Y: Yogurt, Apple, Rye and Cinnamon Loaf

For letter "Y" of my alphabetical baking challenge I decided to try and make the Yogurt, Apple, Rye and Cinnamon Loaf from the Bourke Street Bakery: The Ultimate Baking Companion by Paul Allam and David McGuinness.  In the process of completing the recipe, rather than "Y", all I was really thinking was, "WHHHHYYYY?!?!?"

This was one of the most challenging and frustrating  recipes I have ever tried to make on Alphabake. It comes from a wonderful book but there were some fairly detailed and complicated instructions involved for this bread that had not been adapted for the home baker. As a result, I had to make quite a few adjustments that possibly compromised the flavour of the bread.  Here are some of the challenges I faced:

i) The recipe directs you to a different page in the book that has lengthy instructions on how to make a "white bread starter". Starters are always used for sourdough breads and often for white breads in order to give them a nicer, more distinct flavour and to help increase their longevity.  It is a dough you create with equal amounts of flour and water which you allow to sit for a period of time (the length depending on the type of starter you are making), allowing it to ferment. It was not until I was just about to start baking that I thoroughly read through the starter recipe that was provided and realized that it took about ONE MONTH to make. It gave steps on how to help your starter grow over 5 days, and then this process would be repeated several times. That technique would create a lot of starter dough, an amount more appropriate for a commercial bakery, that you would continue to feed and use over a long period of time.  The technique the book uses is not useful for the home baker just looking to make one or two loaves.

Still determined to make the bread despite this lengthy obstacle, I did my research and found a recipe for a different kind of bread starter called a "biga" that is used more in Italian baking and only takes approximately a day to grow. In my instructions I included the link to a biga starter recipe instead of the one written in the book.  The amount of active dry yeast is so small so a kitchen scale HAS to be used for precision.

ii) I could not find rye flour so I reluctantly substituted it with whole wheat flour which I think compromised achieving the intended flavour. I also could not find fresh yeast so I used active dry yeast instead.

iii) There were so many steps involved in this recipe. I would have to do something with the dough and then let it sit for a certain amount of time, and then do something else with it, and let it sit some more. It was very time consuming and I was up very late that night.


Results:
The biga starter recipe seemed to work well. After sitting for over 24-hours it was very active and bubbly. I only needed to use a fraction of it for the bread recipe. After baking, I had a loaf of bread decent, with a very good consistency. I was supposed to tap the bottom of the loaf when I took it out of the oven and it made a lovely hollow sound like it was supposed to. It was the most satisfying moment in the whole stressful process. Unfortunately, The apple chunks in the bread took on the flavour of the yeast which was not too pleasant. I think the bread also would have tasted much better if I was able to use rye flour.

To conclude, I do not plan to ever try this recipe out again although I am glad I finally got introduced to the many challenges of bread making.  I was not sure if I wanted to post this recipe up on the blog because it felt like such a failure.  I cringe every time I think of the night I attempted to make it. Nonetheless, the whole point of the blog is to document my culinary journey, including the ups and the downs.

Ingredients:

40 g (1½ oz) white starter (**I used a biga starter recipe instead--see step 1**)
110 g (3¾ oz) organic rye flour (**I substituted with whole wheat flour although rye would have been preferred**)
340 g (12 oz) organic plain flour
2½ Tbls plain yogurt
250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) water
10 g (¼ oz) fresh yeast (** I used active dry yeast which I combined with the 250 ml water**)
1 Tbls soft brown sugar
10 g (¼ oz/1 Tbls) sea salt
165 g (5¾ oz) green apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 2-3 cm (¾-1¼ inch) cubes
2 tsp ground cinnamon

1) **I used this recipe for a biga starter instead of the one that was provided in the book.  Give yourself  about a day to complete it. **

2) i. Mixing by hand: Put the starter in a large bowl with the rye and plain flours, yogurt, water, yeast (**I used active dry yeast that I combined with the water from the previous step**), sugar and sea salt.  Mix together with a large spoon until the mixture comes together to form a dough, about 5 minutes. Turn out onto a clean work surface and knead into a ball with your hands for about 15 minutes, or until smooth.

ii. Mixing with an electric mixer: Put the starter, rye and plain flours, yogurt and water into the bowl of the mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.  Add the crumbled yeast (**I used active dry yeast that I combined with the water from the previous step**), brown sugar and salt.  Mix on slow speed for 4 minutes, then increase the speed to high and continue mixing for 6 minutes.

3) When the dough is properly developed, fold through the diced apples and cinnamon, either by hand or very gently on the lowest setting of your mixer.

4) Lightly grease a container with oil spray and sit the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at ambient room temperature (approximately 20°C/68°F)  for 30 minutes to bulk prove.



5) To knock back the dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and press out into a rectangle, about     2.5 cm (1 inch) thick.  Use your hands to fold one-third back onto itself, then repeat with the remaining third.  Turn the dough 90 degrees and fold it over again into thirds.  Place the dough back into the oiled container and continue to bulk prove for a further 30 minutes.

   

6) Use a blunt knife or divider to divide the dough into two even-sized portions, about 500 g (1 lb 2 oz).  Working with one portion of dough at a time, continue to shape the loaves.  Place the loaves on a baking tray lined with baking paper, seam side down.  Place in the refrigerator loosely covered with a plastic bag for 1 hour.

7)  Preheat the oven to its highest temperature (**mine was 500°F**).  Remove the loaves from the refrigerator and let them rest in a humid place (25°C/77°F)--this could take anywhere between 30 minutes and 1½ hours -- until each loaf has grown in size by two-thirds.  If the loaves push back steadily and quickly when you push lightly into them with a finger then they are ready.  Score the loaves  using a scalpel or small serrated knife. Make two cuts (an 'x'), keeping both as deep and long as the other so the loaf rises evenly. Place loaves in the oven.

8) Spray the oven with water and reduce the temperature to 220°C (425°F/Gas 7).  Bake the loaves for 20 minutes, then turn the loaves or trays around, and bake for a further 10 minutes, watching carefully to make sure that the loaves do not burn.  Check the base of each loaf with a tap of your finger-- if it sounds hollow, it is ready.  Baking should take no longer than 40 minutes in total.


Makes 2 loaves