do not mistake vulnerability for weakness, for it is a quiet form of strength. vulnerability is humility in its most raw state. and humility is fundamentally zen. it is a glimpse into the human side of you, the one that is still filled with awe and connected to a purpose, perhaps forgotten, perhaps not quite understood. you, the one who has become hardened by the confusions of this here breath, this here life, there still exists in you a light and a power which never fails you, even if its voice seems so, very, very, small. this light meets your awakening and tucks you in at night, no matter your spoils or those lacking, no matter your mistakes, those hideous, and even worse still. vulnerability is the sign of your light, and no matter how much money you have, no matter how adept at skullduggery you may be, it is the voice that brings you back to your core. it is the part of you that has not become destitute in your search for your essence. for even the most failed holds this light in her breast, and his breast, and theirs too.
this week whilst making bread, I reached the apex of an epiphany. to be sure, an epiphany is not had without some many months and years of inward observation, so upon its arrival, the tears that it impels are for reasons that are usually not obvious. the obvious assumption is that they must be tears of joy, elation, perhaps freedom from some long, indefatigable bondage. but they might also be tears of sorrow, or a mix of bitterness and anger: why did it take so long, why does it seem so small, this step toward illumination and this bit of growth. it is a dangerous thing to set one's sights on the outcome of self-realization, for the unfolding is rarely the way we have long envisioned it to be. we often see our lives through our ego's eyes. but these eyes are blind. the only eyes that can see that what is real are those of the spirit.
i am human. i follow a buddhist path. unwittingly mostly. i just arrived here, i know it sounds strange. i didn't know it until i had been walking this path for some years. that was a small epiphany, i remember, when having a late night conversation with a friend, sharing our beliefs, our thoughts. i didn't know you were buddhist, said she. i answered, truthfully, neither did i. when i went to bed that night, i looked at the ceiling and declared, a bit dumbfounded, admittedly, i am buddhist, and it was like my world had changed in the blink of an eye. the spirit eye. when that eye has opened, it can never again be closed. and that what is observed by the eyes of the ego grows dim.
i never talk about religion, mostly because i don't think that i am immersed in one despite. i think of buddhism as a way, a path, an awakening, a purpose. buddhism puts my life into perspective because its very nature is one rooted in common sense. there are no deities, there is only the self. the only mew is that of our own creation, and by virtue of our humanness there is no condemnation dispensed because we were put here to flounder around in this skin that has forgotten its purpose, its divinity, and the expectation is that you will make a multitude of mistakes along the way. even better than that, it is our very mistakes that lend to illumination. without them, there is no fundamental growth. buddhism is a gentle way, though fiercely pragmatic. you cannot kiss a row of beads and hope that your 'sins' will be atoned for. for one thing, there are no sins, only lessons, for another, there is only the self to whom you have to answer, because you are of the divine, all of us are, for better or worse, how we choose to view it is dependent upon where we stand, and this changes and grows as do we along our path. buddhism is an aspiration and a reminder, it is the watchful eye of the knowing self because we are all knowing, and we are all installed with this light, yes, even those of us who are not so kind. remember what the venerable Thich Nhat Hanh reminds: when another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. he does not need punishment, he needs help. that is the message he is sending.
i didn't think that my post today had anything to do with bread, aside from the fact that these were the things that i was thinking as i baked my loaves. but then i tossed this over in my mind: perhaps it is the bread that has inspired this moment inward. every time i bake bread i find myself in the mood to reflect. oftentimes i crave the effort of bread when there is a problem that i need to work out in my life. something about intuiting my way through the creation of the dough is analogous to intuiting my way through my life, or at least some part of it that requires a momentary reflection. bread then, when seen in this light, continues for me to be part of my path, and one inextricably so.
for the olive spelt loaf, i used equal weights bob's red mill light spelt and king arthur bread flour. for the rosemary and country loaves, i used a combination of to your health sprouted whole spelt, vitaspelt white spelt and king arthur bread flour. all loaves were made with my 100% hydration, 100% sprouted rye flour starter fed twice a day leading up to levain day.
THE NIGHT BEFORE DOUGH DAY
make your levain. mix the following, cover and ferment overnight.
35g starter
50g h2o
50g sprouted whole spelt flour
DOUGH DAY
365g h2o
250g BRM light spelt
250g KA bread flour
186g kalamata olives, pitted and whole
82g black oil cured olives, coarsely chopped
8g kosher salt
mix the water, flours, and levain, autolyse 40 minutes. after autolyse, squish the salt into the dough with your fingers till thoroughly amalgamated, then add the olives and fold into the dough.
begin the 4 hour bulk fermentation, the first two hours of which you will perform 1 series of turns every 30 minutes at room temperature. after the first two hours, pop the dough in the fridge and finish fermenting for another 2 hours, unmolested.
after the bulk fermentation is done, turn the dough out onto your workspace and rest for 15 minutes. shape into a boule, pop into a bowl lined with a rice flour dusted linen or banneton, pop in the fridge overnight. mine proofed for 12 hours.
BAKE DAY
45 minutes before the bake, preheat the oven outfitted with a pizza stone and both pieces of your cast iron combo cooker at 550 degrees. when the oven is good and hot, cover the bowl with a slip of parchment and turn it out onto a peel. score as desired and slip the dough into your combo cooker, paper and all, cover, turn the oven down to 475 and let the loaf steam for 30 minutes.
after the loaf is properly steamed, remove the lid of the combo cooker (use a mitt so the released steam does not burn your hand), turn the oven down to 450 degrees and bake till the crust is a good, deep marron. you may need to toggle between 450 and 475 degrees. this is where you must intuit your bread.
listen up. all three loaves turned out to be FANTASTIC. the crust was shattery, the interior was the perfect texture and the flavor was outstanding. spelt is turning out to be one of my favorite grains. the flavor is really rich and complex, and it's pretty easy to work with. just so you know, it will pancake when its on the bench resting, and it will spread quicker than wheat flour once its scored. but don't freak out, this is normal for spelt because it lacks the elasticity of wheat flour. you can quickly gather it up and shape it into a boule despite.
spelt breads also achieve amazing oven spring every time, even when using higher percentages of whole spelt. it's super healthy, and it's one that you might begin experimenting with because it's and easy addition to your repertoire of breads (spelt is also not as expensive as rye). rye, as you know, is sort of my thang, but this spelt is giving it a run for its money as i bake with it more and more, and as you can see, it makes for a lovely, rustic loaf.
i will keep posting my findings as i work with this flour. let me know how your spelt loaves turn out for you. its been a while since i've made a rye because i'm having so much fun with it.
to the staff of life!
this post has been sent to wild yeast blog's yeastspotting.
spelt country
spelt country in rosemary
spelt olive
i didn't think that my post today had anything to do with bread, aside from the fact that these were the things that i was thinking as i baked my loaves. but then i tossed this over in my mind: perhaps it is the bread that has inspired this moment inward. every time i bake bread i find myself in the mood to reflect. oftentimes i crave the effort of bread when there is a problem that i need to work out in my life. something about intuiting my way through the creation of the dough is analogous to intuiting my way through my life, or at least some part of it that requires a momentary reflection. bread then, when seen in this light, continues for me to be part of my path, and one inextricably so.
three loaves. two formulae. a little closer to home.
epiphanic country loaf, in spelt
for the olive spelt loaf, i used equal weights bob's red mill light spelt and king arthur bread flour. for the rosemary and country loaves, i used a combination of to your health sprouted whole spelt, vitaspelt white spelt and king arthur bread flour. all loaves were made with my 100% hydration, 100% sprouted rye flour starter fed twice a day leading up to levain day.
SPELT OLIVE BOULE
THE NIGHT BEFORE DOUGH DAY
make your levain. mix the following, cover and ferment overnight.
50g h2o
50g sprouted whole spelt flour
DOUGH DAY
365g h2o
250g BRM light spelt
250g KA bread flour
186g kalamata olives, pitted and whole
82g black oil cured olives, coarsely chopped
8g kosher salt
mix the water, flours, and levain, autolyse 40 minutes. after autolyse, squish the salt into the dough with your fingers till thoroughly amalgamated, then add the olives and fold into the dough.
left: pitted kalamatas, right: pitted and chopped black oil cured olives
begin the 4 hour bulk fermentation, the first two hours of which you will perform 1 series of turns every 30 minutes at room temperature. after the first two hours, pop the dough in the fridge and finish fermenting for another 2 hours, unmolested.
olive dough, ready for bulk fermentation
BAKE DAY
45 minutes before the bake, preheat the oven outfitted with a pizza stone and both pieces of your cast iron combo cooker at 550 degrees. when the oven is good and hot, cover the bowl with a slip of parchment and turn it out onto a peel. score as desired and slip the dough into your combo cooker, paper and all, cover, turn the oven down to 475 and let the loaf steam for 30 minutes.
perfectly steamed olive spelt loaf
SPELT COUNTRY (one with ROSEMARY)
THE NIGHT BEFORE DOUGH DAY
make your levain. mix the following, cover and ferment overnight.
70g starter
100g h2o
100g sprouted whole spelt flour
thoroughly realized levain
DOUGH DAY
700g h2o
150g TYH sprouted whole spelt
350g VS flour
500g KA bread flour
25g kosher salt
rosemary (i forget to weigh it, so i'm not sure how many grams i used, but i did use three good-sized branches)
rosemary (i forget to weigh it, so i'm not sure how many grams i used, but i did use three good-sized branches)
mix the water, flours, and levain. autolyse 40 minutes. after autolyse, squish the salt into the dough with your fingers till thoroughly amalgamated.
begin the 4 hour bulk fermentation, the first two hours of which you will perform 1 series of turns every 30 minutes at room temperature. after the first two hours, pop the dough in the fridge and finish fermenting for another 2 hours, untouched.
ready for autolyse
after the bulk fermentation is done, turn the dough out onto your workspace and rest for 15 minutes. shape into a boule, pop into a bowl lined with a rice flour dusted linen or banneton. ** for the rosemary loaf: dust the linen with rice flour as usual, sprinkle the rosemary leaves atop the rice flour, and place the dough on top of the rosemary leaves. the leaves will sink into the dough as it proofs overnight.
pop in the fridge overnight. mine proofed for 11 hours.
pop in the fridge overnight. mine proofed for 11 hours.
BAKE DAY
45 minutes before the bake, preheat the oven outfitted with a pizza stone and both pieces of your cast iron combo cooker at 550 degrees. when the oven is good and hot, cover the bowl with a slip of parchment and turn it out onto a peel.
score as desired and slip the dough into your combo cooker, cover, turn the oven down to 475 and let the loaf steam for 30 minutes.
steamed spelt loaves
after the loaf is properly steamed, remove the lid of the combo cooker, turn the oven down to 450 degrees and bake till the crust is a good, deep marron. you may need to toggle the temp between 450 and 475 to achieve this.
listen up. all three loaves turned out to be FANTASTIC. the crust was shattery, the interior was the perfect texture and the flavor was outstanding. spelt is turning out to be one of my favorite grains. the flavor is really rich and complex, and it's pretty easy to work with. just so you know, it will pancake when its on the bench resting, and it will spread quicker than wheat flour once its scored. but don't freak out, this is normal for spelt because it lacks the elasticity of wheat flour. you can quickly gather it up and shape it into a boule despite.
spelt breads also achieve amazing oven spring every time, even when using higher percentages of whole spelt. it's super healthy, and it's one that you might begin experimenting with because it's and easy addition to your repertoire of breads (spelt is also not as expensive as rye). rye, as you know, is sort of my thang, but this spelt is giving it a run for its money as i bake with it more and more, and as you can see, it makes for a lovely, rustic loaf.
i will keep posting my findings as i work with this flour. let me know how your spelt loaves turn out for you. its been a while since i've made a rye because i'm having so much fun with it.
to the staff of life!
THE HEADSHOTS
this post has been sent to wild yeast blog's yeastspotting.
Dear Francis-Olive,
ReplyDeletei am speechless and overwhelmed...
need time to breathe...
In a word: BEAUTIFUL
what a compliment coming from you! i am loving that pain normande... i think that i might have to give it a try in one of the upcoming posts ;)
DeleteHi Francis,
ReplyDeleteI'm a fellow bread maker, and a fan of the Tartine method as well. I've been baking with white whole wheat berries that I grind myself using my vitamix, and have made 100% whole white wheat loaves, (82.5% hydration dough), with a nicely open crumb and good volume. I notice you pre-heat at 550, bake with the lid at 475, and then finish without the lid at 450. Do the higher temps help with oven-spring, and do you keep the lid on longer (instead of just 20 min, as in the Tartine recipe) because of the higher temp? I'm going to try a 100% spelt loaf again this week, and was also wondering if you have any thoughts on adjusting hydration for spelt, as I've read conflicting information from books and the internet concerning reducing or increasing the amount of liquid when using spelt. Really nice looking loaves-thanks for any wisdom you can lend!
PART ONE:
Deleteok. lets see... i think that i just chose 30 minutes arbitrarily (for the lidded part of the bake) and it totally works for me. i guess i want to be damned sure i get good oven spring! lol.
i hate to say this but there is no scientific reason that i do anything at all in my kitchen. im a hippie baker and intuit everything. im also quite lazy. i think i probably mis-read (or forgot) that tartine only keeps the lid on for 20 minutes. at any rate, i will continue with 30 since it works for me like a charm.
i DO think that the 475 is best for oven spring (550 will burn your bottoms early on though, i have tried). hotter temps at the start are better than moderate for this. i also toggle with my bakes between 450 and 475, dependent upon how my bread looks when i check in on it. i dont use an oven thermometer, so, i really have no idea how hot the oven actually is. i should get one. i might be shocked if i really took the time to check. if it feels cool or if the loaves are not browning the way i want them to when i check the bread, i crank it. but too hot is no good. black bottoms and all that.
PART TWO:
Deleteum. hydration on spelt. i think i just chose a hydration willy nilly and it worked (please see the last few posts). i dont think spelt is as thirsty as people say it is, and ive been using a lot of whole spelt too. it has not been my experience, so i might not assume right off the bat that your flour will be that thirsty. i do use a lot of 'to your health' sprouted spelt flour and it's ground to order, so, that contributes to the hydration percentage of the flour itself. older flour means drier flour. so maybe all those bakers are using flour thats been on the shelf for months and months and years.
im also not beholden to those sloppy, too-wet doughs. they don't hold 'les grignes' as well as my dough that uses just a few grams less water. the bread that ive been making all this time is not dry, and i get full gelatinization, which is most important to me. i really dont need to be a rockstar with my hydration. ive only wrestled with doughs that are too wet and they didnt increase the size of the holes in my crumb (which i actually am not a fan of, the jam and everything else falls right through), especially since i prefer the flours that tighten the crumb no matter how high the hydration. ive also ended up with rubbery crumb using too high-hydration and thats just unacceptable to me. too wet doughs, i find are, well, really just a pain in the ass. so, i hydrate amply and leave it at that. you want full gelatinization, but you also want a pretty loaf with ears. so, i would use other peoples suggestions as just places to start and then work from there in your own private kitchen. the crusts of my bread are always really shattery too. so, theres that...
i guess what im trying to say is that perhaps you should consider starting with the hydration that ive been using for my spelt and then give it a poke. if you can add a few grams more water, then go for it. but if you start too high, there is no going back and you will not get those ears, which ive found specifically with spelt, are difficult to achieve if the hydration is just a little bit too high. and i must admit, i do love my bread ears. for me they are the mark of a true artisan loaf. im never happy when my slashes bleed.
just one caveat on spelt bread: the dough doughs 'pancake' on the bench, but it doesn't mean that you've over-fermented. just gather it up again and shape. it is also the only dough where i slash IN THE PAN, vs on the peel, because it tends to pancake once its slashed. again, it will not affect oven spring.
kudos to you for grinding. i have been tossing around whether or not i want to do that. i wanted to get one of the german grinders, i was all set to go, then i read about them and the consensus is that the stones, which are made with stones containing aluminum, no matter how hard they are, will introduce some of the stone into the ground flour. over time, this aluminum will add up. and as we all know, aluminum contributes to alzheimers. yikes! so, i started looking around for alternatives, since the grinding thing seems like a natural progression for my style of bread. the reason i wanted one of the german grinders is because they are pretty and made of wood. the ones with metal grinders are unsightly! any thoughts on that would be mucho appreciated.
ps, where has your blog been all this time? i just had a look-see and pinned a few things to my pinterest page to try, namely that pear-lavender butter. mon dieu! i am happy to have found your blog! i always love to indulge in a new pastime!
francis-olive
Hi Francis-Olive,
Deletethanks so much for taking the time to reply! I'm pretty ocd when it comes to following the Tartine recipe, but I agree, if you've found something works better for you, then that's the way to go. As they say, learn the rules, then break them :-)
I also agree that whole spelt flour, (which I've read in two well-known baking publications as being more water-soluble than red or white wheat, and therefore needing more moisture), in my experience doesn't seem to be more thirsty but rather less thirsty as a flour. If spelt is more water soluble, wouldn't that mean it dissolves more easily in water, and so you'd want less water? I'm not sure how they reached their conclusions to add more water.
When first baking with spelt, I mixed it at the same hydration level as the white whole wheat, and it was much more difficult to shape than the white whole wheat. In baking did not rise well at all, and didn't achieve as open a crumb. I realize it has less gluten than white whole wheat, but I figured going any higher in hydration would be a ridiculous mess, and that's when I read on a website that spelt requires anywhere from 5 to 10% less moisture.
Yesterday I baked a 100% spelt loaf at 75% hydration; if you calculate in the flour/water from the leaven it was 77%. Although the amount of flour I needed to handle the dough during shaping decreased the hydration level a bit, it didn't negatively affect the finished bread at all. In fact, it had the best oven-spring of the few spelt loaves I've made so far, even though I accidentally turned the oven off for a few minutes after heating the combo cooker and just before putting the bread in. Immediately after I put the bread in the oven, I glanced at stove controls and realized I'd turned the oven off. I checked the temp, and it was only at 450 degrees, so I turned it up to 500 degrees until it came to temp, for about five minutes, then back down to 450. I've got a cheap oven thermometer, and when I bake at high temps (450 or above) it tends to show 10 to 15 degrees hotter than the set temperature, from what I can read, though I ignored it this time. I think the biggest positive factor in the finished bread was letting the dough proof overnight for no less than 12 hours, which made a huge difference in flavor to previous spelt loves, and a nicely nuanced crumb (not too open, not too dense), and a nice crust. I could even smell a difference before I actually tasted the bread.
I do prefer the open-textured breads, though the dough can be a hassle to work with. I agree, finding that desired perfect balance between oven-spring (ears) and crumb is the key, and is probably slightly different for everybody when they make their own bread (flour, oven, proofing time, weather, etc., etc.)
I like using my Vitamix dry container for grinding flour, but if I had the money I'd buy a dedicated electric grain grinder, for two reasons. the Vitamix doesn't grind the grain fine enough the first time, and so to get the same fineness as commercial flour, which does make a difference in baking bread, I have to grind it two more times. This is a lengthy process, because I freeze the grain before grinding and the flour before re-grinding each time, so I don't overheat the flour and break down its nutrients. The second reason is that the Vitamix only grinds about 400 grams of grain/flour at a time. I had bought a hand-cranked mill, with both stone and steel plates, but good grief, that was way too much work. For electric grinders, I've heard and read that the L'Equip Nutrimill and the Wondermill are both reputable grinders, and would say either would work well, and making a choice between the two would depend on what difference in details were more important to you.
Thank you so much for the complements on my blog, and for pinning some recipes! I'm glad to have found your blog as well, as well as another bread-obsessive like me willing to tolerate long discussions about achieving the perfect loaf :-) Buen provecho!
PART 1 (for some reason my blog is kicking back my long responses)
DeleteHey Michele. OK, so here's what I read: spelt is high in protein, but it's not necessarily high in gluten. gluten is formed when two types of protein found in wheat varieties, gliadin ad glutenenin, bind together with the introduction of water molecules. different ratios of glutenin and gliadin are found in different types of wheat. to be clear, gliadin is what provides extensibility (stretch) to dough, glutenin provides elasticity (bounce back). spelt is high in protein, but the gluten quality is lower/more fragile than that of, say, hard winter wheat, and produces smaller gas chambers, thus a tighter crumb.
spelt is also LOWER in gliadin than other forms of wheat. flour with higher gliadin can stretch further without breaking. because of spelt's lower gliadin content, it seems like the strands in the gluten structure probably break because they cannot stretch as far which would account for 'weak' dough (the pancaking when its on the bench, and when its slashed) and less oven spring, denser dough/smaller air pockets. i do think that we are on to something with the decreased hydration given these factors.
further, if you are using sprouted flour like me, the sprouted grains activate enzymes that turn starch into malt sugar and lend a malty flavor, but sprouting grain lowers its gluten quality. and since spelt already has a weak gluten structure, this would account for my flat rosemary bread a couple of weeks ago. i did get decent oven spring from all of my other spelt loaves (except the one i just mentioned), but its probably because the doughs were not overly hydrated, and the sides of the combo cooker helped to keep them from pancaking when they hit the oven.
i do think you are right. i intuitively scaled back on my hydration with my spelt loaves and have no intention of trying to push the boundaries. flat loaves are a bummer. i also ferment for 12-15 hours, cold, with all of my loaves (yes, even my ryes, but my rye flour ratio to bread flour is not high enough where i need to worry about the dough overproofing/breaking down quickly, or over-souring. i do think i did decrease the fermentation time on the seigle i just did not too long ago though, i will have to go back and check. i might not be inclined to do a long ferment with such high measures of rye flour). and i always make great loaves with great flavor that hold their ears. i do not have an issue with 'sour' loaves that people talk about with extended fermentations. it would be so odd, at this point, to bake a bread with a short 4 or 5 hour fermentation! it's not done yet! don't you agree? how can it possibly garner good flavor with such a short proof?
part 2
Deletethanks for the info on decreasing hydration by 5 - 10%. that makes total sense given the nature of the gluten quality of spelt.
i am going to buy a couple of books whose preview goes further in depth about spelt. i disagree with the reinhart books that arbitrarily say 'yeah, go ahead and replace whole wheat with spelt' without any discussion about it. it would depend upon what other flours were used in the bread, i believe. i mean, i made a lovely 50% spelt boule not too long ago, but i also used it in conjunction with a strong bread flour. i cannot imagine how the suggestion to just replace wheat with spelt for breads that contain rye flour would affect the loaves. one has to be pretty cautious, i think, when using flours that have inferior gluten quality in the same loaf. you might end up with a hockey puck.
one thing that i must admit that i have not had any luck with is 100% wheat loaves. if you have any suggestions for flour or technique, let me know. i much prefer higher percentage rye and spelt loaves. i see these gorgeous wheat loaves on the net but then i when i read the formulae, a lot of them use commercial yeast. and this, michele, is something i cannot and will not allow in my kitchen! lol. i have seen a couple nice looking whole wheat loaves that use sourdough that i might try. i think i need to overcome my fear of it. i just never like the flavor of them, along with the texture/density.
yes, bread for hours. we could go on and on and on. you've gotten me all scientific now with all of this. lol. no more hippie in the kitchen. i've gotta figure out what's going on in here!
francis-olive
ps, i think im going to stick with buying flour until i can really look into this mill thing. i want to be sure its the right move. but for now i think that i would rather try some of the awesome artisan millers out there. there are so many good looking flours out there to try. i think im going to move on from my sprouted grain batch once its done and try my hand at some local folks that i've been reading about. i am so bummed about that aluminum in the stones that the german mills employ.
Deletei wish i could find some bread people in my area for meet-ups so we can talk shop. my friends eyes glaze over when i talk to them about hydration, flour, fermentation...
Hi Francis-Olive,
DeleteI've read that about spelt as well, and that it's the gluten in spelt is easier to digest than today's modern wheat. I started using it to give myself a break from hard white wheat, but I would like to try sprouted flour sometime. I hear you can sprout your own wheat berries at home, but it's a bit of work (sprout, dry, freeze, grind) and I don't have an electric dehydrator. So at some point I'll order sprouted wheat or spelt flour and try it out. I've heard of a new company called Community Grains in California that supposedly mills the whole berries a particular way so that it doesn't become rancid when stored. So if you buy their whole wheat flour, you're getting exactly what you'd get if you ground it at home, every part of the wheat berry-endosperm, germ, bran. I don't think they carry sprouted flour though. I agree with you on the long proofing, it really does make a difference in flavor, but I think mainly because of the natural leaven. I make my own pizza crusts using the same recipe as the bread dough (I usually divide the Tartine recipe into three parts-bread, pizza dough, english muffins), and the extra flavor in the crust adds a really nice depth to the pizza. I've not had an issue with too sour of a loaf, and the amount of time from the very first mix to the bake is at least 12 hours on a regular basis.
I've had the best results using the Tartine recipe with whole white wheat berries that I grind myself (a hard white spring wheat berry that I buy in bulk from a local upscale market). If you go to the Facebook page that's connected with the musician, who cooks blog, and scroll down the Facebook page, you should come across a picture I posted (back in June of this year) that will show you a picture of a loaf that I made that was made completely (starter, leaven, dough) with whole white wheat I ground at home. I pretty much follow the Tartine recipe exactly technique and recipe-wise, I just up the hydration a bit because the whole grain, especially when it has everything in it, absorbs more water. I've had excellent results with an 82.5% hydration when using home-ground whole white wheat berries. I usually bulk ferment for four hours, turning every half hour, do the shaping process, and then overnight-proof in the fridge, take the dough out, pre-heat the oven and combo cooker at 500º for 20 minutes, slash and bake at 450º, 20 minutes covered, 20 minutes open.
I think that's a great idea to try other artisan millers for flour. The thing about professionally milled flour is that it usually is tested for consistency, so you're going to be getting a really good product. It's nice to be able to grind your own flour for freshness, and lots of people do it for nutritional benefits (supposedly some nutritional content is lost as the flour sits), and it certainly is a more whole product than even high-end flours, but consistency can vary a bit, and it isn't professionally milled and tested for quality. I think in making bread you have to decide what your goal is, and then figure out things from there. I think there can be a trade-off in volume and density with completely whole grain flours, but I've been really happy with what I've made, and especially so since I started using natural leaven, which makes worlds of difference in the flavor, as you already well know. I will probably try some artisan milled flours myself, as I get bored doing the same thing every single time, even milling my own wheat berries. I'll be curious as to what you learn from the books you get about spelt. In the meantime-happy baking and eating-it's good to trade info with you!
Michele, I actually used to be a chef. I worked at Oliveto, and Bob, who owns the restaurant, is founder of community grains. Totally support them. My years at Oliveto were some of the most fond of my life. I dearly love Bob and all that Oliveto does. They make an amazing product. I just checked out your bread on your facebook page. Yeah, that's a mighty fine loaf. I think I'm going to try my hand at it. I will follow your hydration percentage as well. I have a huge bag of sprouted white wheat flour here that I should work with. Thanks for the tips.
DeleteIf you end up sprouting and grinding your grains for your bread, sister, I think you'll sprout a halo.
(ps, nice spelt pasta. i think i might make that this week. it looks as amazing as your bread. i pinned it on pinterest, so hopefully it will get passed around a little more!)
hi there beautiful creature.
ReplyDeleteso nice to see another post from you, even if I am currently on hiatus and not supposed to read posts (but I am renowned for having no self-discipline).
so beautiful your intro about vulnerability. feels like we could talk about all this for hours in front of a glass or two of... water. on hiatus from alcohol too.
that buddhist saying about people who hurt you... not easy not to punch back. and, by the way, I have been in pain all the way here but still haven't done so much ill to other people. so... I have little patience with humans lacking empathy. but really we should sit and talk for hours about this... ever thought of visiting Sweden? :)
and your bread is so countri-ish that makes me forget you are a city girl. it could have been made a few centuries ago in an isolated little farm in Southern France (olives and rosemary). I have so many bread issues in my mind I could discuss with you, but I shall leave them for another comment. after all, I am on hiatus. xox
sis! just water?? this will simply not do. is it sparkling at least? lemon?
ReplyDeletewhy are you on hiatus? this is not good. you have to stay in the loop.
thank you for the compliment. that post was sparked by a friends travails. he's doing much better now :)
i agree. at first glance, mean people are just so unpleasant to be around. but we must always remember that they are suffering somehow, and thus lashing out. the more we can think in this light, the more empathetic we can be toward them. and compassion in any form is such a benefit to the world. see. now we think less that they are unpleasant and more that they need our love and help and good energy.
no plans for sweden. but i do watch your wallander. lol. no nightfall. does that mean i could stay up round the clock and bake without sleeping?
sis, come back and bake some bread. your loaves are some of the best on the net. i love those little rolls. hahaha. oh, i wish i was making this bread on a little farm in the south of france. i would need for absolutely nothing if that could be my life. just me, the mistral, a couple of good friends, a barking dog, and a kitchen fragrant with baking bread. wouldn't that be grand? oh, the thought of it...
ok. no more hiatus for you. have a glass of wine and prowl around the net. youve earned it. youre human, and thus, a hedonist by your very nature.
xo