Have I DISCOVERED the Secret to Perfect Sourdough Bread?
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- čas přidán 5. 02. 2024
- With or Without Levain? Will this make my sourdough shine?
I’ve been mostly happy with the Kamut sourdough bread I’ve been baking.
But I want it to have more structure. More rise. Larger crumb.
If you’ve watched my videos on sourdough, you’ve seen that I gave myself an extra challenge in learning to bake this favored bread by using Kamut flour - a flour made from an ancient grain - rather than using bread flour, flour that has been processed so that it makes light and fluffy bread.
Shout out to my friend DJ. She sent me a link to @theperfectloaf and I discovered something called a levain.
So here we are - bread baking day at Sweet Herbin’ Livin’, and I decided to make bread using a levain. I also wanted to test and see the difference between using a levain and NOT using a levain.
You know me, I had to make my task even MORE CHALLENGING as I also decided to bake bread the way I had been doing it before DJ shared a link to The Perfect Loaf about how to stretch and fold your sourdough properly. I learned that and so much more.
I have been using a recipe for Kamut sourdough bread I found from @therosehomestead. And you know what? It’s been great. It tastes great and Mr. Sweet and I get to have bread regularly without gumming up our lymphatic system and making our joints hurt. A BIG WIN THERE!
With this experiment, I made THREE LOAVES OF BREAD.
I made one loaf using the recipe from @therosehomestead. NO LEVAIN
And I made two loaves (one recipe makes two loaves) from @theperfectloaf. WITH LEVAIN
The results? Stay tuned to the end as Mr. Sweet and I do a TASTE TEST at the end.
Levain, also known as a sourdough starter, is a mixture of flour and water that's fermented by natural yeasts and bacteria. How does it differ from a regular sourdough starter? And does it make a difference if you don’t use a levain?
According to @theperfectloaf, preferments such as sourdough starter have many names! You may have heard some of them: chef, lievito madre, mother dough, mum.
In his article, “What is a Levain and How is it Different from a Starter?”, Leo tells us that, “a preferment is essentially a mixture of flour, water, and a leavening agent (in our case, a sourdough starter) left to ferment before mixing everything into a final dough. Preferments help bring flavor, aroma, and keeping qualities to your bread.”
I learned from Leo that instead of putting my sourdough starter directly into the recipe along with the salt, I should create a levain first so that the salt in the recipe doesn’t inhibit the growth of the yeast and enzymes. As I want my Kamut sourdough loaves to have a stronger structure and better crumb, I decided to try his recipe and mixing methods.
Why I use Kamut: 🌟www.sweetherbinlivin.com/brea...
Here’s the link to the article from The Perfect Load: www.theperfectloaf.com/what-i...
Here's the link to the Kamut Sourdough Recipe from The Rose Homestead: therosehomestead.com/whole-gr...
The fermentation process in the sourdough starter and the levain breaks down complex carbohydrates, making it easier to digest and unlocking essential nutrients. Plus, it helps to extend the shelf life of your bread.
And what I learned is that using a levain gives my dough better structure and a better rise! Since making this video, I’ve made two more batches of bread using the levain with BETTER RESULTS!
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Chapters
0:01 Good morning!
0:26 Using a Levain (from The Perfect Loaf)
3:30 The Rose Homestead Recipe (without the levain)
10:40 The Perfect Loaf Bread (with the levain)
15:00 Back to the RHL but shaping using the Perfect Loaf Method
19:12 Where I re-read TPL Recipe and discover by measuring oops!
21:20 First stretch & fold using TPL Recipe
22:22 The RH Loaf has risen! Preheat the oven
23:07 Time to stretch and fold again! TPL
24:24 RH loaf goes in the oven
25:40 TPL stretch & fold
26:50 RH out of the oven
28:05 TPL cut & preshape
36:35 The next day TPL out of the frig
43:00 Comparing RH & TPL
44:40 Mr. Sweet joins me for TASTE TESTING
Maurizio gives wonderfully detailed instructions in his book and his website, The Perfect Loaf. He has so many videos on the entire process including proper mixing, shaping, etc. Best of luck!
I heard on one channel that if you use ancient grains you don’t get the open crumb & it will be a heavier loaf. It’s a German man I watch. I forgot the name I watch soo many different channels. I’m also learning, just keep baking cause eventually you will know what you’re doing right or wrong. 😊❤️👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Thanks for the encouragement! I think you’re right. I’ll always have a heavier loaf since I’m using ancient grains. My last batch of bread was much better. I’m going to try more water and what I’ve learned about the levain, temperature and stretching and see if my bread will improve even more.
Thank you for teaching me what levain is. 😊
You are so welcome! I am glad I learned about using a levain.
The Rosehome loaf was Overproofed. When your bread goes too long, the gluten chains break and cannot support the rise. What you thought was underproofing on the inside of your bread, was collapse and compression. Keep baking!
The second batch was in too hot a proofing area and that’s why you got the skin on the outside.
Thank you. Wow! I didn’t think I had let the rose homestead loaf proof long enough. I’ll take a look at that!
I agree completely about the warming area being too warm. The next two attempts at the making the Perfect Loaf with a levain, I watched my temperatures and had a much better turn out?
It’s so much fun playing with sourdough!! I’ve been making spelt sourdough bread and it’s been turning out well. I don’t know if that grain would work for you in the way that kamut does, with no aches and pains. The site which started me on spelt sourdough was Mary’s Nest. She has a very simple recipe which works, and I know that she also uses other flours so you might find something helpful to explore there.
Spelt might work. I've used it many, many moons ago. I may see if I have some and try that out as well! What a great tip. Thanks!
You’re welcome; hope it’ll work for you! Mary’s way of doing it is so uncomplicated and quick compared to most videos; you might like that too. :)
@@franciewalls5830 - Oh yes, I used Mary's recipe from the Rose Homestead in this video. It's a great recipe. I think I just need more water, but I do like adding the levain in as well. I've tried more water since this video and it turned out very nicely!
Try adding a little more water to your dough, it looked like it would have appreciated it:) Im working on my proofing and shaping too. Taking the temperature of the dough is a good idea. Always something to take away. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Thank you for your suggestion! I have used the recipe from the Perfect Loaf three times now. Taking the temperature has shown a definite improvement. My last batch was soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. I also cut my bake time by five minutes and the bottom wasn’t so tough. The top was golden. Do you think I should add 5 to 10 more grams of water to start with?
@SweetHerbinLivin The Bread Code has a good video about hydration levels i found helpful! Bump it by 20g water at a time, mix the dough (in the autolyse) until it feels pretty incorporated. For 1kg flour, adding 20-40g water wont hurt to try and you might find you prefer it that way or need more, or less.
@@Javajavajav - excellent! I’m looking forward to making my next batch using more water. I’ll look up The Bread Code. ❤️
لم افهم اي شئ
This is like a sourdough fiesta
Or a sourdough rodeo! Things got a little crazy, but it was worth it.
Kind of like a sourdough flour show
@@Coffeythe8thDwarf - well played!
More hydration I think 🤔 makes a more airy loaf. 😊❤
I believe you’re right! I’m going to try a little more water next time.
I like a tighter crumb instead of huge air pockets 😊❤👍🏼
I don’t want huge holes! 😂 but I I do a little more opening. I’m getting there.
And also…it’s extremely difficult to convert a recipe with no kamut to 100% kamut. It’s not going to come out correctly because of the flour and hydration needs being different.
I’m finding that to be very true. Still, the bread is tasty and my last batches have been soft on the outside and crispy on the inside. I’m going to try adding more water for next time.
You will be successful. Keep at it as I will! 😊
Your dough is too dry. It should be soft and elastic. There are some really good CZcams videos.
Yes, thank you! I’ve been watching several different CZcams tutorials. I’ve added too much water on other tries because my dough was too dry and they ended up not having the structure needed to rise. I’ve been watching @theperfectloaf and his videos on kneading and stretching and folding to build structure. I think that now that I have the levain, am working on stretching and folding more, and have worked on my temperature for both the levain and my dough, I am going to try adding more water again.
I’ll keep everyone posted!
Your starter is too RUNNY...it shouldn't pour! I finally got mine right, after almost 5 YEARS!! Mix by WEIGHT not by VOLUMN, do you use a digital scale? Big Help!! My oven also has a "proof" function, DO NOT USE IT!! IT's waaay too hot!!! you want to have WARM 72*-76* the oven proof is 90* 0r MORE! ( Rose Homestead, Mary is the sweetest ever) I mill Too! Good Luck!
I had let my starter get thin! I don't think I even realized how thin! I do use a scale AND I haven't been using the proofing drawer anymore. I have been using my stove top "Keep Warm" area, with a trick added in, to keep the levain and the sourdough itself at the right temperature. Thanks so much for your feedback. I'll double-check my starter to be sure it's thick.