How To Get An Open Crumb With Whole Grain Sourdough Bread Recipes

HOW TO GET AN OPEN CRUMB WITH WHOLE GRAIN SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Mix all of the ingredients together for about 10 minutes. I suggest a 5 minute rest in between two rounds of approximately 2.5 minutes of active mixing. This can be done in a stand mixer first on low speed and then on medium (dough hook, scrape down sides a few times), or you can use a dough whisk for round one, and a method like the Rubaud method for round two. (See the video below this recipe for a demonstration.)
• I did not see a benefit to the crumb in autolysing the flour and water, but you may choose to do this if it's your preference.
• Perform three rounds of stretching and folding at approximately 30 minutes, 1.5 hours and 2.5 hours after mixing. If your room temperature is mid-70sF or higher, do the stretching and folding closer together. And if you are using a lower protein flour, you may want to skip the stretching and folding, based on my findings explained below this recipe.
• Retard the dough to the refrigerator for about 8-12 hours, but pay more attention to the dough than the clock. Stop the bulk fermentation when the dough looks puffy and has grown by about 50%.
• Scrape the dough onto a dampened countertop, using wet fingertips or a wet dough scraper.
• Gently shape the dough into a round and cover it with an inverted bowl for 15-45 minutes (more time if the dough felt tight and/or underdeveloped as you preshaped it, less if it was loose and/or proofy).
• Uncover the dough and flour the top of it, smoothing the flour evenly on the dough surface with your palm. Then using a bench scraper, lift half the dough and slip your hand under it. Use the bench scraper on the other side to flip the dough over to its floured side.
• Gently stretch the dough into a square.
• See the gallery below to visualize the following shaping instructions. This is for an oval-shaped bread, but you can make a round bread instead by stitching from all sides, flipping and further rounding with your palms.
• Fold up the bottom third of the dough. Fold inward the left and right sides. Then fold the top side of the dough down the to the bottom edge.
• If the dough is stretchable / extensible, stitch the sides inward to make a tighter tube.
• Roll the lower part of the dough upward and press it into the middle of the tube, Continue rolling and cinching the dough until it is flipped over.
• Give the sides of the dough a few pinches to close the seams of the roll. Use your bench scraper to tighten the tube further if needed.
• Let the dough sit for a minute or so to seal the bottom seam.
• Line your proofing basket with bran flakes or rice flour. Then lift and flip the dough into the proofing basket. Stitch the dough more in the basket if it seems loose.
• Cover and let proof 1-1.75 hours at room temperature. Many combinations of final proofing temperature and time will work e.g. 15 minutes at room temperature and 12 hours in the refrigerator, or 8 hours in the refrigerator and 1 hour at room temperature. Remember that the proofing will be much faster at room temperature, and that gases are compressed at cold temperatures, so the appearance of a cold dough can be flatter despite advanced proofing.
• Preheat your oven to 475F for 30 minutes with your baking vessel inside.
• Cover your basket with parchment paper and a cutting board, flip the entire contraption, and remove the basket.
• Lift the parchment paper and dough into your hot baking vessel and score. I suggest scoring after lifting because the dough may spread as soon as it is cut, and I find it easier to transfer a taut dough.
• Bake until the internal temperature is over 205F.
• 475F for 30 minutes, lid on
• 450F for 10 minutes, lid off
• Let cool for several hours before cutting.

WHOLE GRAIN SOURDOUGH RUSTIC COUNTRY LOAF

Steps:

• Combine salt with flour in a mixing bowl, then add water and mix either by hand or with a dough whisk until fully incorporated into a "shaggy mass."
• Add starter and mix / squish by hand until fully incorporated. The process of incorporating the starter is a bit of primary kneading and should result in the dough smoothing out some, but don't go nuts. As soon as the starter is fully incorporated, you're done.
• Cover mixing bowl and let sit.
• First Bulk Fermentation Period
• The first (of three) bulk fermentation period is at room temperature which for me is 73 - 75 degrees F, and lasts about 10 hours.
• At about an hour in, do 5-10 minutes of hand kneading (see notes and video below) until the dough develops some strength and elasticity and becomes noticeably smoother. Cover and let sit.
• Every 1-2 hours (exact timing is not important - really!) do a short round of stretching and folding to re-develop the dough's elasticity (see notes and video below). Then re-cover and let sit.
• Second Bulk Fermentation Period
• After about 10 hours, or whenever the dough has risen to about 1.5 times its original volume, put the covered bowl of dough into a cold (~40 F) refrigerator and let sit (for me, this is overnight) for about 10 hours.
• Third Bulk Fermentation Period
• Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature again.
• As the dough warms up, resume periodic stretch and folds. Dough should be feeling progressively more lively, developing a bit of sour aroma, and eventually starting to bubble some.
• This final bulk fermentation period is the hardest to put a time length on. Getting it right matters, and it will totally depend on how active your starter is, how warm your kitchen is, and a whole host of other mostly invisible things. You are shooting to finish this period when the dough has risen to 2 - 2.5 times its original volume and ideally is actively blowing a few bubbles. I've had this take anywhere from 4 - 8 hours depending on this and that. Your mileage may vary. Try not to overshoot this - you'll probably have a better result erring on the too soon side than the too late side.
• Shaping and Proofing
• (See notes and video below)
• Prepare a lined proofing basket by generously flouring the inside and set it aside.
• Lightly flour a large work surface and turn the dough out onto it.
• Wet your hands, punch down the dough and then stretch and flatten it into a large thin rectangle.
• Fold dough in half from top to bottom and press top into bottom, flattening again but not as big as the initial rectangle. At this point, you want the height of the dough rectangle to be right about the length of your proofing basket (no more than that).
• [Optional] Lightly flour the top of the dough (and your hands).
• Start at one end and roll the dough rectangle into a cylinder.
• Keep track of the seam and transfer the dough cylinder into the lined, floured proofing basket seam-side up.
• Cover and let sit for 1 - 1.5 hours.
• Baking
• From 30 - 60 minutes after transferring dough into proofing basket, pre-heat oven and clay baker to 450 degrees F ~ about 20 - 30 minutes.
• Uncover dough and transfer from proofing basket into base of clay baker, score top of dough, cover and bake at 450 F for 25 minutes.
• Uncover clay baker, reduce oven temperature to 400 F and bake uncovered for another 20-25 minutes (or until desired crust color develops).
• Remove bread and place on cooling rack for at least a couple hours before cutting.