Thursday, April 17, 2014

Sourdough with soybeans


In his latest book "Tartine No. 3, Modern, Ancient, Classic, Whole" by Chad Robertson I found a recipe with 10% wheat-rye that appealed to me. In fact most recipes appeal to me, but they are for next time. Chad uses High-extraction wheat flour and medium strong bread flour. I used flour 550 and found dried soybeans in my pantry.

In Thailand you find a lot of soybeans. Our neighbors grow them and we all eat, drink or use soybean products. At most markets you find fresh soymilk with Patongo (a Thai version of doughnut). You find non-fermented and fermented products of soybeans, oil, meal, flour and so on. There is a long list of health benefits of soybeans. And they taste good. So it’s time to soak them.

soybeans incorporated in the dough
Normally I use my electric mixer for kneading dough. But, not today. Chad uses his hands instead. He uses “the master method” for most of his breads. I followed Chad’s instructions, I used my hands and let time do the rest. The result is a good looking, good smelling, good tasting and healthy bread.



Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Sourdough loaf with Spelt Natur



My sourdough starter is bubbling and smelling freshly sour. It’s time to bake. Schmidt gave me Spelt Natur to try and I decided to bake a loaf by Chad Robertson. The original recipe is for Fougasse with Baguette Dough. But, I wanted to use my Dutch oven and I was happy I did. Because there was a beautiful oven spring, just have a look at the size of this loaf. Isn’t it beautiful! And it smelled and tasted great.

Choco Smidt is located in Thailand. They import good quality European flour. Schmidt gave me 13 bags of pre-mixed flours to use and write my own experience about it on my blog. This time I used Spelt Natur. Since it was difficult to buy Spelt I brought some on our trips to the Netherlands. I love it. The smell is wonderful and it gives a kind of softness to the dough. Since Spelt Natur is a mix of flours and seeds I had no idea what to expect. And I’m happy to say I love it too. I added a percentage to my regular unbleached flour (550). As you can see I added a small amount and it made a difference already.

Next time when I buy my regular flour I will definitely buy Spelt Natur as well.