Oat Bread with Avena Vital

Only when you leave the familiar surroundings you can explore new surroundings and discover new ways of doing. Growing up in a country where everyone eats bread we arrived in a country where everyone eats rice and only sometimes for us not so tasty factory baked bread. And because we live a four hours drive from the nearest big city, baking our own bread was the only option to eat good and tasty bread. But good bread needs good flour to begin with. 

In my search for unbleached flour I found Schmidt near Chiang Mai. They sell high quality products for pastry, baking and confectionery in Thailand. They have all those products you like to have when you’re baking bread and other treats. When I asked them if they were interested in advertising on my blog they suggested giving me 13 different pre-mixed flours instead. Even though their customers are confectioners, hotels and restaurants, caterers and artisan and industrial bakeries, the people of Schmidt are interested in artisan baking bread. They have no commercial interest in advertising on my blog, but are so kind to give me pre-mixed flours. Coming year they give me 13 pre-mixed flours to bake bread. Every month I bake one or more breads with their flour and write about my experiences on my blog. And maybe more people in Thailand will (start to) bake their own bread or ask their bakeries for healthy bread.

The first pre-mixed flour is: Avena Vital.
Of course the first question is: ‘what’s in there’. More than 60% of oats; a high percentage of whole meal oat flour, thick rolled oat flakes and coarse oats. And sunflower seeds and yellow linseeds plus aromatic brewing malt.

Depending on your taste you add 20% – 50% Avena Vital to your wheat flour. This first time I added 50% because we wanted to taste the full flavor of oats.

My conclusion: we like it!

The bread has a nice soft and moist crumb. The taste is full of oats. The crust is topped with oats flakes and sunflower seeds which gives it a nice bite. It’s a loaf you keep on eating until it’s gone. This one will be back on our breakfast table.

Specifics
Name                               Oat Bread with Avena Vital
Avena Vital from               Schmidt
Yields                               1 loaf
Dough temp.                     26°C
Mixing                              2 + 3 minutes
Fermentation                    20 minutes
Shape                              batard
Proof at roomtemp.          60 – 70 minutes
Prepare steam/bake          1 hour
Bake 230°C                       35 – 40 minutes

This is what I used:
Bakers formula                  %        grams
Flour                                100           500

Water                               68            340
Salt                                  1.8              9

Dough
Unbleached All Purpose flour              250
Avena Vital                                       250

Water                                              340    
Salt (is in the pre-mixed Avena Vital)     0
Yeast, dried instant                              4

Topping
Oat flakes

Sunflower seed

Durum wheat semolina (I omitted this)

This is what I did:

The dough: I added all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl of a spiral mixer and mixed until all was well combined, for 2 minutes.

Then I mixed on second speed for 3 minutes. The dough was tacky and firm.

Bulk Fermentation: transfer the dough to a slightly oiled container, cover and leave for 20 minutes. 

Shaping: I pre shaped the dough into a ball. Covered with a towel and left for 15 minutes to rest. Then I shaped it into a batard and sprayed with water and rolled in the topping. With the seam up place in the banneton. 

Proofing: I proofed the loaf for 60 – 70 minutes.

Pre heating: I pre heated the oven to 230°C and placed the cake pan with stones on the bottom of the oven for steaming. 

Preparing and Baking: When the oven is hot enough I boil water and pour it in a glass bottle with a long neck. I pour some boiling water on the hot stones and quickly close the oven door to keep the steam in the oven. 

I place the loaf on parchment on a peel and scored it with one slash lengthwise. 

Transfer to the oven and quickly slide the loaf on the baking stone. After some minutes I add some more water to get more steam.

I baked the loaf 10 minutes with steam and quickly removed the parchment paper and the steam pan. I baked the loaf for another 30 minutes. Bake the loaf until it are nicely brown colored.

Cooling: Let the loaf cool completely on a wire rack.

I send this to Susan’s YeastSpotting and to Bake Your Own Bread

What did you bake this month?  Don’t forget to share it.