I’ve read in the literature that adding ingredients such as seeds can actually cut through the developed gluten strands in your dough, preventing a high and open rise. ): In the morning preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C). The first true entry to this begins with a modified Tartine sourdough recipe.
After this time, open the oven, remove the lid of the pot (you can place it on the rack next to the bottom side or remove it to cool), close the oven door and bake for an additional 35 minutes.
Again, next time I’ll try reducing the number of sesame seeds.
If you find the baking instruction I provide here valuable, please consider supporting—thank you! The stone isn’t necessary but I’ve noticed much more consistent baking with it absorbing the heat for about 1 hour. Generally, this will only be between 5-10 turns. Thanks for your work on this. While I like the rich taste, I’d like the sesame to play more of a background role and let the wheat shine through just a little bit more. Divide the mass into two halves and flour at the top of each half. Once the loaf is baked to your liking, remove it to a wire rack and allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes, or up to a few hours to allow the inside to finish cooking.
I looked at a few markets around town and wasn’t able to find anything close so I turned to Amazon and picked up a bag of these organic unhulled sesame seeds.Shipping was prompt per usual and I was ready to bake over the weekend. For more information on baking, see my post to baking with a Dutch oven (or combo cooker). The “experiment” boule (with the sesame seeds on top) I did an “X” with smaller, lighter slashes in-between each section formed by the “X”. And while I waited this is exactly what I did. After one hour, take one of your loaves out of the fridge and cut a piece of parchment paper to place on top of the basket containing the dough.
Lightly dust two linen-lined bowls or proofing baskets with white rice flour.
Quickly take out the shallow half of your hot combo cooker (careful here, this thing is smokin’) and drag into it the parchment paper holding the dough. About 1/2 cup sounds just about right to see if it mellows out some of the intense sesame flavors.
Cover with a towel and let sit at room temperature … My favorite is seen below: half with organic jam and half with salted butter. Loaves made with a natural leaven keep for a week -- one reason Chad Robertson, of San Francisco's legendary Since baking this loaf a while ago at this point, I’ve modified this recipe even further to produce even better results. I place each of my bowls into plastic bags and then into the fridge. Once both are preheated, take one of your loaves out of the fridge and remove it from the plastic bag, then dust the loaf with a bit more rice flour to prevent it from sticking to the pot. Friday night I prepared a 100% whole wheat leaven with the following ingredients: After mixing the above in a glass container, I covered and set out on the counter to rest and do its thing overnight. It’s really started to get cold out here and bulk fermentation times needed to be adjusted to accommodate.
Take your taught boules and place them into the floured bowls with the seam up facing you. Your work surface grabs the bottom of the dough slightly as you spin the dough around to make a little ball. My exposure to sesame seeds has been limited to probably the same foods as most people: hamburger buns, crackers, sprinkled on top a loaf of bread here and there, Asian and Indian food… While I do love the rich taste they bring to buns and other bread, I was a bit skeptical of how they would taste baked throughout a loaf of sourdough. NOTE: You can perform this final proof at room temperature, but proofing in the refrigerator helps the dough to develop more flavor and makes the loaves easier to score before baking. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). After 30 minutes, add 20g salt on top of the dough and slowly pour your reserved water on top. I was anxious to bake something as my bread supplies started to dwindle and it’s a travesty when we are cooking something great at home and don’t have a slice of sourdough to accompany.
Do this 4 times, one of each side of your container (if it’s square, that is). During the bulk rise phase, we will perform 5 sets of folds, spaced out at 25 minute intervals.
Once the set of folds is completed, return the dough back to your warm environment. Add 900g of unbleached bread flour to the bowl, along with 100g of whole wheat flour, and stir with a dough whisk or by hand, until all flour is completely saturated.
For the larger batard I did a single slash down the middle starting from the very top to the very bottom.
After 20-40 minutes, add the 50g of water and 20g of salt, and incorporate it into the dough by dimpling and folding it in.
They should flatten, but only slightly if you’ve developed some good tension during the initial shaping.
DOWNLOAD MY FREE SOURDOUGH QUICK START GUIDEIncludes everything you need to know to bake your first loaf of sourdough bread! You really want your final dough temp or DDT (desired dough temp) to be close to this. These bowls will hold our fermenting dough overnight to proof. A bit on the dense side, but totally acceptable. To perform the coil folds, lift the dough up and let it fold underneath itself, then turn the container 180° and repeat with the other side of the dough. After another 25 minutes, perform a second set of stretch and folds, cover the container, and return it to your warm environment. I place the rack in the middle of the oven with a pizza stone on top.
Toast, sandwich , french toast .. Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner.
Dust the top of each loaf with a bit more flour, then flip them over so the unfloured side is facing up. After the first 25 minutes, take your dough and perform a set of stretch and folds. The sesame seeds really gave it that deep flavor I was looking for during these colder fall days.
This creates a thicker portion in the middle of the loaf, which then tapers out toward the edges.
Sprinkle some flour on top of your dough and divide in two equal halves. Repeat that process a few more times until you feel some tension develop on the outer surface and the dough and it maintains its round shape. Place the dough into the combo cooker, cover with the lid, and bake for 20 minutes with the lid on.
In addition, I’ve had to adjust the formula here and there to accommodate my very dry climate and high altitude (~5000 ft above sea level). I do this several times to create a very taught surface on the top of the boule. You want it to smell like “ripe fruit”, it shouldn’t smell “sweet” like when you first mixed it the night before. Again, pop any large bubbles that form on the surface of the dough.
Very versatile.
At 3:00pm the dough in my bowl had risen at least 30% and there was some serious fermentation going on. I’ve got a beginner loaf video for you and the recipe. Press down on the folded portion to seal it off and develop tension, then roll the dough over again, press again, and roll again, until the entire loaf is rolled up and sealed.