This post will be different in that I am covering two weeks worth of bread for a variety of reasons. Primary because I have covered both before and there were only subtle changes in each. I also have not felt that great and not been up to posting.
For our first weeks bread I am again making rye bread from the same recipe as before with a couple of changes. First I have doubled the recipe to make two loaves. Next I made a rye starter (converted from my normal starter) and used that to make an overnight rye leaven. Finally, I didn’t have any oranges to zest so I used Meyer lemons.
This I documented the rye starter in a post earlier this week so I won’t cover that again. I did decide not to keep the rye starter going. I did not find any improvement in flavor to justify using a separate rye starter. I also will make sure to have oranges on hand the next I make this bread as their absence was noticeable.
The leaven was made by measuring out 10 grams of the rye starter into 70 grams of water and mixing it in thoroughly. Then 35 grams each of AP and whole rye flour were added to the water and mixed in. The leaven then sat on the counter for 12 hours before being mixed into the dough.
The Formula
| Ingredient | Amount | Bakers % |
| The Leaven | ||
| Rye Starter | 10 g | 14% |
| Water | 70 g | 100% |
| AP Flour | 35 g | 50% |
| Whole Rye Flour | 35 g | 50% |
| The Dough | ||
| Leaven | 140 g | 14% |
| Water | 800 g | 83% |
| Bread Flour | 490 g | 50% |
| Whole Rye Flour | 490 g | 50% |
| Tot Flour | 980 g | 100% |
| Molasses | 88 g | 9% |
| Fennel Seed | 16 g | 1.6% |
| Anise Seed | 4 g | 0.4% |
| Caraway Seed | 6 g | 0.6% |
| Salt | 20 g | 2% |
| Zest of Meyer Lemon | 2 |
The process was the same as before so I won’t bore you with that again. The results were great and again we enjoyed some Rueben sandwiches. For the corned beef this time I cooked it in our sous vide and it turned out delicious. We soaked it for a couple of hours to get out some of the salt. Then it was dried off and seasoned with a couple or tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper and vacuum sealed and refrigerated overnight. The next morning the sous vide was preheated to 180 F. Once it was up to temperature the corned beef went in for 10 hours. When the 10 hours were up the sealed bag with the corned beef went into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Then into the fridge until we were ready to slice for sandwiches. We were able to slice this nice and thin and it was one of the most tender corned beefs we have made.
The next weeks bread was again the Tartine Country Sourdough Loaf. This was two loaves of the original formula with one minor change. I have always thought it made no sense to make the leaven twice the size as going to be used in the bread. So this time I used 11 grams of starter, 100 grams of water and 100 grams or my AP and white whole wheat flour mix and used the whole leaven in the dough. Sharp observers might note the the formula only calls for 200 grams of starter and I made 211 grams. I have discovered that between what is lost as CO2 as the starter ferments overnight and what sticks in the bowl I lose about 10 grams of starter.
My results were different to prior results with this recipe. The bread had much more of a sour flavor. I was surprised to say the least as this has been so consistent in the past. I don’t know if it was the change to the leaven or the fact that the kitchen was a little warmer now that the weather has finally changed and there was more activity during bulk fermentation. The structure and rise in the oven were both very good so I am thinking it was the change to the leaven.
The next time I make this recipe I will go back to the original leaven formula, check the results, and report in that post.
This bread was by no means bad and in fact had more flavor. It’s just that we prefer a milder loaf.
I just realized I never posted the original formula and process. I will post the formula and my process the next time I make this bread. In the meantime, it is available online from many sources, just Google “Tartine Bread” and you’ll find lots of links.
Now that I am feeling better I hope I can get back on track for future posts.