the katsura tree

Wholemeal Spelt and white sourdough (*****)

Not a very promising start. I’ve been baking quite a lot and not keeping starter in fridge and run out of rye flour so been using wholegrain spelt to refresh. Looking a bit thin and not much left.

1815

• 100g starter
• 50g strong white flour (Doves organic)
• 60g water

Menu 32 for 20 minutes.

That’s pretty much all the starter gone and what there is looks pretty thin. Refreshed using 30g wholemeal spelt/20g water.

1835

Having a play with laser measurer to see how much the premix rises. It isn’t, it has to be said, a precise science. Currently 0.254m from top, and at 2218 hours, it’s 0.251m. So unchanged really. Smells and looks good though.

2225

• 80g wholemeal spelt (Gilchester’s)
• 80g stoneground wholemeal (Marriage’s)
• 240g strong white flour (Doves Organic)
• 15g EVOO
• 4g salt
• 260g water

Menu 32 for 20 minutes then menu 10 overnight.

Result

Very pleasantly surprised. Looks great.

Wholemeal Spelt and white sourdough (*****)

1830

• 100g starter
• 50g strong white flour
• 60g water

Menu 32 for 20 minutes. Keeping an eye on it this time and using wooden spoon to nudge unmixed flour back into mix. Looks good at end of 20 minutes.

1900

On to Menu 30 for a 30℃ rest. I’m not very good at judging when the dough has “doubled in size” and I keep seeing it mentioned. I’ve tried to visualise where it is at the moment and will watch it closely. I might have to give this step a bit more thought if it’s so important.

2200 (3 hours later)

• 80g wholemeal spelt (Gilchester’s)
• 80g stoneground wholemeal (Marriage’s)
• 240g strong white flour (Doves)
• 5g sea salt
• 260g water

Menu 32 for 20 minutes then Menu 10 overnight on timer.

Result

Very good. Possibly the best yet. Will need to try and reproduce this a few times and ensure it wasn’t a fluke.

50/50 Wholemeal and White sourdough (***)

Trying to break a recent bad run so back to basics. Loaf 20 was pretty good, so let’s try a rough rerun of that.

1845

• 60g starter
• 60g strong white flour (Doves Organic)
• 60g water

This is a little less than I used in loaf 20. I also held back on 35g of the water and trickled it in down the sides of the pan once the knead had started to help dislodge unmixed flour. It works a little. The starter was also looking pretty lively and healthy. I’d left it out of the fridge for a couple of hours before hand as it’s obviously implicated as a potential suspect in the recent results.

Menu 32 for 20 minutes then menu 30 for 2½ hours.

2135

• 200g soft white flour (Doves Organic)
• 200g wholemeal (Marriage’s organic stoneground)
• 250g water

Menu 32 for 45 minutes. Meant to stop it after 20 but forgot so just let it complete.

2240

All looks good. Menu 10 overnight on timer.

Result

It’s ok, but sunk. Wasn’t expecting that. The crusty thin edges suggest that it has risen then dropped back down again. It might be worth doing this without the timer and checking it from time to time to see when it’s happening. I suspect it’s during the bake, but perhaps the long rest before hand is not helping.

Cotswold Crunch sourdough (**)

Let’s reduce the water and nudge up the flour using quantities based on loaf 25.

1740

• 80g starter
• 80g strong white flour
• 80g water

Menu 32 for 20 minutes then Menu 30 while we go out to see A Christmas Carol at the cathedral …

2245!

That was longer than expected. Almost 5 hours on menu 30.

• 380g Cotswold Crunch
• 280g water
• 4g salt
• 15g EVOO

Menu 32 for 20 minutes then menu 10 overnight on timer.

Result

Another so-so result. Again it looks like it’s risen then sunk again. Very tasty but a bit dense.

Cotswold Crunch sourdough (**)

Loaves are fine and tasty, but dense and a bit sunken. Would be good to get back to a reliable baseline recipe. Onwards …

about 6pm

• 80g starter
• 80g strong white flour
• 80g water

Menu 32 for full 45 minutes, then menu 30 for a bit. Got online turbo class.

around 9:20pm

• 380g Cotswold Crunch
• 290g water
• 3g salt
• 15g EVOO

Menu 32, then Menu 10 overnight on timer.

Result

Another dense, sunken loaf. It looks like it has risen and sunk back down. Too much water? Not enough flour?

Cotswold Crunch Sourdough (**)

0700

• 80g starter
• 80g water
• 80g strong white flour

Menu 23 for 17 minutes then menu 30 for 3 hours.

1020

• 380g Cotswold Crunch
• 290g water
• 3g salt
• 20g EVOO

Menu 32 for 20 minutes

1045

Menu 30

A bit pressed for time. I want(ed) this for lunch, so just an hour on Menu 30, then Menu 18 (bake only).

Result

Not great. Usual story. Tasty but very dense. What went wrong?

• Not long enough on menu 30 rest?
• Does the long rest when on the timer overnight for menu 10 matter?
• Did it need another knead? I’m wary of overworking the dough.

Cotswold Crunch Sourdough (****)

Dial back on the starter a bit.

Premix

• 85g starter
• 85g strong white flour
• 85g water

20 minutes on menu 32. Still a noticeable amount of flour not mixed in. A bit pressed for time so only about 1¼ hours on menu 30.

Reduce flour a little, increase water.

Main Mix

• 380g Cotswold Crunch
• 280g water
• 3g salt
• 15g EVOO

20 minutes on Menu 32 then menu 10 overnight.

Result

Still on the dense side but better than Loaf 24. Happy enough.

Cotswold Crunch sourdough (***)

Premix

• 100g starter
• 100g strong white flour (M&S organic)
• 100g water

Menu 32 for 20 minutes, then Menu 30 for a couple of hours.

While that’s busy refresh the starter. It’s looking a bit on the thick side and as I’m baking every couple of days there’s no real need to keep it in the fridge – but it’s handy. 100g of starter us quite a lot so I may refresh it twice. Once now and once tomorrow.

So a roughly 40g/30g rye/water refresh and maybe another one tomorrow.

Main Mix

• 400g Cotswold Crunch
• 3g salt
• 15g EVOO
• 265g water

Menu 32 for 20 minutes then Menu 10 overnight.

Notes

Very tasty, but still slightly on the dense side with a slightly sunken top. More so than Loaf 23, so perhaps too much starter and/or flour.