Is 2023 the year of the fermentation experimentation? Umm... Yeah, maybe.
A few weeks ago I purchased a 400+ year old sour dough starter named "Otto" from a farm in Pennsylvania, via Etsy! At only $6 I feel like there are worse impulse buys.
He arrived, dehydrated, in a sealed plastic envelope with instructions on how to re-activate him, feed him and throw a bit of him into a recipe for sure-fire success with my first loaf of bread. Nope - even putting aside the fact that I did a really crappy job of following the instructions, the dough was too dry and REALLY difficult to stretch and fold etc so it came as no surprise that the loaf of bread was dense and dry. Tasted good though!
You know how I am. A failed experiment is about the beginning of this story, rather than the end.
I hit Facebook pretty hard. Joined what looked to be a really popular group and began "researching" - IE learning from all the clever people!
The woman that started the group is Canadian. She has some pretty good videos and I used her beginners recipe for my second attempt with Otto.
1. Take Otto out of the fridge and feed him in the PM. Leave him on the counter overnight. When he has risen to double and has some bubbles, he is good to go. (Rubber band the container to show the rise.)
2. In the AM, add 120g of Otto to 680g of water and whisk until dissolved.
3. Add 1000g of flour (mix of bread and all purpose, whole wheat and white and spelt and rye and whatever...) plus 20g of salt.
4. Mix with a spoon until unable and then use damp hands to combine until shaggy. Rest on the counter for 30 mins.
5. Stretch and fold the dough north, east, south and west every 30 mins (4-6x).
6. Divide into 2 containers (with lids) and bulk ferment on the counter or somewhere warm, for 4-12 hours, until it has risen to twice the size. Mark the container so you can tell.
7. Shape each dough ball by folding pamphlet style and balling kinda tight with gentle hands. (Or put the dough in the fridge if not getting ready to bake.)
8. Put on rice flour dusted parchment paper and set into loaf pans. Rest 30 mins.
9. Preheat oven to 450 F. Put a pan of water in the bottom.
10. Cover the loaf with rice flour and rub in a little. Score one side about a 1/2" deep and get creative with decorative light scoring on the other side.
11. Put loaves on a baking tray and bake 25 mins.
12. Turn 180 degrees. Bake another 25 mins or so.
13. Remove tray of water. Take loaves out, remove from the loaf pans and put back on parchment on tray to back 5-10 more mins.
14. Cool for an HOUR before cutting.
VERDICT:
10/10 flavor - fantastic!
6/10 looks - need a bread lame for scoring.
6/10 texture - could be lighter.
As for Otto... leave just 100g of him in his container. Add food: 100 gram of flour and 100g of water to him. Let him grow. :-) He should look like this again in a few hours:
Growing and bubbling!
Each day, take out 200g of Otto and add 200g of "food" to him if he is on the counter.
If in the fridge you can feed him 1x/week or less. But remember to feed him and leave him out overnight before using him as your dough starter.
We are now a couple of weeks into this journey... and about 6 loaves!
I've been using a slightly different recipe and method.
100g of starter
360g of water
Mix them together until starter is dissolved.
Add 9g of salt and dissolve it.
Then add 500g of flour - whatever you like, but I'm personally using 250g of whole wheat and 250 gram of white. If I'm using all-purpose, I make the 250g to include 5g of Vital Wheat Gluten.
Once the dough is mixed and shaggy, it rests for 1 hour.
4x stretch and folds, 30 mins apart and the dough has a shiny and stretchy quality.
2 hours proofing at room temp until it is 60-75% larger.
Shape by folding like a pamphlet and creating tension.
Wrapped in a floured kitchen towel and covered, it is left on the counter for 30 mins and then put into the fridge for 16+ hours to cold ferment. (Up to 48 hours)
Preheat the oven to 500 F with the Dutch Oven in it.
Pull the dough out and gently flip onto parchment. Dust with rice flour and score.
Bake 450 for 30 mins in the DO, covered.
Bake 10 mins uncovered.
Bake 12 mins uncovered at 430.
Remove to the cooling rack and don't cut for at least 2 hours!
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