Recipe: Buttermilk rye bread (make 1 loaf)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Hodgeson Mill stone ground rye flour
- 1 cup King Arthur bread flour
- 2+1/2 tps active dry yeast
- 1 TB vital gluten powder
- 1 tp black caraway seeds
- 2 tp kosher salt
- 4 TB buttermilk powder
- 2 TB molasses unsulphured
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1+1/4 to 1+1/2 cup water
Procedure:
1. Proof yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
2. Mix rye flour, bread flour, gluten, caraway seeds, salt, and buttermilk powder in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly.
3. Add proofed yeast the 1/2 cup water into the flour mixture. Mix lightly.
4. Add water, 1/4 cup at a time, to the mixture while stirring.
5. After adding in total 1 cup of water (including the amount used to proof yeast), add molasses.
6. Mix well. Continue mixing and adding water until the mixture has hydrated comfortably.
7. Observe the formation of gluten and the texture of the dough while mixing.
8. When dough is done, rub top lightly with oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill overnight.
9. Shape dough into a ball and rub the top with olive oil. Return dough to the bowl and place in refrigerator to chill for up to 2 more days. Occasionally, take dough out to punch down, allow to sit on counter for a little while, then return to fridge.
10. On the baking day, take dough out early in the morning to warm up. After 2-3 hours, transfer dough to a greased pan. Keep dough covered and in a warm oven that is heated to 150F and then turned off. Allow a few hours for the rise to take place. Dough should rise substantially.
10. Preheat oven to 475F. Bake loaf at 450F for 15-20 minutes. Then continue baking at 350F for 1 hour to 1+1/2 hours, until internal temperature reaches 190F.
11. Turn loaf out to cool on rack.
Results:
Day 1, 2:30pm, dry ingredients (rye flour, bread flour, salt, black caraway, buttermilk, and gluten in one large bowl:
Day 1, 3:05pm, dry ingredients thoroughly mixed, yeast proofed 30 minutes:
Day 1, 3:07pm, bubbling yeast added to dry ingredients:
Day 1, 3:17pm, mixture hydrated with 1+1/4 cup warm water in total (including the amount used to proof yeast):
Day 1, 3:17pm, initial dough formed, without sugar and oil yet:
Day 1, 3:22pm, initial dough kneaded 5 minutes; observe that there is not much gluten formed, the dough is like a very thick batter, that can be easily scooped up using the fork:
Day 1, 3:23pm, molasses added:
Day 1, 3:30pm, dough mixed thoroughly with molasses; other than changing the color, molasses does very little to the dough's texture:
Day 1, 3:32pm, dough rested 2 minutes for gluten development:
Day 1, 3:34pm, oil added to dough:
Day 1, 3:37pm, once oil is added, dough becomes much more cohesive; it forms a very soft ball that sticks well together after 3 minutes of kneading:
Day 1, 3:40pm, final dough's very soft silken texture:
Day 1, 3:41pm, final dough ready to chill:
11:23pm, dough expanded in the residual heat of kneading during the chill in the fridge:
11:35pm, dough punched down and kneaded gently; dough surface is tacky:
Day 2, dough is taken out of the fridge in the morning to degas and punch down. It is then left on the counter to warm up for 2.5 hours. This allows the yeast to ferment after punching down. After warming up, the dough is returned to the fridge to chill for 4 hours. In the evening, it is taken out to punch down again. Then it is returned to the fridge to chill overnight.
Day 2, 11:34am, dough just taken out of the fridge after an overnight chill:
Day 2, 11:38am, dough being stretched:
Day 2, 11:39am, dough completely stretched to de-gas:
Day 2, 11:41am, dough rolled up:
Day 2, 11:42am, texture of dough:
Day 2, 11:43am, dough allowed to rest on the counter:
Day 2, 2:11pm, dough rested 2.5 hours on the counter, then going to return to the fridge:
Day 2, 6:30pm, dough chilled for 4 hours:
Day 2, 6:32pm, dough being pinched:
Day 2, 6:32pm, dough's soft bottom:
Day 2, 6:32pm, dough's sticky surface:
Day 2, 6:34pm, dough punched down again:
Day 2, 6:36pm, dough to be returned to fridge for overnight chilling:
Day 3
Day 3, 8:01am, dough after another night of chilling:
Day 3, 8:01am, dough's height just out of the fridge:
Day 3, 10:59am, dough warmed up on counter for 3 hours:
Day 3, 11:59am, dough to be transferred to baking pan:
Day 3, 12:02pm, dough's warm and soft texture collapsing under the lightly pressure:
Day 3, 12:04pm, dough transferred; observe its stickiness to hand:
Day 3, 12:05pm, dough's height:
Day 3, 12:06pm, dough to proof in oven heated to 150F and then turned off:
Day 3, 3:23pm, dough proofed 3+1/2 hours in closed warm oven:
Day 3, 3:31pm, dough to bake at 450F for 15 minutes, then (from 3:48pm) at 375F for 15 minutes, then (from 4:06pm) at 350F:
Day 3, 4:39pm, loaf baked 1 hour in total, internal temperature reaching only 170F, but crumb is strong enough to hold the thermometer and crust appears really nicely done:
Day 3, 4:39pm, thermometer coming off clean:
Day 3, 5pm, loaf baked 1 hour 30 minutes:
Day 3, 5:01pm, a crack on the crust, created because the side of the loaf is very strongly stuck to the pan while the crumb of the loaf is rapidly shrinking once the loaf is out of the oven:
Day 3, 5:03pm, rock hard crust, need to be detached from the pan using a sharp knife, with much effort:
Day 3, 5:06pm, loaf finally dug out!
Day 3, 5:07pm, bottom of loaf, with dent created because of digging:
Day 3, 5:07pm, pan's bottom:
Day 3, 5:08pm, a peek into the crumb:
Day 3, 5:11pm, top of loaf (after a small piece has been torn off):
Day 3, 5:11pm, side of loaf, quite burnt:
Day 3, 5:49pm, a cut across the center of the loaf:
Day 3, 5:50pm, the hard and burnt crust on the side and the bottom is sawed off:
Day 3, 5:50pm, loaf served in crumb and top crust alone:
Observations:
1. I am using exactly the same recipe. What I've observed this time is that initially when the dough has no oil, it is like a very thick batter. The fork can easily scoop out patches from the dough. There is very little cohesion.
2. When the dough is mixed with the molasses, the molasses changes the color of the dough, but it does not affect its texture noticeably.
3. Once oil is added, the dough ball suddenly increases its cohesion. It sticks more to itself than to other surfaces. This makes kneading much easier. I knead only with the fork.
4. The final dough is very very soft when just made. It is also warm because of the heat generated from kneading. This enables the yeast to be active, causing the dough to expand in the first few hours in the fridge.
5. At the end of the first day, dough was soft and very spongy. It has expanded greatly in the residual heat of kneading while it was being chilled. The first punching down is very easy because of the softness of the dough.
6. Towards the end of day 2, dough has developed a rich and complex flavor, along with a hint of alcohol. Gluten has formed, as the dough holds much better at the end of day 2 than at the end of day 1.
7. On the 3rd day, I allow the dough to warm up for 3 hours. Then I let it be proofed in the baking pan with cover. The dough rises a lot in the pan in the warmth of the oven. It actually rises too much and starts to collapse.
8. I try baking it with this stoneware pan with cover. It takes much longer to bake to 190F. But the top crust is very nicely done because the moisture is trapped in the pan. The side of the loaf is overcooked, and is stuck to the pan.
9. Because the side of the loaf is badly stuck to the pan, when the loaf comes out of the oven, it shrinks and causes a crack on the top crust.
10. The texture of the crumb is a bit gummy. However, its flavor is very good, with a strong taste of acidity because of the buttermilk and the long fermentation.
In conclusion:
I have succeeded in making a loaf of rye bread with rather light crumb. Two problems still remain. They are: (1) the rye bread tends to collapse when it comes out of the oven; (2) there needs to be a way to make the crumb light while keeping the crust crunchy. The top of this loaf is good, but the side is overcooked.
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