Sunday, October 19, 2008

Hapan soijaleipä

[image of a loaf]
Ainekset yhteen leipäänIngredients to one loaf
1 kgvettä (hanakylmää)water (tap cold)
600 gvehnäjauhojawheat flour
300 gsoijajauhojasoy flour
30 gaktiivista hapanjuurtaactive sourdough starter
5 gsuolaasalt
rypsiöljyärapeseed oil
korppujauhojabreadcrumbs


Työvaiheet: Sekoitin soijajauhot ja hapanjuuren veteen ja annoin näin syntyneen esitaikinan käydä huoneenlämmössä seitsemän tuntia. Lisäsin suolan ja vehnäjauhot, sekoitin hyvin ja annoin näin syntyneen taikinan käydä huoneenlämmössä 18–19 tuntia, painaen taikinan kasaan seitsemän tunnin kohdalla. Siirsin taikinan sitten öljyllä voitelemaani ja korppujauholla leivittämääni leipävuokaan, jossa annoin leivän vielä kohota 20 minuuttia. Paistoin leivän 200 °C:ssa 50 minuuttia, otin sen sitten vuoasta pois ja jatkoin paistamista uuniritilällä noin 25 minuuttia. Leipää ei pidä leikata lämpimänä.

Procedure: I mixed the soy flour and the starter in the water and let the resulting pre-ferment sit in room temperature for seven hours. Then I added the salt and the wheat flour, mixed well and let the resulting dough ferment in room temperature for 18–19 hours, with a punch-down after seven hours. I then transferred the dough to a bread pan coated with oil and breadcrumbs, and baked at 200 °C for 50 minutes, after which I removed the loaf from the pan and continued baking the bread bare for about 25 minutes. The loaf should not be cut while it is still warm.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

A wet-dough graham loaf

[picture of a loaf]

[picture of a slice]

The dough consisted of 1 kg of whole wheat ("Graham" according to the advertising, though I have doubts) flour, 1 kg of water, 350 g of sourdough culture and 5 grams of salt. It fermented for 3½ hours and then baked in a lidless pan at 200 °C for 35 minutes, then at 150 °C for an hour, then finally without the pan at 150 °C for ten minutes. I estimate the bread's energy content is about 240 kcal / 100 grams, fiber content about 6 % and salt content about 0.3 %.

Taikinassa oli kilo grahamjauhoja, kilo vettä, 350 grammaa hapanjuurta ja 5 grammaa suolaa. Se kävi 3½ tuntia. Paistoin sitä kannettomassa vuoassa 200 asteessa 35 minuuttia, 150 asteessa tunnin ja lopulta ilman vuokaa 150 asteessa kymmenen minuuttia. Arvioin leivän energiasisällöksi noin 240 kcal / 100 grammaa ja ravintokuitusisällöksi noin 6 % ja suolapitoisuudeksi noin 0,3 %.

Slow-baked rye bread

[picture of a whole loaf]

[picture of a cut loaf]

The dough contains 1 kg rye, 1 kg water, 300 grams sourdough culture and 5 grams salt. I let it ferment for eleven hours, and then baked it in a pan with a lid on at 120 °C for 24 hours. The flavor is strongly reminiscent of chocolate – and there's only a mild suggestion of charring.

Taikinassa on kilo ruista, kilo vettä, 300 grammaa hapanjuurta ja 5 grammaa suolaa. Annoin sen käydä 11 tuntia ja sitten paistoin sitä vuorokauden ajan 120 asteessa kannellisessa pannussa. Maku on voimakkaan suklainen – eikä siinä ole kovinkaan paljoa palaneen tuntua.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Palaan blogilistalle (oli: Poistuin blogilistalta)

[Lisäys 13.5.2008 kello 21:30: Palaan blogilistalle. Asia on ratkennut parhain päin.]

Blogilistalla on näköjään uudet käyttösäännöt. Säännöissä on kohtia, joista en pidä, ja kun en itse enää blogilistaa käytä lukemiseen, en näe mitään syytä pysyä blogilistalla. Olen poistanut listalta kaikki siellä hallinnoimani blogit (mm. tämän) ja olen lähettänyt käskyn poistaa tunnukseni.

(Nothing interesting here for my non-Finnish readers.)

Monday, May 5, 2008

Loaves #12, #13 and #14

[a picture of three loaves]

(Vuorottelen englantia ja suomea tässä kirjoituksessa. Molemmissa on suunnilleen samat tiedot.)

(I'm going to alternate English and Finnish in this post. They both contain basically the same data.)

The first loaf (left front) started with 200 grams of active culture mixed with 1 kg of rye flour, 1 kg of water and two grams of salt. The dough fermented for four hours and then proofed in a pan for 50 minutes. It was a fast riser and was just about overflowing when I put it in the oven in 120 °C for six hours. It had quite an oven spring even though it was a rye dough, and I had to nibble a lot of its (well-baked) overflow away to get a chance to remove the loaf from the pan (this is why the overflow is not apparent in the picture). I put the loaf (sans pan) back into the oven for a bit to develop the crust around the parts that had been in contact with the pan. Crumb temperature was 91 °C when first removed from oven.

Ensimmäinen leipä (vasemmalla etualalla) alkoi sekoittamalla keskenään 200 grammalla hapanjuurta, 1 kg ruisjauhoja, 1 kg vettä sekä kaksi grammaa suolaa. Taikina kävi (nousi) kulhossa neljä tuntia ja sitten nousi vuoassa 50 minuuttia. Se nousi nopeasti ja alkoi jo lähes vuotaa yli kun siirsin sen uuniin 120 asteeseen. Paistoin sitä kuusi tuntia. Se nousi vielä uunissakin komeasti vaikka se olikin ruistaikina, ja jouduin nyppimään komeasti ylipursuneen pois paistetusta leivästä jotta leivän sain pois vuoasta (siksi ylivuoto ei näy kuvassa). Laitoin leivän ilman vuokaansa takaisin uuniin hetkeksi kuoren kehittämistä varten myös siltä osin kuin leipä oli ollut vuoan kanssa kosketuksissa. Sisuksen lämpötila ensimmäisen kerran uunista poistettaessa oli 91 astetta.

The second loaf (left back) started with 20 grams of active culture with 1 kg of bread flour (wheat), 600 grams of water and two grams of salt. I mixed the flour and water first, let the mixture stand for some time (20 minutes I think) and kneaded in a mixture of the culture, some flour, some water and the salt. I let the dough ferment for 16 hours, then punched it down, let it ferment some more for 45 minutes, moved it into a pan, let it proof for an hour, and baked it in 200 °C for an hour. The crumb temperature was 94 °C at this time. I removed the loaf from the pan and baked for twenty minutes in 120 °C to develop the crust.

Toinen leipä (vasemmalla taka-alalla) alkoi 20 grammalla hapanjuurta, kilolla hiivaleipäjauhoja, 600 grammalla vettä ja kahdella grammalla suolaa. Sekoitin veden ja jauhot ensin ja annoin niiden sekoituksen seistä hetkisen (kai 20 minuuttia) ja sitten vaivasin mukaan juuren, suolan, pienen määrän vettä ja pienen määrän jauhoja muodostaman sekoituksen. Annoin taikinan käydä 16 tuntia, sitten painoin sen kasaan ja annoin sen käydä taas 45 minuuttia, siirsin sen vuokaan, annoin nousta vuoassa tunnin, ja paistoin 200 asteessa tunnin. Sisuksen lämpötila oli tämän jälkeen 94 astetta. Poistin leivän vuoasta ja paistoin vielä 20 minuuttia 120 asteessa kuoren kehittämiseksi.

The third loaf (right) had an unlucky beginning. I had forgotten to feed my culture during the weekend (it was in room temperature) and it was quite sour and alcoholic. I took a spoonful of it, mixed it into a small amount of water, threw half away, added more water, mixed, threw half away. I then added 50 grams of bread flour and let the mixture (try to) ferment overnight. There was no activity, and I figure I had thinned the herd too much. Fortunately, I had fed the regular culture at the same time, and it had responded admirably. I added a spoonful of the live culture to this unfortunate mixture. I then mixed 1 kg of bread flour and 800 grams of water, let the dough stand for 20 minutes, then mixed in the mixture with the culture. I let this thin dough ferment for 3½ hours, then proof for 25 minutes in a bread pan, and baked it in 200 °C for 45 minutes. There was a magnificent oven spring, which is not very well visible in the picture (the top is formed sort of like a wedge, and the top crust is broken). I had trouble removing the loaf from the (unoiled) pan, and broke its bottom. I developed the crust for ten minutes in 200 °C. The crumb temperature before this was 89 °C.

Kolmas leipä (oikealla) oli aluksi epäonninen. Olin unohtanut ruokkia juurtani viikonlopun aikana sen ollessa huoneenlämmössä, ja se oli lauantai-iltana jo melkoisen hapan ja alkoholinen. Otin sitä lusikallisen ja sekoitin pieneen määrään vettä, heitin puolet pois, lisäsin vettä, sekoitin ja heitin taas puolet pois. Lisäsin siihen 50 grammaa vehnäjauhoja ja annoin sen (mukamas) käydä yön yli. Se ei osoittanut mitään elonmerkkejä. Onneksi olin samalla ruokkinut juuren tavalliseen tapaan, ja otinkin sitten tuosta elävästä juuresta lusikallisen ja sekoitin sen epäonniseen sekoitukseeni. Sekoitin toisessa astiassa kilon hiivaleipäjauhoja ja 800 grammaa vettä, annoin taikinan seistä 20 minuuttia ja sitten vaivasin siihen aiemmin selostamani sekoituksen. Annoin taikinan käydä 3½ tuntia, sitten annoin sen kohota vuoassa 25 minuuttia ja sitten paistoin sen 200 asteessa 45 minuutin ajan. Leipä kohosi uunissa komeasti, mikä ei näy kuvassa kovin hyvin (päällyskuori on harjakaton muotoinen ja revennyt). Minulla oli vaikeuksia poistaa leipä vuoasta ja rikoin siinä leivän pohjan. Kehitin kuorta vielä 200 asteessa kymmenen minuutin ajan. Sisuksen lämpötila ennen sitä oli 89 astetta.

Now, what is the observable difference between the two wheat breads? The first (moderate hydration, long ferment) has a slightly darker and more holey crumb. It has a noticeable (but not unpleasant) sweet and sour taste. The second (high hydration, short ferment) is lighter in color and has smaller holes. It tastes more like normal yeasted bread, though much richer than they do. It is quite sweet for an unsweetened bread.

Mikä mahtaa olla aistein havaittava ero kahden vehnäleivän välillä? Ensimmäinen (kohtalaisesti nestettä, pitkä käymisaika) on sisukseltaan hieman tummempi ja reikäisempi. Sen maku on huomattavan (mutta ei epämiellyttävän) hapanimelä. Jälkimmäinen (runsaasti neestettä, lyhyt käymisaika) on vaaleampi ja siinä on pienemmät reiät. Se maistuu enemmän tavalliselta hiivaleivältä, tosin sellaista rikkaammalta. Se on makeuttamattomaksi leiväksi yllättävän makea.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Nyt myös suomeksi — Now in Finnish too

Yleisön pyynnöstä kirjoitan tästä lähtien kaikki leipäraporttini sekä suomeksi että englanniksi. Aloitin jo aiemmin tänään kirjoittaessani viime sunnuntain leipäraportit. Muita postauksia kuin leipäraportteja en välttämättä kirjoita molemmilla kielillä.

By popular request I will write my loaf reports in English and in Finnish from now on. I started doing this today with the reports of last Sunday's loaves. Other than the loaf reports, I make no promises about language.

Loaf #11

[a picture of a loaf]

I took 600 grams of water and mixed in it 1 kg of bread flour. I let the unleavened dough sit for twenty minutes. While waiting, I took about 100 grams of water, 50 grams of bread flour and a bite of loaf #10's dough, and mixed them well. Then I added it to the dough, and kneaded for ten minutes. I let the dough ferment for nine hours. Then I shaped it into a free-form loaf and baked it in a preheated oven on a baking stone at 200 °C for forty minutes. The crumb temperature was 97 °C.

Otin 600 grammaa vettä ja sekoitin siihen kilon tummia hiivaleipäjauhoja. Annoin nostatusaineettoman taikinan seistä kaksikymmentä minuuttia. Odottaessani sekoitin keskenään 100 grammaa vettä, 50 grammaa jauhoja ja pienen palan edellisen leivän taikinaa. Sitten lisäsin sen taikinaan, ja vaivasin kymmenen minuuttia. Annoin taikinan käydä (nousta) yhdeksän tuntia. Tein siitä leivän ja paistoin sen esikuumennetussa uunissa pizzakivellä 200 asteessa neljänkymmenen minuutin ajan. Sisuksen loppulämpötila oli 97 astetta.

Loaf #10

[a picture of a loaf]

I took about a half of my refrigerated sourdough culture and let it stand in room temperature for a day. I then added 600 grams of water and 300 grams of soy flour, and whisked well. I let the mixture ferment for seven hours. I then added 500 grams of spelt flakes, mixed well and let the mix ferment for twelve hours. I then added 300 grams of water and 400 grams of bread flour, and let the dough ferment for two more hours. Then I put it in a pan and let it proof for an hour. I baked the loaf in 120 deg;C for three hours, removed it from the pan and baked some more on the oven rack for half an hour. The crumb temperature was 91 °C when removed from the pan.

Otin noin puolet jääkaapissa olleesta hapajuurestani ja annoin sen seistä vuorokauden huoneenlämmössä. Lisäsin sitten 600 grammaa vettä ja 300 grammaa soijajauhoja, ja vatkasin hyvin. Annoin sekoituksen käydä seitsemän tuntia. Sitten lisäsin 500 grammaa spelttihiutaleita, sekoitin hyvin ja annoin sekoituksen käydä kaksitoista tuntia. Sitten lisäsin 300 grammaa vettä ja 400 grammaa tummia hiivaleipäjauhoja ja annoin taikinan käydä (nousta) kaksi tuntia. Laitoin sen sitten leipävuokaan ja annoin sen seistä tunnin. Paistoin leivän 120 asteessa kolme tuntia, otin sen pois vuoasta ja paistioin uuniritilän päällä vielä puoli tuntia. Sisuksen lämpötila oli 91 astetta vuoasta poistamisen aikaan.

Loaf #9

[picture of a loaf]

I took about a half (about 100 grams) of my refrigerated rye-based sourdough culture and let it stand in room temperature for a day. Then I mixed it in 800 grams of cold water. I added about 400 grams of rye flour and whisked well. The mixture I let ferment for about seven hours. I added a gram or two of salt, and another 400 grams of rye flour, and mixed well. I let this dough ferment for twelve hours. Then I transferred it to a pan, where I let it proof for two hours. I baked the loaf in 120 °C for two hours; then took it out of the pan (with crumb temperature at 91 °C) and baked on the oven rack for another hour.

Otin noin puolet (n. 100 grammaa) jääkaapissa olleesta hapanjuurestani ja annoin sen seistä huoneenlämmössä päivän. Sitten lisäsin siihen 800 grammaa kylmää vettä ja 400 grammaa riihikuivattuja ruisjauhoja. Vatkasin hyvin. Tämän sekoituksen annoin käydä huoneenlämmössä seitsemisen tuntia. Lisäsin sitten gramman tai kaksi suolaa ja toiset 400 grammaa ruisjauhoja, ja sekoitin hyvin. Annoin taikinan käydä (nousta) kaksitoista tuntia. Sitten siirsin sen leipävuokaan, jossa annoin sen seistä kaksi tuntia. Paistoin leivän 120 asteessa kahden tunnin ajan, sitten otin leivän pois vuoasta (sisuksen lämpötila tällöin 91 astetta) ja paistoin vielä uuniritilällä tunnin.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Loaf #8

[picture of a loaf]

This was an experiment.

I took a spoonful of my rye-based sourdough culture and mixed it with 800 grams of water. I mixed in 400 grams of soy flour and a gram of salt, and let the mixture ferment for 15 hours. Then I mixed in 200 grams of bread flour and kneaded in another 200 grams. I let the dough ferment for eight hours and then moved it into a pan. I let the dough proof for four hours, and then baked it in 120 °C for nine hours with a panful of water in the oven. I heated the oven to 150 °C ten minutes before taking the loaf out. Crumb temperature was 95 °C immediately after removal from oven.

Loaf #7

[image of two loaves]

Today's first dough is a rye bread, made into two pan loaves as seen in the picture. The recpie is similar to what I have described earlier on this blog:

I took most of my rye-based sourdough culture (about 200 grams, with 150 % hydration), which had grown for about half a day in room temperature since being taken out of the fridge, where it had been put just after feeding. I added 900 grams of water and a gram of salt. I whisked it well, and added 400 grams of traditionally threshed (smoked) rye flour, and whisked again. This pre-ferment I let sit in room temperature for about twelve hours. Then I added about 500 grams of rye flour, and mixed well; this batter I let ferment in room temperature. After about one and a half hours the batter had doubled its size (surprisingly fast, that), and I poured the batter in oiled pans. I let the larger loaf proof for three hours and the smaller four hours. I baked both (separately) in 150 °C for about 60 minutes with a water pan in the oven. The crumb temperature after removal from oven was 91 °C for both loaves.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Loaf #6

[picture of two loaves]

Loaf #6 is also two loaves from a single dough. This one is based on the rye bread recipe of Loaf #4, only I started with a culture with 100 grams of rye and 150 grams of water, added 100 grams of rye flour and water after about 12 hours out of the fridge (and after taking a spoonful to start the other dough), and finally added 800 grams of rye flour and 900 grams of water, and a couple of grams salt (removed a seed for the next culture before this). Yes, this was more a thick batter than a dough, with a hydration of 115 %. Final fermentation time was about six hours, and proofing (in the pan) took about eight hours. I baked the loaves in 200 °C for about an hour, then lowered the temperature to 150 °C for a while and raised it back to 200 °C. After two hours, the loaves still had a low crumb temperature (about 70 °C) so I turned the oven off and let it cool with the loaves in. There was a water pan in the oven all the time.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Loaf #5

[picture of two loaves]

Okay, so today's first loaf is actually two loaves, but it's made of a single batch of dough, made according to the Loaf #3 recipe. I didn't want to fill a pan too full, so I used two pans. Fermentation time was 13 hours and proofing time (in the pans) 6 hours. No oil was used this time. Baking took about an hour in 200 °C with a water pan in the oven; crumb temperature was about 90 °C when the pans were removed from the oven.

ETA: Lovely texture!

[picture of bread slices]

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Loaf #4

[picture of a loaf]

Today's second loaf was a variant of Loaf #2. This time the process was a bit different: I let my sourdough culture sit, after removal from the fridge, for about 18 hours, at which point I removed a small bit to use in the dough for Loaf #3, and then merely doubled the culture's mass by adding water and flour. Again, I let it sit for about 18 hours, and again about doubled its size by adding water and flour (after removing a small bit for use as a seed for a new culture that went in the fridge), and also some salt. I let this dough to ferment for about two hours, then transferred it to a pan where I let it proof for about an hour. I baked it in 200 °C with a pan full of water in the same oven for about an hour; crumb temperature after removal was about 90 °C.

Texture and taste report will be added later.

ETA Crumb looks very nice with unexpectedly large holes. Taste is as one expects from sour pure rye bread.

[picture of a slice]

Loaf #3

[picture of a loaf]

Today's first loaf was a variant of Loaf #1. Fermentation time was about 12 hours and proof time in the (transparent) pan was about 6 hours; I forgot to add oil in the dough, but again used it liberally in the pan. I have been thus far unable to remove the loaf from the pan without breaking it.

As usual, taste and texture report will be added later.

Friday, April 4, 2008

A day in a culture's life

[image of a sourdough culture after several days in the fridge
This sourdough culture has just been removed from the fridge where it had been placed on Sunday evening just after feeding.

[image of a sourdough culture after half a day in room temperature]
This is how the culture looked like after 14 hours in the room temperature.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Bread #2

[picture of a loaf]

Today's second loaf is a simple sour rye bread. I took most of my sourdough culture (about 300 grams), mixed it in about 600 grams of water, added a couple of grams salt and mixed slowly in 800 grams of traditionally threshed (smoked) organic rye flour. I let the dough ferment for about six hours. Then I transferred it onto my floured peel-substitute, formed a loaf, added flour on top, and transferred the loaf in the preheated oven on a hot baking stone. I baked it for about an hour, first in 200 °C, then after about thirty minutes lowered it to 150 °C. Upon removal from the oven, crumb temperature was about 88 °C.

A taste and texture report will have to wait for a couple of days, as I want to eat the other bread first.

ETA Taste is sour and sharp, typical for rye breads. The crust was soft, which to me indicates that I should have started in a higher temperature. Crumb texture was fairly typical, with small holes.

[picture of a slice]

How to make a sourdough culture

A sourdough culture is a symbiosis of two kinds of micro-organisms: a species of yeast, and a species of lactobacillus. The particular species varies from culture to culture, but the basic mechanism is the same. The lactobacillus makes the culture acidic, which repels most hostiles and pathogens and gives sour bread its characteristic sourness. The yeast is what leavens bread; it is not the same species as you would buy in the grocery.

The two basic things you must understand about a sourdough culture is that you need to feed it, and you need to remove its waste products – particularly you need to dilute the acid periodically so that the environment doesn't become hostile to your pet microbes (too much acid will do them in too, not just the bad guys).

There are many ways of making a sourdough culture by scratch. Here's what I did. You'll need a container with a cover, about a kilogram of (preferably organic rye) flour and lots of water.

Take a clean container and mix in it 200 grams of flour and 400 grams of water. Cover the container and leave it covered in room temperature. Feed it every 8–24 hours by discarding most (but at least half) of it and adding 200 grams of flour and 400 grams of water, and mixing well. In a couple of days it should start being bubbly; at that time, I recommend switching to feeding it equal parts of flour and water (I use 200 grams of both) to make it a bit thicker. When it expands itself in a couple of hours after feeding (if your container is transparent, you should be seeing holes all over it, but not necessarily on top), it's ready (I expect it to take a week to get to this point). It should at that point smell sour but not stink.

A live culture should be fed every 8–24 hours and kept in room temperature. You can refrigerate it just after feeding, in which case it should keep a week or two, and when you want to use it, take it out to room temperature and let it sit for hours, and feed it once before using it. Freezing and drying are reported to work, though I haven't tried them.

To use the culture, take some (but not all) of it several hours after the latest feeding and mix it in the water you intend to use in the dough. Remember to feed the culture.

Note: fruit flies like sourdough, so do remember to cover your culture when not working on it.

ETA The important thing is to dilute the acid when you are feeding. If you can't stand throwing stuff away, just feed the culture exponentially, at least doubling its size in each feeding. You might want to start small if you want to go this way...

ETA Something I forgot to mention... I added some apple cider vinegar to the mix during the first couple of feedings, before it started showing life, to discourage the acid-averse critters.

Bread #1

(ETA a title)

[picture of bread]

Today's first bread is a no-knead sourdough with wheat and soy. I took a spoonful of my rye-based sourdough culture, dissolved it in 800 grams of water, added 300 grams of soy flour, about 20 grams of olive oil and a couple of grams of salt, and whisked it thoroughly to aerate the mixture well. Then I mixed in 500 grams of bread flour. I let the dough ferment for about 12 hours in room temperature, then transferred it to a large pan (diameter of 26 centimeters) and let it proof for about three hours. I added liberal amounts of oil on top (estimate about 30-40 grams), I baked it for a bit longer than an hour in a preheated oven, first at 200 °C, then when I noticed that the oil was smoking, lowered the temperature to 175 °C. At the end of the bake, I used 220 °C for about five to ten minutes. Crumb temperature was about 90 °C when I had removed the bread from the oven and the pan.

I will update later with a report on crumb texture and taste, once it has cooled down.

ETA The crumb seems to have a rather nice, irregular texture, though I was hoping for it to be a bit more holey :) The bread is incredibly easy to cut and feels wonderful in general. The taste is sour, as expected, but creamy and quite pleasant.

[picture of the crumb]