My 115th experiment: Cardamom bread

Boosted by my success with one great 1/2 whole wheat loaf, I am planning to try again. Unfortunately, today is a cold and rainy day. In the coldness of fall, the dough rises much more slowly than before. It gives me much messiness. The good new is that the result is a soft fresh loaf that fills our stomach with satisfaction in this damp cold day. What a beautiful loaf this is!

Recipe: Cardamom bread (1 loaf)

Ingredients:
Preferment
- 1/2 cup KAF whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup water
- pinch of active dry yeast
Dough
- 1+1/2 cup KAF bread flour
- 1 cup KAF whole wheat flour
- 1 tp kosher salt
- 2 tp active dry yeast
- 2 TB honey
- 3 TB vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup evaporated skim milk
Filling
- 2-3 TB mushed calabasa pumpkin
- 1 tp honey
- 1 tp ground cardamom

Procedure:
Mix all the ingredients to form the perferment. Let chill in the fridge.
One day before baking day:
1. Dissolve preferment and yeast in orange juice.
2. Sieve together salt, whole wheat flour and bread flour. Add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, about 1/4 cup at a time. Mix to integrate. Once the mixture becomes too dry, add milk to hydrate mixture until a soft dough is formed.
3. Chill dough overnight.
Baking day:
1. Take dough out. Warm on counter top or warm oven.
2. Punch dough down and let rise again in warm environment at least twice.
3. Shape into a sheet.
4. Mix cardamom with honey and calabasa. Spread on dough sheet.
5. Roll dough up into a log. Allow to proof again.
6. When volume has doubled, bake at 350F for 40 minutes.

Results:
Day 1, 8:06pm, 2 pre-ferments mixed, each with 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup, and pinch of yeast:

Day 2, 10:53pm, ingredients to mix dough:

Day 2, 11:03pm, yeast mixed with orange juice and pre-ferment:

Day 2, 11:53pm, dough with 1/4 cup of milk:

Day 3, midnight: dough ready to chill:

Day 3, 11:29am, dough chilled overnight:

Day 3, 12:59pm, oil and honey added:

Day 3, 1:13pm, dough to rise:

Day 3, 4:59pm, dough risen for 4 hours:

Day 3, 5:04pm, ingredients that make the fillings:

Day 3, 5:06pm, filling on dough:

Day 3, 5:11pm, to proof:

Day 3, 5:11pm, height to proof:

Day 3, 5:42pm, proofed 30 minutes:

Day 3, 5:42pm, height after proofed 30 minutes:

Day 3, 5:55pm, twisted and to proof again:

Day 3, 5:55pm, height when twisted:

Day 3, 6:37pm, proofed 40 minutes:

Day 3, 6:38pm, proofed height just before baking:

Day 3, 7:18pm, baked 40 minutes at 350F:

Day 3, 7:19pm, internal temperature at 180F:

Day 3, 7:19pm, thermometer coming out clean:

Day 3, 7:24pm, baked height:

Day 3, 7:24pm, buttered top:

Day 3, 7:26pm, two sides of the loaf:

Day 3, 7:26pm, heel:

Day 3, 7:26pm, corner of loaf:

Day 3, 7:27pm, sliced:

Day 3, 7:28pm, knife after cutting:

Day 3, 7:28pm, interior:

Observations:
1. The taste of cardamom is a bit strong in this loaf. It might taste better if more sugar is added. Alternatively, use less than 1/2 tp of cadamom.
2. Using wet ingredients as fillings create pockets of wet dough in the bread, which is not quite desirable.