The Breads a Baker Brings to Brunch: Larry Lowary's Ryes

Don't you totally love it when a baker friend comes over to eat? Chances are he or she will bring bread and when, as is the case with Larry Lowary (of Tree-Top Baking), he is in full off-season research and development mode and has just spent a couple of days feeding starters, mixing and baking, he might get a bit carried away and arrive at your house with such an array of loaves that you just want to fall at his feet and kiss them. Okay, I am getting a bit carried away myself right here but I was truly thrilled when I saw what was in the big brown paper bag he put on the counter. I knew immediately that I couldn't let him slice into any of these loaves without taking a few pictures first, so that you too can see what a baker bakes when he goes on a rye bender. My only regret is that I didn't take a picture of the bread basket Larry put on the table. It was truly a thing of beauty but by the time I was done with the photo shoot, we were so famished that I couldn't decently keep anyone waiting any longer. I guess we'll have to invite Larry back...

The breads Larry brought (in alphabetical order)

Chad Robertson's Danish Rye

Hanne Risgaard's Spelt Rye

Jeffrey Hamelman's 80% Rye

SFBI's Finnish Rye

In case you are interested in making any or all of these breads to taste them yourself, here are the websites or books where you can find the recipes or formulas:

Chad Robertson's Danish Rye Bread
http://www.foodarts.com/recipes/recipes/15988/danishstyle-rye-bread-rugbrt

Hanne Risgaard's Spelt Rye Bread
Hanne Risgaard, Home Baked: Nordic Recipes and Techniques for Organic Bread and Pastry, p. 134

Jeffrey Hamelman's 80% Sourdough Rye
Jeffrey Hamelman, Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes, p. 213

SFBI's Finnish Rye
http://sfbi.com/images/Finnish_Rye.pdf

Larry, thank you for sharing both your breads and your sources! You are not only a great baker but also (and even more importantly) a wonderful friend. We are privileged to have you in our lives.

BreadStorm

Related post: BreadStorm, a quick update on the free version

You can't escape your childhood. Ain't that the sad truth! The fact came back to bite me when I got introduced to baker's math back in January 2009 during my first Artisan bread class at the San Francisco Baking Institute (SFBI). Oh, don't get me wrong, I loved the class and completely understood the point of sharing formulas (what we home bakers call recipes) in percentages instead of weights. Baker's math makes it easier, among other things, to adjust dough size according to the amount of bread desired, to compare different breads and to troubleshoot problems. But even though baker's math could be more aptly described as a common language for bakers rather than real math, mastering it is still an uphill battle for someone who is number-challenged. And that's where childhood comes in: I have been number-challenged all my life. In my days, it wasn't called a disability. At least not in France. But that's what it was.
Don't you go thinking I was slouching during math classes, however! No, sirree! Never one to waste time, I took the opportunity offered by these otherwise excruciatingly boring hours to practice writing with my left hand. (To this day I can write with both hands - not as fast or as legibly with the left as with the right but still, well enough - or at least I could before I broke my wrist. Not sure I'll still be able to do it when I get my wrist back...)
As an aside and just in case you are wondering, homework was never a problem: my mom had been a math teacher and being a sweet and trusting soul, she always "explained" my math homework to me until it was entirely done and done right. My teachers never really understood how I could be such an assiduous student (appearing to write down their every word in class and always handing in perfectly completed homework on time) and still do so poorly on tests. How could I have ever guessed that one day I'd be a baker and that I'd bitterly regret not possessing the most basic math skills?
Of course you don't have to use formulas to be a baker. There are bakers out there (and I know quite a few of them) who wouldn't touch a formula with a ten-foot pole. They come up with their own recipes, do their own math and they are perfectly fine, especially if they mostly stick to the same breads and don't have to redo their calculations every day to adjust to a fluctuating market.
But the fact is that more and more, bakers are exchanging formulas, not recipes. If you take artisan bread classes, chance are you'll go home with a handful of formulas. You see formulas on the Web (there are some on The Fresh Loaf, on this tentalizing and instructive blog for instance ), on the Bread Baker's Guild of America's website or in industry publications. Knowing how do the math is really convenient if you are looking to diversify your production, whether you are a home baker or a professional.
Granted, the whole baker's math concept is simple and even I grasp it: flour is always 100% and the proportion of every other ingredient is indicated relative to flour as in the formula below:

If the baker decides to use two different kinds of flour, the same formula looks like this:

See how the total flour percentage remains 100 even when two different flours are used? Truth be told, the word "percentage" is a misnomer. It'd be way less confusing to say "unit". In both these simple formulas, for 100 units of flour, you need to use 65 units of water, 2 units of salt and 1 unit of yeast. But still the convention is to use the word "percentage" and since we are trying to speak a common language, we better adopt a common vocabulary as well.  (Sigh...)
Should you actually want to bake from either of these formulas, you first need to decide how much dough you want. If your goal is to make two 500g-loaves, your calculations need to yield one kilogram (1,000 g) of dough. Using this number as a basis, the same two formulas look like this expressed in weights:

For people who are not number-challenged, the calculation is pretty straightforward. A simple rule of three does the trick. Indeed, at each baking class or event I attend, I see fingers flying on calculators and I hear numbers called out as fast as I can jot them down. I get there too but it takes me a while and when the formula gets more complex (when a pre-ferment such as a levain or a poolish or both and/or a soaker needs to be factored in), the process becomes painfully slow. The possibility of a mistake rises exponentially and I often get discouraged.
Friends and family members have tried to teach me how to use a spreadsheet instead of a calculator but to no avail: as soon as the program opens up on the screen, my eyes glaze over and as much as I will myself to listen carefully, my mind invariably logs out.
Enter BreadStorm, a superb tool for bakers developed by Jacqueline and Dado Colussi (more on them in an upcoming Meet the Bakers post). I have been a BreadStorm tester for months and I bought it as soon as it came out of beta, a few weeks ago. Why? Because BreadStorm does all the calculations for me, and in a split second too.  For the first time in my baking life, I can tackle any formula that comes my way and that, my friends, is pretty sweet. It goes a long way towards assuaging any regrets I might still harbor regarding math classes!
Jacqueline and Dado are passionate bread bakers and they love people. In fact they welcome dialogue. They have been very helpful during the testing months and just as supportive after I bought the program. I felt they were there for me and didn't let go of my hand until I was on firm ground. Because, needless to say, the first time I opened the software (still in beta, with no tutorial available yet), my brain froze instantly and the familiar glazing sensation came over my eyes. BreadStorm looked like it might morph into a spreadsheet any minute. I was paralyzed. All I managed to figure out was how to enter ingredients. But it got better. With the developers' help my mind gradually thawed and things started to make sense.
Now that I have more or less mastered BreadStorm, I use it all the time to enter favorite recipes, including from bread books I have had for years or to create my own, starting with the percentages of flour, water, levain and other ingredients I am planning to use. I can adjust any number at any time and weights and percentages are immediately recalculated for me. For someone who had trouble figuring out hydration before (unless it was 100%), believe me, it is a dream come true. A learning disability made irrelevant... Wow!

Apple-Buckwheat Boule - a bread I baked last week from a BBGA formula entered in BreadStorm

If you are still with me at this point, you are probably curious to see how BreadStorm works. Jacqueline kindly agreed to put together a tutorial for Farine readers. It is copiously illustrated and self-explanatory. On the technical side, please note that BreadStorm has been designed for Mac users (OS X.10.6+). An iPhone version is currently being beta-tested. It makes it possible to scale formulas on the fly if you are away from your computer. It looks pretty neat.
In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I purchased the software at the full price and with my own money. I am not being paid for this review and I will not make a penny off future sales. BreadStorm belongs to Jacqueline and Dado Colussi and to them alone. I just happen to love it!
If you like it, you can either buy the full version as I did or download the free one which enables you to read and scale any BreadStorm formula but not to edit it nor to create your own.

Sprouted Spelt Bread At Home: a Baking Saga

Remember my visit to Larry from Tree-Top Baking and his demo of baking with sprouted spelt? Well, once I got home, I couldn't wait to get started and I immediately set some spelt berries to soak. But since I can never leave well alone, I also read up on the notes I took at WheatStalk during Frank Sally's* Baking with Ancient Grains workshop. Frank said (and I quote): "Spelt sprouts real fast (one day). When sprouting, keep them submerged for ten hours, then drain and let them rest. Do that again two or three times, then they are ready to grind in the meat grinder." He added: "The grain is often very wet. If that's the case, hold back half of the water when mixing. On the contrary, if it's dry, you need to add more water."
Frank also recommended adding the oil and honey towards the end of the mixing (holding off with the water even if the dough looked a bit stiff because the oil and honey would help loosen it up) and he said to add gluten as spelt didn't have much of a push and the resulting dough wouldn't have a lot of strength.
Food for thought there! I had seen Larry's sprouted spelt and it had been soaking wet. So, in accordance with SFBI's original formula, he had used very little water in the mixing. But mindful of Frank's advice, I had drained the grain for twelve hours, it ended up much drier than Larry's. Therefore I knew I would need to add water.
As far as gluten was concerned, I really didn't care to add any. Since I have seen what gluten strands look like once all other matter has been rinsed out of a dough (basically like an used chewing gum such as those you see stuck on the sidewalks in New York City), I have not been too keen on gluten as an additive. So I decided to follow Larry's example (he had not used any the day I visited although he sometimes does) and skip it. So far so good.
I made the dough, added as much water as I thought it needed, followed all the advice on mixing duration and speed, and ended up with a dough I really liked only to realize I didn't have the proper pans to bake it in (I had thrown out my old pans when we moved - they had been very cheap to begin with and had become gross - and never gotten around to buying others!) I had no choice but free-shape the loaves and hope for the best.

We actually liked the resulting bread very much (nice nutty taste and pleasant texture) but the dough had spread a bit too much during the proofing and I still wanted good sandwich bread for slicing.

So I bought two pans and tried again. This time though, I didn't bother to re-read the recipe (why would I do that?) and just winged it all the way. I made the sponge, thawed the ground-up sprouted spelt (leftover from the first batch) overnight and proceeded with the mixing. Of course I didn't remember not to add all the liquids upfront and since the dough did indeed seem stiff, I was generous with water too. Also, as I didn't recall that gluten had to be fully developed (improved mix) before the dough was set to ferment, I did my usual short mix (usual when mixing by machine, that is, as I normally hand-mix) and called it a day (see Modern Baking  magazine for more info on the various mixing methods).
To add insult to injury, I baked with steam. Which means that the breads were not only gummy from over-hydration and under-mixing but they also burst open in the oven!  Some people have bad hair days, others bad bread days! Others still (like me) have both...

Despite the gummy crumb, the bread is actually okay toasted and we are half-way through the second loaf. But still...
Not to be deterred, I tried again last week: I soaked a humongous amount of spelt berries (enough for three two-loaves bakes) and decided to follow Larry's example and not to drain the grain at the twelve-hour mark. But a baker's life is full of surprises: at the twenty-four hour mark, the berries had barely moved. So much for spelt being a quick sprouter! I guess it all depends where you live and what the season is. I live in the American Northwest and temperatures in my house aren't exactly balmy in early December. It took all of 48 hours before the berries were tender enough for the endosperm (the white stuff) to start coming out (it had been way faster in early October when I had made my first attempt and of course even faster in Chicago in late June).
I knew the sponge would keep well in the fridge, so I wasn't worried on that score. But the 24-hour delay had thrown off my baking schedule so that the berries reached their peak on the morning I was due to watch my fifteen-month old grand-daughter while her mom was running errands and keeping doctors' appointments and so forth. I don't know if you have ever baked with a toddler around but believe me, it has its own constraints. Lily being the ninth grand-child, I knew it from experience. So I waited and hoped that the berries would too. I was concerned though because when I took SFBI's Whole Grains workshop in San Francisco back in 2009, Keith Giusto had forcefully underlined the fact that if you saw even the beginning of a germ on the sprouted grain, then the enzyme activity was too far along and you might just as well throw everything out and start again. Accordingly I didn't dare leave the berries in the water a minute longer than necessary and I drained and rinsed them before the baby arrived.
A few hours later when my baking day actually started, the berries still looked pretty much the same and I was relieved. We ground them (a team effort in my house), I packed two one-kilo ziploc bags which I put in the freezer and started the mixing process with the remainder. This time I did everything by the book. I still had to add a bit more water than the first time to get the proper consistency but I was careful to hold it off until after the addition of oil and honey. I mixed to improved and got a nice gluten window. The dough fermented for about 90 minutes at 80°F/27°C in the little countertop proofer (truly a welcome tool in my part of the world in the winter) then, once divided in the two pans, proofed for one hour at room temperature (I had the oven on so the room had warmed up a bit). I remembered not to steam. The bread came out just as I hoped it would and the best part is that Lily loves it! Baking with her will have to wait a bit but baking for her sure carries its own reward: she is already a true bread head.

The following recipe is based on SFBI's and Larry's formula, slightly adapted.

Ingredients (for two 800 g-loaves)
Sponge

• 93 g whole spelt flour (I used freshly milled)
• 79 g water
• 1.9 g salt
• 1.9 g malt
• 0.5 g yeast

Final dough

• 877 g sprouted spelt berries, ground in a meat grinder or a food processor
• 292 g whole spelt flour (I used freshly milled)
• 77 g water, divided
• 93 g raisins, briefly soaked and pureed to a slurry
• 19 g salt
• 12 g instant yeast
• 47 g honey
• 23 g vegetable oil
• 175 g sponge (all of the sponge)

Method

This time, except for the fact that I drained my berries earlier than he did his and consequently had to add more water and I held off with the oil and honey,  I followed Larry's directions to a tee.

The Sprouted Spelt Bread is going to Susan for Yeastspotting.

*Frank Sally who teaches at SFBI and with whom I had the pleasure and privilege of taking not only Baking with Ancient Grains at WheatStalk but also Artisan I and Artisan II in San Francisco is all set to open his own bakery, La Fournée, in Berkeley, CA, at the beginning of the year. Take a look at the photos already posted on the website and even if you don't personally know Frank for the amazing artisan baker he is, you'll understand why I can't wait to go and visit!

Larry's Sprouted Spelt: A Felicitous Case of Mistaken Identity

As is often the case with the best things in life, it all started with a mistake. Larry Lowary of Tree-Top Baking on Whidbey Island, WA, was stirring the grain he was soaking for his weekly bake of sprouted wheat bread (a customers' favorite) when he noticed that the berries were already germinating when they should have been barely waking up. He checked the bag and realized he had sprouted spelt instead of wheat (spelt sprouts much faster). It was too late to go back, so he ground the grain, mixed the dough and baked. Other than the fact that it tended to crumble a bit under the knife,  he thought the bread had turned out pretty well and as I happened to be visiting the next day, he kindly gave me a loaf to take home.
Eager to have a taste, I sliced it open that very night and was somewhat surprised not to find it as tasty as I thought it would be. Spelt is one of my favorite grains and I expected more depth. But my disappointment turned to wonder when I had another slice at breakfast the next morning. The flavor had set in (the crumb had probably dried out just enough to concentrate the taste) and the bread was all I had been looking forward to and more. I immediately begged Larry to please make the same mistake again and invite me to come and watch.
Not that I hadn't already seen sprouted berries turned into loaves... When I took Whole Grains at SFBI with Didier Rosada a few years ago, Keith Giusto came and demonstrated the making of his popular Power Bread (which involved sprouted wheat, required the addition of almonds and walnuts and was marvelously sinful). We also made a simple sprouted whole wheat pan bread. The latter recipe is the one which Larry had adapted for use at his bakery. I had never made it at home since I took the class because I didn't own a grinder until very recently. A refresher's course was therefore most welcome.
Between one thing and another (notably a very busy market season on Larry's side and school vacation and grandchildren on mine), a few months elapsed between the day Larry made his propitious mistake and the day I finally boarded the ferry to watch him make it again. It had been early summer then. Now it was early fall. But the boat ride and the island were as lovely as ever...

When I arrived at the bakery, Larry was ready for me. The only things he had done ahead of time were to soak the grain in water for 26 hours (stirring every eight hours or so) and to mix the sponge (which had to ferment overnight). For good measure, he had sprouted spelt AND wheat (he had soaked the wheat for two days), so that we could see how spelt compared. From the photo below, it is clear that it performed very well in terms of rise and plumpness. But even though spelt is probably my favorite by a tiny margin, I also love the taste and texture of sprouted wheat. Something happens during sprouting which not only greatly boosts the nutritional value of the grain but also maximizes its flavor. Heady stuff for a bread lover!

The process

Mixing raisins and water in the food processor

Rinsing and draining the sprouted grain

Grinding up the grain

Combining sponge, salt and ground-up grains and starting to mix

Mixing, checking gluten development and taking dough temperature

Fermenting and folding

Done!


Dividing, pre-shaping and shaping


Proofed

Baking


Finished!

The Formula (an SFBI original, as adapted by Larry)

Ingredients
Sponge

• Flour - 100 %
• Water - 85 %
• Instant dry yeast - 1.5 %
• Salt - 2 %
• Malt - 2 %

Final dough

• Sprouted spelt - 80 %
• Whole Spelt Flour - 20 %
• Water - 5.25 %
• Gluten (optional) - 2 %
• Instant dry yeast - 1 %
• Salt - 1.65 %
• Raisins, soaked and puréed - 8 %
• Honey - 4 %
• Canola oil - 2 %
• Sponge - 15 %

Method

• The original formula called for raisin juice concentrate which is both very difficult to find and super expensive. Larry's solution is to add warm water to raisins in the food processor and make a slurry. It works just fine. The bread can probably be made without it but as Larry explained, raisins have mold-inhibiting properties. They have been used for years to prolong bread's shelf-life
• It is best to sprout more than needed as sprouted grain can be kept in the freezer (scale the quantity you need in ziploc bags and take it out as needed 24 hours ahead of time)
• If whole spelt flour isn't available, white spelt can be used instead. The crumb will look a little bit lighter
• If the sprouted grain has been kept in the fridge, use hot water
• The sponge can be made up to four days ahead and kept in the fridge
• The water percentage is very low because the sprouted grain is soaking wet. In case you need or want to drain the grain ahead of time, you will need to adjust the water amount
• Mix ground-up sprouted grain with all of the liquids for two or three minutes on first speed, then add all the dry ingredients and mix again on first speed until desired dough consistency is reached (4 to 5 minutes)
• Then mix on second speed for 5 to 7 minutes
• Desired dough temperature: 80°F/27°C
• Ferment for one hour
• Scale at 800 g
• Pre-shape as hard as possible in a tight roll
• Shape as a tight batard
• Proof for about one hour at 85°F/29°C
• Bake for 50 minutes at 400°F/204°C (or lower depending on your oven as the raisin slurry and the honey put the dough at risk of burning at high heat)
• You know that the bread is done when the sides are brown and no longer pliable
• Enjoy!

Thank you, Larry, for being such a patient instructor and a wonderful source of information and inspiration, not to mention a very dear friend! I am currently sprouting some spelt and hope to be able to bake tomorrow. I'll report on the experience as soon as I get a chance and post the ingredient amounts for just two loaves.