Portion of sour dough before adding chocolate chunks
I think I’ve made the best bread I’ve ever baked in my life yesterday, which is great because I’ve baked a lot since I got some sourdough starter from a friend. The crust, the CRUMB, the texture, and the flavor were all spot on. This is all a variation of Tartine Bread‘s sourdough country loaf, but I used equal parts whole wheat bread flour and all purpose flour. With this recipe you end up with two boules, so I decided to add dark chocolate chunks to one portion. I was instantly day dreaming of slices slathered with softened butter, even before I started preparing the levain two nights ago.
Tartine Bread is probably my favorite book that I’ve baked from. It’s a bit intimidating for a novice baker like myself, but after baking these boules I gained just a little more confidence in my abilities. If you don’t have the book, this blog post gives a really nice and detailed account on how to make this recipe. What I did differently is I divided the dough before bulk fermentation and turning. Then I added the chocolate chunks to one bowl of dough before the last turn. By the way, I used Dagoba’s 59% for this because it’s got the right amount of semi-sweet flavor and 170 grams is the perfect amount.
I went a little over with hydrating this dough and I was worried about that, but a baker friend (hi Doug!) has been telling me that “wetter is better” and that’s so true. I’ve been terrified working with very wet dough, so I get flustered and add too much flour or knead too much. The breads I’ve made have turned out delicious, but NOT like these. I also think that “turning” the dough instead of kneading makes a world of difference. Well, there are a lot of factors that come into play but I’m just thrilled.
Sour dough with chocolate chunks before proofing
I refrigerated the second portion of dough overnight, after shaping and putting it in my linen lined, floured banetton. That helps retard fermentation, which is helpful because I wasn’t ready to bake another boule after flipping out with happiness with the chocolate chunk boule.
This whole wheat/white boule turned out even lovelier in both appearance and flavor. I honestly don’t know what to do with myself because I’m ecstatic about these two boules. I’m looking forward to getting the latest Tartine cookbook, and hopefully one of these days I’ll be able to visit the bakery and cafe again.
I know I still have so much to learn, but this absolutely successful outcome was exactly the push to continue that I needed.
Source:
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