Baby Steps … to Bread

It’s all about the Flour

So in my search for quality flour I came across Central Milling and their variety of unique flours and grains. Their Old World Artisan Flour caught my eye. It’s 12.5% protein and 0.8% Ash. I didn’t quite know what they meant by “Ash.” However, you could certainly see little specs. They are the unfiltered remnants from the grinding process. Another thing I wasn’t prepared for is how “thirsty” this flour was! Wow! I added first 325 grams of water to my 500 grams of flour but the dough was still very stiff. I added another 25 grams but still, it didn’t do much. In the end, I added close to 400 grams of water. This resulted in 80% hydration. The dough was just perfect to work with. I had no doubt that this bake would shape and rise just fine.

Recipe

As with most of my bakes, I always default to Loraine Boddy’s Master Recipe. She is a great influencer and manages to weed through the “faf”. Her website is foodbodsourdough.com

• 450 grams of Central Milling Old World Artisan Flour
• 50 grams of King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
• ~ 400 grams of water, incorporated in stages
• 100 grams of Stiff Starter
• 12 grams of Salt

The Bake

Recently I’ve tried to incorporate Open Baking into my sourdough production. I purchased a thick piece of baking steel from cookingsteels.com. I also purchased a Brod & Taylor Baking Shell. I have a gas oven, so it’s hard to contain any steam. This combination has been absolutely wonderful! I cover my loaf for the first 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Then, I bake it openly for about 13 extra minutes at 425 degrees until the color is just right.

Final Outcome

Fantastic! This flour was absolutely perfect for an Old World style Day Loaf. It is a hearty bread as it’s virtually 100% Whole Wheat. Believe me, it’s SO GOOD when you toast a slice and lather on the butter. It will fill you up and you will lose all interest in whatever else you planned on eating.