I tried to follow most of the techniques outlined in the book, especially around the schedule to follow and measurements
However, I did some things based on my previous experience, like mixing techniques, folding, etc…
My leaven was about 13hrs old, and (per the recipe) did not contain my usual whole wheat vs. white flour mixture, and the hydration of the leaven was higher than I normally mix
When performing the folds, using the techniques outlined in the book, I noticed that the gluten was not very well established. There was a lot of breakage in the dough as I was attempting to fold it. I don’t know if this is because of the kamute flour or if it is due to the method that I was following which included very little kneading.
According to the recipe I did do a hybrid bulk ferment, 2hrs on the counter with 2 rounds of folds, then about 8hrs cold bulk ferment in the fridge
Made 2 boules
In the shaping process I experimented with the book’s recommended lamination and shaping technique for one of the boules, while following my usual method for shaping for the other
I’m interested to see what the difference is between the two
The one in the Hmart bag is the one that I laminated
I noticed that during the lamination process, the dough was still very sticky, and I noticed a couple of tears
Potentially I didn’t add enough flour to the dough mixture, I didn’t let it ferment for long enough, or I didn’t mix it enough in the beginning
According to Sam, who follows the Food Nanny, apparently she says that you have to veer slightly from following recipes exactly and add more kamut flour than potentially it asks for based on feel to get to a dough that is less sticky
Coming out of the fridge from the overnight prove, the boules felt a bit flat, though admittedly the one that I laminated seemed to have the most tension out of the two
Dusted with brown rice flour and scored with a razor, trying out a boule-based ear + wheat on each
I baked at 475F for 25mins with the lid on
Baked at 450F for 12mins with the lid off
Results
The boules were disappointingly small, definitely did not spring much
Total proofing time: 18hrs, 16 of which were in the fridge
Potentially my leaven wasn’t strong enough
I think that this is most likely the culprit
Next time I’m going to experiment with changing my leaven makeup to be closer to my usual hydration and mix
Further, I’m going to maintain my leaven two days instead of 1 prior to baking
Taste: Surprisingly sour
This was surprising to me b/c my leaven was based purely on white kamut flour, and was a pretty high hydration
My assumption is that it was this sour due to the combined total 18hrs of cold proving