Be proud and sprout!
Yellow wheat
I would name this fella the “smoothie” among #brotokoll sourdough creations. A vitamin and nutrient bomb served by a “yellow wheat double feature”.
Yellow wheat* is a heritage wheat variety with a high carotene content. The name is derived from this fact – once the grain has been ground, it has a pastel yellow color.
When it comes to milling, we run on “Mock’n Roll” mode here on #brotokoll and get our mills started – but freshly milled yellow wheat is only one major ingredient for this creation. So, what else?
Freshly sprouted yellow wheat berries provide us with an additional vitamin-boost, an unbelievable freshness, juiciness and seductive sweetness.
Sprout me if you can
I absolutely fell in love with this sea of sprouted yellow wheat berries, both visually and in terms of taste.
In order to kick off the sprouting process, at first you have to soak the berries in lukewarm water for 5-10 hours (rinse them well cold twice before).
Hygiene at all time is an absolute must to prevent the colonisation of unwanted bacteria and mould.
Store the strained berries in a jar and cover it with a piece of cheese-cloth. Twice a day you have to wash the berries with cold water, strain them and stir them in the jar with your (previously well-cleaned) hands. Make sure to also shake the glass a few times during the day.
The shaking and stirring will provide your berries with extra oxygen, which they need for germination.
Once the grains start to sprout (the process will take about 2-3 days – the sprouted part of the berries should not exceed a length of 1-2mm) they are ready to be mixed into the dough. Wash them again thoroughly and store them (if not used immediately) in the refrigerator in an airtight container (where they can be kept for another two to three days).
Open Crumb
This loaf belongs to the Open Crumb squad of the #brotokoll recipe world.
In this context, the question of all questions from “big hole hunters” comes up again and again: “How do I finally get my bread really airy and my crumb super wide open?”. You can find out more about how to start your personal Open Crumb adventure in the #brotokoll Open Crumb Tutorial and e.g. in the recipes Lime Story or Moulin Ruch.
Also – for all those who don’t know the interview here on the blog yet: Check out what Open Crumb Master Trevor Wilson has to say about it.
For a personal and guided deep-dive you can also contact me for one of my individual #brotokoll Coach Online Workshops (via WhatsApp.
Active sourdough starter
The main and most important factor if you ever want to achieve an open crumb is an active sourdough starter.
A 100 year old inherited sourdough is far from being automatically active – neither is a sourdough fed directly from the fridge with a small amount of flour and water (how active are you after a 1 week coma sleep when you are served a bite of industrial food from the discount store?)
And also a huge bubbling lake that has made itself comfortable for 10, 12, 13 hours in a wide big jar at uncontrolled temperature is anything but an indication that this leaven is active.
Also the importance of the flour used for feeding a starter is very often underestimated! If your sourdough is constantly given just “any kind of flour”, what will be the result? Correct… it will develop just “any” kind of character. In addition, it will also perform just “somehow”. Open Crumb and balanced taste? Bye bye.
Nutrients, enzymatic activity and the quality of the flour must be guaranteed – all those parameters (under the condition that your starter will get the respective flour as a permanent food) combined with the right feeding ratio and appropriate maintenance, will push your starter’s activity level while balancing its aroma at the same time..
#brotokoll Sourdough-Guide
Don’t miss the #brotokoll Sourdough-Guide here on the blog.
It is a constantly growing pool of information and insights around all sourdough topics you are interested in:
From the right preparation and activation of different sourdough starters, the right maintenance and feeding, flour selection, holiday backup, interviews with experts and much more.
You will find instructions on how to activate your starter for the spouted yellow wheat sourdough bread in the recipe notes below.
In crust we trust . . . in crumb we fall in love
Cracking crust, airy open crumb, great juiciness and on top an extra shot of vitamins paired with a pinch of sweetness coming from sprouted yellow wheat berries. Flourwise we “italify” this loaf a little bit with Italian Manitoba flour (“Manitaly”).
Get your ovens started, preheat your Challenger Bread Pan* and remember:
Be proud and sprout, bake, eat, repeat!
Tag your results with #brotokoll on Instagram & Facebook. I can’t wait to see your results!
For even more tipps, tricks and recipes, join me in one of my upcoming workshops! Check out my #brotokoll workshops overview. For individual workshop requests (individual coaching and /or live baking via WhatsApp, Zoom & Skype) send me a message!
Happy baking!
I have to mention at this point that this is an unsponsored blog post – however, as for transparency reasons I inform you that the * marked links are affiliate ones. The final sales price for you doesn’t change in any way!
- 228 g Manitaly "Manitobo" available at bongu.de
- 106 g Yellow wheat berries available at bongu.de
- 60 g Levain 3-4 times fed, as described in the recipe below
- 211 g Water
- 7 g Salt
TA (Hydration) 172 (72%) Ingredients
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This time frame is just an indication and depending of the activity of your sourdough culture. I highly recommend using the same flour for building the levain, as you are using it for your usual sourdough feeding.
Check out my sample feeding-schedule below in the recipe notes or in the recipes "Lime story" or "Moulin Ruch".
76g Yellow wheat berries, freshly milled
211g Water (cold)
Mix all the flour (mill the yellow wheat berries at stage 5 of your Mockmill) and the indicated amount of water and let the dough rest well covered for 2 hours at room-temperature (Autolyse).
60g Levain
7g Salt
Add your levain to the autolyse dough and mix it by hand for 5-10 minutes (follow the instruction-video in the basics-section: Basics | Open Crumb - Sourdough Series | Kneading). Cover the dough and let it rest for 20-30 minutes. Now add the salt and knead another 2-3 minutes. Put the dough into a greased container and let it rest well covered for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Moisten your working surface with water, release the dough onto the surface and give the dough a light round of stretch and folds. Return the dough into the greased container and let it rest for 45 minutes.
Now laminate (follow the instruction-video in the basics-section: Basics | Open Crumb - Sourdough Series | Lamination) and sprinkle the sprouted yellow wheat berries onto the dough. Return the dough again into the greased container and let it rest for 30-45 minutes.
If the dough held it's shape since the last fold, leave it fermenting and untouched until it achieves a volume increase of approximately 40-50%. Otherwise, give it a last coil fold and then let it rest until it has grown by 40-50%.
The indicated recipe quantities are for 1 loaf of 612g.
Do you have specific questions or issues? Contact me via the contact form. I am happy to help you.
Levain buidling timetable - Example:
As most of you are maintaining your starters in the fridge for a couple of days during the week, it is extremely important that your sourdough is fed 3-4 times, before builidng the levain (the last feeding) for your planned bake. Those feedings will reduce the acid load and will increase your starter's activity level. Have a look at the Tutorial-Video.
For the feedings, just work with very small quantities of flour and the according ratios of starter (the sourdough you have stored, or the amount resulting from the stages of the timetable-example shown below) flour and water. All produced discards can be perfectly used for making flavorful Fleur de Levain. HERE is the instruction guide.
Friday morning: 1:3:3 (2g starter: 10g flour: 10g water)
Friday noon/afternoon: 1:5:5 (2g from previous stage: 10g flour: 10g water)
Friday evening: 1:10:10 (2g from previous stage : 20g flour : 20g water)
Saturday morning: LEVAIN: 1:2:2 (previous stage : flour: water) - you should end up with the total amount as indicated in the recipe
This example shall show you the way how you may plan your feedings. Observe your sourdough - and try to estimate the time it needs to rise until it's peak at a certain feeding ratio. On your baking day, you'll use your levain on the young side (4-5 hours young at its peak). This favors both, open crumb and ovenspring.
