Franken-yeast... it's alive!

This is part 2 of my bread making adventure. Part 3 is actually proofing in a nice and warm spot at this very moment! Where did this mild obsession come from you ask? Well I’m not quite sure, but it may have stemmed from the fact that bread is just SO GOOD. And that somehow when I make home made bread it is okay for Nick and I to devour an entire loaf in two days without feeling bad about ourselves… I put whole wheat and other whole flours in my bread so it has to be good for us right??!

No matter. My motto is if it’s homemade it has to be good for you! No more questions. Now on to part 2 of my bread making adventure…

Last week I finished “Cooked” the book by Michael Pollan I mentioned in my last post. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, you really should. He might inspire you the way he inspired me! In the book, he becomes obsessed with sourdough bread. And when I say obsessed, I mean it. He must have spent almost an entire year researching sourdough bread and travelling around the US to go to various famous bakeries trying to learn what their magic is behind some of those famous loaves. He even brought his sourdough culture with him on his field trips hoping to capture some of their “local bacteria” in what he described at first as his sad sludgy mixture of flour and water.

He goes into great detail about the entire process. I mean, if you aren’t a baker or just don’t know much about baking bread, I would definitely recommend his book. He is just a regular guy who learned how to make really great bread from a handful of recipes through trial and error. His recipe is a real “for dummies” kind of recipe. Sometimes when I read bake books, I find the bread recipes to be not specific enough for someone with no experience. How would someone who’s never made bread before know how “springy” a dough should be? Or how sticky is the right amount of sticky? These bakers have been making their bread for years and I find that when asked to explain their recipe, they just cant dumb it down enough for us normal once in a while bakers.

Michael on the other hand gives so much detail in his recipe it’s pretty much fool proof! Have a question about something? He’s answered it. He’s already laid down the ground work for us! He’s compared recipes, joined in amateur bakers discussion boards, picked famous bakers’ brains, and compiled all the information he can into an easy to follow recipe! At least one that’s a great jumping off point. Your first loaf may not be beautiful (mine definitely wouldn’t place in a beauty contest), but it will be delicious. And it will be great practice for your second, third, fourth, and fifth loaves until you have your perfect ratio of ingredients and have mastered the kneading, shaping, and scoring! I’ll tell you, I’m hooked. 

Michael Pollan’s Sourdough Bread 

FOR THE STARTER

50g whole grain flour

50g unbleached all-purpose flour

100g warm warm

Wash your hands with NON-antibacterial soap. Combine all the ingredients in a see-through container and use your fingers to mix them. (The naturally occurring bacteria on your clean fingers are what get the process started!) Leave your starter uncovered in the sun for a few hours. Now take your starter out of the sun, and put it in a cupboard keeping the container open to the air, stirring vigorously for about 30 seconds once a day.

Day 1

 

The wild yeast and bacteria on your fingers, on the flour, and in the air will eventually start to eat the sugars in the flour and ferment. Essentially the bacteria will start eating and then burping. This “burping” gives you the carbon dioxide bubbles which will eventually raise your bread!

Day 6

As soon as bubble start to appear on the sides and it smells like yeast, feed your started daily. To do this, throw away 80% of your starter, and replace it with the same 50/50/100 ratio you started with. Mix in the new mixture with the old mixture until smooth and cover it. Place it back in the cupboard. By the next day your starter will be ready to use! If you’re not ready to use it, dry it out with your 50/50 flour mixture, roll it in a ball, and leave it wrapped up in your fridge. When you’re ready to use it, throw 80% away and continue the feeding process until it comes alive again.

Day 8 after it's second feeding!

FOR THE LEAVEN

100g whole grain flour

100g unbleached all-purpose flour

200g warm water

2 heaping tablespoons of starter

The night before baking your bread, combine the flour, water, and your starter. Mix thoroughly, cover with a towel, and leave out overnight.

MAKING YOUR BREAD!    

600g whole grain flour

250g unbleached all-purpose flour

150g rye flour

900g warm water

25g salt

The night before baking the bread, combine the flours and 850g water. Allow to soak overnight, covered. This process helps soften the bran in the whole flours to produce a loaf with a better rise.

Now is time to test your leaven to see if it is strong enough to raise your bread. Drop a tablespoon of your leaven into a glass of warm water. If it floats you’re all set! If not, Michael advises adding 1 1/8 tsp of yeast to your dough. But I would just say to go back and make another leaven making sure your starter is super bubbly. What’s the point of making your own starter if you’re going to add commercial yeast to your dough anyways??

Combine your leaven with your soaked flours. Let this mixture rest for an hour. Now is time to mix your remaining 50g of water with the salt. Work this salt water mixture into your dough.

Knead until you get a smooth ball. Put it in a bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave your dough in a warm spot for 5 hours, folding the dough over itself four times in a clockwise motion every hour.

Once it smells sour and sticks together more than it sticks to your hands or the bowl, you’re ready to divide the dough into two balls. Roll with both hands, and cover them with a towel for 30 minutes.

By now the balls will have slightly flattened. Grab the four corners of each ball and fold towards the center to make a rectangle. Grab each of your newly made corners and fold them towards the center also. Now with the heel of your hands, roll the dough away from you so the top looks tight and the dough is cylindrical.

Proof each loaf in a flour-dusted bowl for 3 hours until they look puffy.

Preheat your oven to 250C with a large ceramic-lidded casserole inside. When ready, take out the casserole, plop one loaf inside, score the top with one stroke of a really sharp knife, cover with the preheated lid, and put back in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, remove the lid, and bake for another 20 minutes.

For a first attempt, I'd say it turned out okay!

The bread is done when it is dark brown, crusty, and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom of it.

Let cool for at least an hour (if you can stand it) before cutting into it. This preserves the (hopefully) delicate structure you have created inside of soft bread and air bubbles. 

It doesn't really have the big air bubbles characteristic of sourdough breads, but it sure tasted good!

So all in all I was slightly disappointed in my first loaf. It rose which is a plus, but it didn't quite rise enough to get those big air bubbles inside like sourdough loaves should have. the crust was chewy and crispy which was great, but not quite dark enough. Next time I'm going to add a bit more leaven, let it bulk ferment and proof for a little longer, and bake it for longer as well.

Sorry I don't have any more photos, once we sliced into the loaf it was gone in two days! It toasted beautifully and held up really well underneath a pile of sauteed wild mushrooms and a poached egg. Weekend breakfast heaven!