôties or sourdough with cinnamon, raisins and toasted pecans

400g KA bread flour

100g 50/50 whole wheat/white starter

310g h2o

10g salt

70g pecans, toasted

70g raisins, NOT hydrated

heaping tsp cinnamon

mix flour, water and starter. refrigerate 12 hours. knead in salt. back in fridge 9 hours. after this 21 hour stint, add the pecans and raisins then accomplish 3 turns at 0, 30, 60 minutes, refrigerating between turns. add the cinnamon at the last turn. at 22.5 hours, pull out of fridge, shape into boule and nest in linen-lined bowl or banneton. proof at room temp for an hour and a half. 45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 500 degrees, with your cast iron combo cooker. at 24 hours, score, slide into combo cooker, cover and turn down oven to 475 degrees. bake for 30 minutes covered. after 30 minutes, remove the cover and bake until you think its done, or 210 degrees. my boule took 1 hour and 5 minutes total.

at first turn.

dusted with rice flour and proofing.

scored, read for oven.

lid off. steamed nicely. great oven spring.

interior.

close.

Verdict:

Crust: brittle and lovely. Crumb/texture: big, beautiful, airy holes. moist crumb. Flavor: perfect combination of nuts and raisins. dough was perfectly cinnamoned with lovely swirls. Aroma: my kitchen smelled like a bakery. mmm. and the dough smelled fresh and sweet before baking. Dough temperament: easy breezy. easily shaped and handled. perfect hydration amount, fermentation and proof time. baked with fabulous oven spring.  Worry factor when fermenting: nil. Notes: I would soak the raisins the next time to even further open the crumb, and increase the amount as well by at least twice as much. I would also decrease the salt by about one third for a sweeter bread.

focaccia in rye, a compromise

this beauty started out as a boule. the hydration was way high, and i had little hope for any oven spring, but since the onions were cooked and the dough was mixed, i went ahead and transformed it from a boule to a focaccia and the results were pretty damned amazing. i would do this again as i did it here, and save an experiment with an onion rye boule later on. i could have tossed it, but then, bread and i, we have a new understanding, and i'm all about compromise.

320g KA bread flour

90g BRM rye flour

100g rye starter

350g h2o

10g salt

156 onions, sweated to just the point of caramelization

mix flour, water and starter. refrigerate 12 hours. knead in salt. back in fridge 9 hours. after this 21 hour stint, add the onions then accomplish 3 turns at 0, 30, 60 minutes, refrigerating between turns. at 22.5 hours, pull out of fridge, shape into boule and nest in linen-lined bowl or banneton. proof in fridge for an hour and a half. the dough was really hydrated. i knew that proofing on the counter would be a challenge.

45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 500 degrees, with your cast iron combo cooker. at 24 hours, pull the dough out and ponder. hmmm. definitely not a boule. definitely not going to ever become one either. and it will be a cold day in hell before this dough will have any sort of oven spring either.

change of plans.

i scored my dough, but the next time i will dimple with my fingers like a focaccia. because frankly, that's what it turned out to be.

slide into combo cooker, cover and turn down oven to 475 degrees. bake for 30 minutes covered. after 30 minutes, remove the cover and bake until you think its done, or 210 degrees. this focaccia took 1 hour and 5 minutes total.

flat.

sweat down over medium heat just to the point of caramelization.

dans le banneton.

scored, but better yet, next time, dimple and stipple with a pick, but before proofing.

after 30 minutes, covered. nice. and it smells amazing.

moist interior with lovely, open crumb.

served in wedges to my friends. what a lovely discovery, this focaccia, in onion rye.

Verdict:

Crust: tender and sumptuously olive oily. Crumb/texture: beautiful, airy holes. moist crumb. Flavor: divine! the onions really complement the rye.  Aroma: the smell of the baking focaccia made my mouth water. i knew i had stumbled onto something fab. Dough temperament: terrible, for a boule. fabulous for a focaccia. it was super hydrated and sticky. ahh, rye. the next time i will add a bit of olive oil to the dough, but not much, because there is a fair amount in the onions too. just a mention about the hydration, the onions added quite a bit of water to the dough, which is why this thing probably ended up the way it did. as well, like i mentioned, i will dimple the dough like a focaccia the next time. it was silly to even try to score. and i will probably decrease the fermentation time too. try to make it a 'day bread', you know, a quickie that you can start in the morning and have on the table by dinner. Worry factor when fermenting: i bit my nails. but now that i know it's focaccia, the next time won't be scary at all.


to the staff of life.


this post was submitted to yeastspotting. sorry i missed a week.