This sourdough includes a pre-cooked oatmeal porridge, which makes it ultra moist and pillowy-soft within; it also makes it stay fresh far longer than many homemade breads.
This sounds great. It might be nice to have a bit more clarity on “Using flour on hands and top of dough as necessary to prevent sticking, gently press dough into 8-inch circle, then fold edges toward middle to form round.“ I can’t visualize how this will result in round. Thanks!
This looks great! I hope to try it tomorrow. Curious to find out how sweet it is. It looks like the salt goes in right from the get-go (there’s no autolyse if I’m using that term correctly) ... is that right?
Annie - there's still an autolyse, I've just started placing the salt on top of the dough immediately after the first mix, for simplicity. You don't mix it in until 30m later.
It turned out delicious! Crust was similar to The Loaf, but the crumb was much moister. It did bake a bit faster. There was just a touch of sweetness from the maple but not very much. I didn’t notice any lumpiness from the oats. I can’t speak to the staying power, as I brought it over to a socially distant outdoor lunch and left the remainder with the hosts, who really seemed to love it.
Kathy - It's too much for one pan and probably too little for two, even smaller ones. I'll have a version of this recipe for loaf pans eventually. If you wanted to scale it smaller, you'd want ~650g for a 9x5 pan, leaving you 250 for a mini loaf.
I guess this is the origin of wheat berry breads from Bread’s Illustrated! Maybe I’ll try this and compare it to a wheat berry baguette currently sliced in my freezer.
Yes. You'll have to add more water, though. If you wanted to try it, I would make the porridge like you normally would (on the thick side), then use 195g of it in the dough.
Ruth - by all means. The amount that is there does not make the bread sweet, it's more of a hint. But it can be reduced or left out without affecting the result.
Hi, I tried this and it was great, but seemed under-salted. I added the salt (by weight) as directed in step 3. I had a similar issue when I tried "The Loaf." I suspect I'm not getting the salt fully mixed into the dough. Do you have any suggestions for getting the salt+water fully incorporated? Should I fully dissolve the salt into the reserved water, or just mix more at the end of step 3? I can also try to add more salt, but was curious what might be going on. (Fwiw, I don't generally like heavily salted food or add extra salt to recipes.)
Cynthia - Step 4 has you kneading, mashing, & folding the dough until it is uniform, and that really should do the trick. If you really think the salt isn't evenly mixed, keep going! (You can even taste the dough at that point to be sure.) 2.2% salt is on the high side, so I doubt you'd want to add more.
Anne - It could, if things are warm enough (which is why I make the amount of levain variable), but I also think that "seeing" when that point is achieved is challenging. I'm doing one in a straight-sided, clear container today just so I can photograph it's height and volume. How'd it work out for you?
John - I'd scatter them over the dough just before you do the fold. You might need to knead them into the dough to get them evenly incorporated, but be gentle when you do.
Maybe a typo? Bullet point 3 after the dough in a container pic (this is case of cold kitchen temps) says increase levain to 10% or 80g, but the recipe states 5% = 22g, so 10% = 44g, right? This is my favourite loaf : )
Made this loaf this weekend. Absolutely loved it. I underbaked it a bit I think because I did it in my ceramic loaf pan instead of the Dutch oven. I just think next time I need to cook it a bit longer before removing from the pan. Made delicious BLTs.
Would have any tips for making this into a mostly/all whole grain loaf?
Zach - No, sorry. It's never a simple swap. Soon enough I'll have whole grain recipes to share, thought.
This sounds great. It might be nice to have a bit more clarity on “Using flour on hands and top of dough as necessary to prevent sticking, gently press dough into 8-inch circle, then fold edges toward middle to form round.“ I can’t visualize how this will result in round. Thanks!
Why does this recipe use less starter than your flagship one?
what is my flagship one?
I was thinking "The Loaf" formula. https://wordloaf.substack.com/p/thursday-recipe-the-loaf
Gotcha. 6 vs 5% is not really different enough to matter. I'll be updating that other recipe soon anyway.
Would there be any issue if I subbed honey for the syrup?
nope, but honey is about 2x as sweet, so you might want to use less.
This looks great! I hope to try it tomorrow. Curious to find out how sweet it is. It looks like the salt goes in right from the get-go (there’s no autolyse if I’m using that term correctly) ... is that right?
Annie - there's still an autolyse, I've just started placing the salt on top of the dough immediately after the first mix, for simplicity. You don't mix it in until 30m later.
Aha! Ever simpler! Thanks, Andrew!
It turned out delicious! Crust was similar to The Loaf, but the crumb was much moister. It did bake a bit faster. There was just a touch of sweetness from the maple but not very much. I didn’t notice any lumpiness from the oats. I can’t speak to the staying power, as I brought it over to a socially distant outdoor lunch and left the remainder with the hosts, who really seemed to love it.
How would this do in loaf pans? Would it be one 9x5 or two 8x 4?
Kathy - It's too much for one pan and probably too little for two, even smaller ones. I'll have a version of this recipe for loaf pans eventually. If you wanted to scale it smaller, you'd want ~650g for a 9x5 pan, leaving you 250 for a mini loaf.
Thank you.
I think maybe the water and oat measurements are swapped in the porridge section?
thank you, good catch. I fixed it!
Thanks for this comment! I’m just making it now and reversed those. You’re right, it wouldn’t have been much of a porridge with that proportion.
I guess this is the origin of wheat berry breads from Bread’s Illustrated! Maybe I’ll try this and compare it to a wheat berry baguette currently sliced in my freezer.
Have you tried this with steel cuts oats?
Yes. You'll have to add more water, though. If you wanted to try it, I would make the porridge like you normally would (on the thick side), then use 195g of it in the dough.
Thanks!
This looks great! I prefer non-sweetened bread, however, would it work to cut out (or severely reduce) the amount of maple syrup?
Ruth - by all means. The amount that is there does not make the bread sweet, it's more of a hint. But it can be reduced or left out without affecting the result.
Thanks!
This was an absolutely delicious loaf!
Hi, I tried this and it was great, but seemed under-salted. I added the salt (by weight) as directed in step 3. I had a similar issue when I tried "The Loaf." I suspect I'm not getting the salt fully mixed into the dough. Do you have any suggestions for getting the salt+water fully incorporated? Should I fully dissolve the salt into the reserved water, or just mix more at the end of step 3? I can also try to add more salt, but was curious what might be going on. (Fwiw, I don't generally like heavily salted food or add extra salt to recipes.)
Cynthia - Step 4 has you kneading, mashing, & folding the dough until it is uniform, and that really should do the trick. If you really think the salt isn't evenly mixed, keep going! (You can even taste the dough at that point to be sure.) 2.2% salt is on the high side, so I doubt you'd want to add more.
thanks! tasting the dough is a good idea--would not have thought of that!
Is it possible this could be done proofing in 10 hours? Mine looked similar to yours at 8 hours in so I am a little unsure about going a full 12.
Anne - It could, if things are warm enough (which is why I make the amount of levain variable), but I also think that "seeing" when that point is achieved is challenging. I'm doing one in a straight-sided, clear container today just so I can photograph it's height and volume. How'd it work out for you?
Overproofed a bit! But still very enjoyable.
check out my IG post today, which was partly inspired by this comment!
Awesome recipe! If I wanted to add some chopped walnuts to the dough, at what point would I do that? Thanks!
John - I'd scatter them over the dough just before you do the fold. You might need to knead them into the dough to get them evenly incorporated, but be gentle when you do.
Hi. How much walnuts you add to this dough?
Maybe a typo? Bullet point 3 after the dough in a container pic (this is case of cold kitchen temps) says increase levain to 10% or 80g, but the recipe states 5% = 22g, so 10% = 44g, right? This is my favourite loaf : )
Fixed! Thanks for that. And glad you like it so much, Christine! It's one of my faves too.
Made this loaf this weekend. Absolutely loved it. I underbaked it a bit I think because I did it in my ceramic loaf pan instead of the Dutch oven. I just think next time I need to cook it a bit longer before removing from the pan. Made delicious BLTs.