Easy Rustic Loaf with Amazing Oven Spring and Ear

[SmokyMose]

I'm no expert but near as I can tell, it's getting that second proof nailed. I cut the whole wheat to the same depth as the bread flour one. I don't think I've ever seen a YouTube video of a whole wheat loaf with an ear. Sure tastes good, regardless.

I'm going to try a white whole wheat flour soon. It has less gluten forming proteins than regular bread flour so I might have to add a little vital wheat gluten. We'll see. Not this week. Probably next.

I've been using an 80/20 mix of bread flour and white wheat and they come out soft and tasty.

If the starter looks right I'm going to mix and autolize this afternoon to bake tomorrow using straight bread flour.
We'll see....

 

[noboundaries]

I've been using an 80/20 mix of bread flour and white wheat and they come out soft and tasty.
View attachment 628746
If the starter looks right I'm going to mix and autolize this afternoon to bake tomorrow using straight bread flour.
We'll see....

Great looking loaves! Looking forward to your new results!

I had a sourdough starter in the fridge that I kept going for several years, but recently it looked really weird (lotsa hooch) after I fed it with whole wheat flour for the first time. I fed it last week and nothing. Set it on the counter for several days. Nothing. Tossed it (about a cup's worth).

I'll stick with the rustic bread and overnight proof. So easy with a texture I love and just a hint of sour taste. The overnight proof and longer basket proof definitely give it the result I crave.

 

[noboundaries]

So, I'm not a huge fan of round loaves, and even though I was using an oval proofing basket, the loaves turned out round when baked in a round Dutch oven. I wanted oval loaves, dang it.

I went shopping for oval Dutch ovens and bread cloches. Holy crap! I'm way too cheap to spend $50‐$200 on either. Then alternative inspiration hit me and sent me digging deep into the cabinets. Voila! An oval Granite Ware 7 lb chicken roaster. I bought that thing DECADES ago for like $10. Time to do some comparison baking.

I doubled my rustic recipe, bulk proofed it overnight, then basket proofed it this morning. The halves were within a gram of weight of each other.

After the second proof, one went in the round pan; the other in the oval Granite Ware pan. Both were on parchment paper.

Here are the results!

Here are the pans:

I immediately bought a second 13" Granite Ware roaster for $22 off Amazon.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I mainly only eat bread for breakfast on weekends so I want mine loaf shaped. Those cast iron ones work great from fridge to oven.

 

[noboundaries]

I mainly only eat bread for breakfast on weekends so I want mine loaf shaped. Those cast iron ones work great from fridge to oven.

I understand. I have a whole wheat sandwich bread I make that fills the loaf need. Took a couple to the kids this past weekend. My grandson calls it Pop Pop bread.

Rustic bread reminds me of my childhood and my maternal grandmother. Her bread was always a major treat when we visited.