Sourdough Walnut Bread

Esther has been buying walnut bread for the past few weeks. And I have been trying to perfect a loaf of sourdough bread. So, instead of just baking a simple sourdough bread, I added walnuts to my loaf. The good thing about bread making is that the end product is edible even if the baking fails. :p

As usual, for the sourdough bread, we need to create a levain first which will be used to "lift" the final bread dough.

Levain
52g bread flour
20.5g water
22g active sourdough starter (100% hydration)

Active starter means after feeding, the starter will double or triple its size within 12 hours. It depends on the temperature you are keeping the starter in.

Start by dissolving the starter in water. Then add in the bread flour and mix until the flour is fully incorporated. I flattened it in a glass jar to monitor how much it rises overnight. Cover the opening of the jar with cling film.

Levain created

Notice the bubbles in the levain left overnight in room temperature

Final Dough
208g flour
23g whole wheat flour
165g water
5.5 salt
94.5g of levain created above
46g toasted walnut


Method
In a stand mixer, mix the flour and water at low speed until it forms a shaggy mass. Cover and autolyse for 60 minutes. During the wait, you can toast the walnut.

Shaggy mass of flour and water

Toast the walnut at 200C in a toaster for 10 minutes, stirring them regularly. Let them cool down before using.

Toasted walnuts, broken into smaller pieces

Add the salt and levain and mix at low speed for 2 minutes, then increase the speed to medium (Speed 2 in a KitchenAid) and mix for 10 minutes. Add flour and water as needed to adjust the hydration.

Add in the walnut and mix by hand. I tried using the stand mixer but it doesn't seem to be doing a good job at mixing the walnuts into the dough.

Transfer the dough into a oiled bowl and do a stretch and fold, then shaped into a ball to bulk ferment.

After the first stretch and fold

Do a stretch and fold every half hourly for 2 hours to develop the gluten during the bulk fermentation.

After the 2nd stretch and fold

Notice the dough getting tighter and less "relaxed". Compare the photo above and below.

After the 3rd stretch and fold

After the final stretch and fold, pre-shape the dough into a ball and rest for 15 minutes while you prepare the banneton. I floured the banneton with rice flour to prevent the dough from sticking during the proofing stage.

Dough resting

Shape the dough tighter into a boule and put it in a floured banneton. Let it proof. It is difficult to say how long you should proof for because it depends on the activity of your levain and also the surrounding temperature.

You can try using the "finger poke" test to see if the dough has proofed sufficiently. By poking at various places on the dough with your floured index finger to a depth of 1 cm, see how the dough behaves when you remove your finger. If the indentation disappears immediately, it is not proofed. If the indentation stays the same, it is over-proofed. What you are looking for is for the indentation to pop back half-way. This is the point where you can bake the bread. Don't worry about leaving dents on the dough. Once it is in the oven and expanding, the dents will disappear.

Dough proofing in a green plastic banneton

Bake the dough in a preheated oven at 240C for 30 to 40 mins. Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature. You are aiming for around 96C in the middle of the bread.

The final product

Crumb shot

Still trying to master my sourdough starter. Baking bread using sourdough is different from using commercial yeast. How fast the dough rises depends on the "mood" of the sourdough and nature of things.

Next bread might be baked using a kombucha starter instead of a rye sourdough. We shall see...

Malted Sourdough Bread

I bought some malt extract from a health food store and it has been sitting in the fridge and I don't really use a lot of it, so I decided to look for a bread recipe that uses it.

Everyday Malted Brown Bread Recipe (from here)

700g brown or wholemeal bread flour
200g white bread flour
80g malt extract
80ml sunflower or vegetable oil
4 tsp dried active yeast
30g demerara or light brown sugar
3tsp maldon sea salt, crushed (if you use regular table salt you will need to add more - try 4tsp)
540ml water

I did a few changes to the original recipe. The above recipe uses yeast but I am more keen to use my rye sourdough starter. I also halved the recipe to make a smaller loaf. As I don't have brown or wholemeal bread flour, I used normal bread flour and whole wheat flour instead.

Malted Sourdough Bread Recipe

340g bread flour
100g whole wheat flour (to be used in the levain)
260ml water (divided 100ml + 160ml)
20g sourdough starter (100% hydration = 10g rye + 10ml water)
40g malt extract
40ml vegetable oil
15g light brown sugar
9g salt (Baker's percent: 2%)

Total flour = 450g (including the flour in the starter)
Total water = 270ml (including the water in the starter)
Hydration = 60% (270/450*100)

Levain
Add 100g whole wheat flour and 100ml water to 20g rye sourdough starter. Mix well and ferment for 12 to 16 hours.

My sourdough starter is normally in the fridge hibernating if I am not baking. A few days before using it, I will take it out of the fridge and feed it daily to wake it up and strengthen it. Sourdough starters are different from commercial yeast. Because it is natural, it tends to take a longer time for the bread to ferment and proof unlike using those hyperactive commercial yeast. There are some advantages of eating sourdough bread which you can spend some time reading if you are interested.

Levain created with sourdough starter

I left mine for 21 hours due to work commitments. As seen below, the levain is now very bubbly and has raised in height. If you give the sourdough a sniff, you can detect traces of fruity smell with some sourish tang as well.

Doubled in height and bubbly

Lots of bubbles

Main Dough
Using a mixing bowl, mix the levain with the rest of the water (160ml) to dissolve it. Add in all the other ingredients except the salt and mix well. Leave it covered to autolyse for 30 to 60 mins.

After that, add in the salt and mix well and knead the dough.

Shaggy mass after adding all the ingredients

You can knead the dough using a stand mixer or by hand until gluten is developed. Let it rest in a covered bowl for 2 hours to bulk ferment at room temperature.

Dough that has been knead and left to rest

After 2 hours, shape the dough into a boule and placed it in a oiled and floured bowl. I floured the bowl with semolina which is why it looked so grainy. You can use corn meal or rice flour as well to prevent sticking. Cover it with cling film and put it in the fridge overnight. That will allow slower fermentation and proofing which will result in nicer flavours in the bread.

Dough is shaped and placed seam-side up in a oiled and floured bowl

The next day, take it out and leave it at room temperature until the dough has proofed enough for baking. If your bread proofed overnight in the fridge and is ready to bake, you can bake it straight from the oven, there is no need to wait for the dough to come to room temperature. You can score the dough to help get a better/more even rise in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 210C, transfer the dough to a baking sheet/stone and bake for 30 mins. You can use steam for the initial 15 minutes.

The end result - Malted Sourdough Bread

I could have baked the bread at 230C instead of 210C, that might result in a better rise. Also, maybe increase the hydration of the dough to 65% instead of just 60%.

If I were to use this recipe again, I would replace the water with Guinness and make a Malted Sourdough Guinness Bread. :)