A Winter bread

[Wandering Bob]

My intention is to make a heavy, dark, slightly sweet and strongly-flavoured bread, that’s full of seeds and nuts, and which is made in a 'rustic' style.

The only restriction is that I don’t want to make a bread that’s just too tasty for my neighbour’s 4-year old (so I won't use more than 10% farine de sarrasin, for example)

I also want to source ingredients from the Caravrac wherever possible, thus benefitting local and national wholefood suppliers.

All loaves produced are made with 600g of flour


A note on the bread flours to be used:

MCF – this is a ‘multi-céréales’ flour marketed by Francine. It’s a strong white bread flour which also contains an unspecified quantity of rye flour. It also contains sunflower and lin seeds.

PMF – a strong white bread flour marketed by Francine

T80 Bain de Bretagne – a locally produced strong white bread flour which is described as ‘demi complète’, ie ‘half wholemeal’, because it’s milled slightly more coarsely.

Petit épeautre complète – I think this is best described as ‘light spelt’. It’s a very good flour to work with and produces excellent bread – but it’s much lighter in colour than the spelt flour from the UK that I was given a couple of years ago. This is sourced through a national supplier and probably originates from Provence (I’m still waiting for confirmation of this).

Farine de sarrasin – buckwheat flour, produced in Brittany


I will add posts to this thread for each step of the journey. I will not provide specific quantities in these posts – you can PM for these if you’re interested

 

[Wandering Bob]

Winter Bread (1) 2 November 2018

A loaf made with MCF (50%), T80 Bain de Bretagne and Petit Epeautre.

This was the first time I'd used the T80 or the petit épeautre so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I made this as a very wet dough (slapped, rather than kneaded) and it also pancaked a bit on the second proving (I should have used a bit more bench flour at knock-down).

This turned out to be a crusty bread with a very pleasant (almost sweet) taste – perhaps because of the épeautre (?)

As a step on the road to a 'winter bread' this was a non-starter but as a different bread in its own right, it was excellent - and definitely a 'keeper'

 

[Wandering Bob]

Winter Bread (2) 5 November 2018

MCF, PMF, Petit Epeautre and Sarrasin

Dropped the T80, and used PMF instead. I also used 50g of farine de sarrasin in the mix

It's curious how using only 50g of sarrasin in a 600g dough can make such a change to the flavour. This was a slightly smaller loaf than I'd expected but maybe it was just under-proved. As the dough was 30% épeautre & sarrasin, the gluten level would be lower too - perhaps that's another part explanation?

Good bread - and definitely moving in the right direction

 

[Wandering Bob]

Winter Bread (3) 8 November 2018

MCF (one third), PMF (one third), Petit Epeautre and Sarrasin (one third in total) and pumpkin seeds

A slight change to the proportions - and for the first time, I included pumpkin seeds (one dessertspoon). I'd wanted to toast the seeds first, but this was proving complicated and - after discussions with the rest of the Dissident Baking team - I decided not to bother.

Again a wet dough - I think this is almost essential if sarrasin flour is in the mix - I also think that it should help swell the sunflower & pumpkin seeds (maybe)

The flour mixture feels more in line with what I'm looking for - and the pumpkin seeds definitely add something. Increase quantity next time?

 

[Wandering Bob]

Winter Bread (4) 11 November 2018

MCF (one third), PMF, T80, Petit Epeautre and Sarrasin, and both pumpkin and caraway seeds

First attempt with five different bread flours, 50% more pumpkin seeds, and caraway for the first time.

A wet dough that was just about manageable. Hardly any bench flour added at knock-down.

This is a remarkable bread - and it was praised by my neighbours. It's just full of flavour and texture.

Only six weeks to Christmas, but I'm on the right track ..

 

[Wandering Bob]

Winter Bread (5) 13 November 2018

MCF (one third), PMF, T80, Petit Epeautre and Sarrasin, pumpkin and caraway seeds, plus pine nuts

Changed the proportions a bit, so that I increased the relative amounts of épeautre and sarrasin (together they comprised 40% of the total).

Upped the amount of pumpkin seeds to 2 dessertspoons, and added just one teaspoon of untoasted pine nuts.

I had to restart this, got into a muddle and ended up with an impossibly wet dough. Predictably it pancaked on the second proving …

… but, oh my, this is a fantastic bread. To misquote Guy Fieri, "it took a trip to Flavortown, liked it so much that it stayed".

I am so pleased with this bread - it's absolutely packed with taste & texture, and it has a good crust. I'm awaiting taste reports but I'm happy.

 

[Morning Glory]

It may have 'pancaked' but it looks like you have some nice air pockets in the crumb.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

This sounds terrific. It was interesting seeing your logging of the process. I really like the use of buckwheat flour: it adds a nutty sweetness to the bread.

I, too, like to source as locally as possible. I want to support local merchants and local producers, and it sounds like we both do this for reasons beyond simply the freshness of the ingredients.

 

[Wandering Bob]

Winter Bread (6) 18 November 2018

MCF (one third), PMF, T80, Petit Epeautre and Sarrasin, pumpkin and caraway seeds, plus pine nuts

Changed the proportions of PMF and T80 slightly.
Doubled the quantity of pine nuts to two teaspoonfuls.
Otherwise little change from WB5. I wanted to really work this and make sure too that it had two good provings.
It crèpe'd in the oven - but it really is a handsome-looking bread

Edited 20.11.2018

This bread is perfect with honey for breakfast, Lucy's cheese at lunchtime, and my neighbour's lentil, pumpkin & cardamom soup in the evenings. I'm very pleased with it.

 

[Wandering Bob]

Winter Bread (7) 20 November 2018

MCF (40%), T80, Petit Epeautre and Sarrasin, pumpkin and caraway seeds, plus pine nuts

No PMF this time. More MCF – so more rye proportionally, plus more seeds.
I’ve also increased the quantity of farine de sarrasin to 13%.
It would be good if the Caravrac started supplying farine de sarrasin – I shall have to find out if this is a future possibility.

Hardly any bench flour after the 1st proving.
I pushed a few more pine nuts into the surface as a garnish.

Edit 23.11.2018 … a really tasty bread, packed with nuts and seeds. It dried out very quickly which has left me puzzled. I deliberately made a wet dough knowing that the seeds would swell a bit and maybe all the pinenuts would absorb some moisture. It was still moist at knock-down which is why it pancaked, I think. So why it dried out so quickly puzzles me. It was still a good bread to eat 3 days after baking though.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

@Wandering Bob: who gets to eat all these experiments? It makes me wish I were closer to France!

 

[Wandering Bob]

who gets to eat all these experiments? It makes me wish I were closer to France

I share all the bread that I make with my neighbours. Usually just one set of neighbours in the village Mon to Fri, but it can get busier during school holidays. It's not one-way traffic though - I get more than enough in return: jam, cake, soup, eggs etc.

I usually get an enthusiastic response to my bread, which is pleasing and also motivational.

 

[Wandering Bob]

Went back and revisited Winter Bread (1) today - actually it was the second revisit. And each time it gets better and better.

I worked a very wet dough - slapped it to within an inch of its life and I finally got some elasticity into it (and less stickiness). Both provings were in front of the woodburner which really helped too. I used a minimum of bench flour at knockdown.

 

[Wandering Bob]

Winter Bread (8) 30 November 2018

MCF (50%), PMF (30%) and Petit Epeautre (20%), plus pumpkin seeds

Edit 01.12.2018 - slightly under-proved and a bit heavy, otherwise OK - and possibly a starting point for CB (1). When will I learn that chain-sawing and bread-making aren't mutually compatible activities?

 

[Wandering Bob]

Winter Bread (9) 6 December 2018

MCF (50%); PMF, petit épeautre and farine de châtaigne (the other 50%); plus pumpkin seeds

I'd placed an order for 2 kilos of chestnut flour about 3 weeks ago. It finally arrived, via a somewhat circuitous route, so I've made a start making a chestnut-flavoured winter bread. It's a strong-tasting bread and I was concerned that it might have been a bit too strong for my neighbour's 4-yeat old... not at all, he loves it.