Now I need to send him the recipe. I don't think he has a scale, so I weighed the ingredients of the original recipe on my scale. Here is the adapted version:
For 2 loaves (original):
7.5 cups + 1.5 tbsp unbleached bread flour
1/2 c. wheat germ
1-1/4 c. starter
2-1/4 c. water
4.5 tsp. table salt
For 1 loaf:
3-3/4 cups + .75 tbsp unbleached bread flour
1/4 c. wheat germ
3/4 c. starter
1 c. + 2 tbsp. water
2-1/4 tsp. table salt
- Add flour + wheat germ to mixing bowl. Then add starter and water.
- Knead on lowest setting on mixer using dough hook for 5 minutes.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Uncover and NOW ADD THE SALT.
- Knead on lowest setting on mixer for 5 more minutes (10 minutes total). You may need to clear the dough hook if it gets clogged up; however, dough will clear the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Remove from mixer.
- Form into ball: cup your hands together on the top of the loaf, over the sides and pinching to the bottom, like you are running your hands down both sides of a globe, starting at the Arctic Circle, down through Americas and Asia, pinching your pinkys together at Antarctica.
- Place in lightly oiled ceramic bowl. Cover with inflated plastic bag, and let rise 3.5-4 hours at 75 degrees. If your room is hotter (78 deg), you will need less rise time, maybe 2.5 hours. If your room is colder (72 deg) , you will need 4 hours.
- Turn dough out onto lightly floured counter.
- Cut dough into two equal pieces. Slap each piece to deflate.
- Tuck all edges under, rough-shaping into a ball. Let rest for 15 min.
- Shape each into ball, and place into lightly oiled bowl or floured basket. Let rise for 1 hr.
- Cover rounds with inflated plastic bag, and put in fridge for about 8-12 hours, no more than 24 hours.
- Remove dough from fridge, cover with inflated plastic bag, and let rise on counter at room temp for ~3 hours. Dough should be doubled in size and at ~62F.
- Heat oven to 500. Set your baking rack 2nd from the bottom. Put a broiling pan at the bottom of your oven
- Slash the loaf 2 or 3 times across the top with a sharp knife or razor.
- Put loaf in, add 1 cup hot water to broiling pan, and bake for 45 minutes as follows:
- first 5 minutes at 500
- next 20 minutes at 450
- rotate bread
- 20 more minutes at 450 (total of 45 min).
Remove from oven.
Let bread cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting in!
Notes:
- In mixer it came together correctly, definitely cleared bottom of bowl. 10 minutes total kneading in mixer, as listed.
- Initial rise was 3 hours in oiled bowl
- After punch down and basket, next rise was about 2 hours
- Fridge retardation time was approximately 13 hours; removed from fridge at 310pm.
- Rise time out of fridge in bag: 3 hours.
- Preheated oven for 45 minutes prior to baking.
- Baking on middle rack with stone.
- Single slash in middle of loaf.
- Flour + cornmeal on the peel
- Loaf in oven, then 2/3 cup near-boiling water in broiler pan.
- Bake for 5 minutes @ 500, 35 minutes @ 450, middle rack on baking stone.
- Let cool for 1 hour on rack.
Results:
- Great chocolate mahogany exterior
- Really good oven spring (perhaps best so far)
- Good blistering but not huge
- Good flavor
- Texture was pretty good: cooked through, tender with nice chew. No real problems to speak of, I want bigger holes though.
- Could be a slight bit more sour...maybe add a touch of rye flour?
- Crust was a little thick, perhaps too much steam for too long?
- 3 hours seemed like a good new final rise time; could even try 2.5?
- Less hot water in broiler pan (1/2 cup only); OR no steam but brush/mist crust with warm water right before the oven
- More water in the dough, increase to 1-1/4 cup (add'l 2 tbsp) for each loaf.
- Slightly longer fridge ferment - 15 hours? 18 hours? Grandma's bread had a nice crust at 24 hours.
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