Walnut Bread

30/04/2023

My recipe on YouTube

Today I will prepare a walnut bread. This bread is one of my favourite ones.

Ingredients for a 71.5% hydration white bread flour bread

375 g plain bread flour
7 g non-iodized salt
between 2 and 5 c. tablespoons crushed walnuts
117 g fed ripe sourdough starter
243 g water
9 g honey

Ingredients for a 68.5% hydration all purpose flour bread

381 g plain all-purpose flour
7 g non-iodized salt
between 2 and 5 c. tablespoons crushed walnuts
119 g fed ripe sourdough starter
234 g water
9 g honey

Ingredients for a 74.1% hydration whole wheat bread flour bread

369 g plain whole wheat bread flour
7 g non-iodized salt
between 2 and 5 c. tablespoons crushed walnuts
115 g fed ripe sourdough starter
250 g water
9 g honey

Ingredients for a 72.0% hydration whole wheat, spelled or kamut all purpose flour bread

374 g plain whole wheat, spelled or kamut all purpose flour
7 g non-iodized salt
between 2 and 5 c. tablespoons crushed walnuts
117 g fed ripe sourdough starter
244 g water
9 g honey

Ingredients for whole wheat, spelled or kamut (28.5%) 71.7% hydration bread

251 g plain bread flour
124 g plain whole wheat, spelled or kamut flour
7 g non-iodized salt
between 2 and 5 c. tablespoons crushed walnuts
117 g fed ripe sourdough starter
243 g water
9 g honey

Ingredients for rye bread (10.0%) at 71.6% hydration

331 g plain bread flour
43 g rye flour
7 g non-iodized salt
between 2 and 5 c. tablespoons crushed walnuts
117 g fed ripe sourdough starter
243 g water
9 g honey

Ingredients for a country bread with 72.2% hydration

243 g plain bread flour
93 g plain whole wheat bread flour
37 g rye flour
7 g non-iodized salt
between 2 and 5 c. tablespoons crushed walnuts
116 g fed ripe sourdough starter
244 g water
9 g honey

Ingredients for a rustic bread with 72.6% hydration

112 g plain bread flour
130 g plain whole wheat bread flour
93 g spelled flour
37 g rye flour
7 g non-iodized salt
between 2 and 5 c. tablespoons crushed walnuts
1 tbsp. flax seeds
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 tbsp. rye flakes for garnish
116 g fed ripe sourdough starter
246 g water
9 g honey

Ingredients for oatmeal, millet, barley or buckwheat bread (8.6%) with 71.2% hydration

338 g plain bread flour
38 g oat, millet, barley or buckwheat flour
7 g non-iodized salt
between 2 and 5 c. tablespoons crushed walnuts
117 g fed ripe sourdough starter
242 g water
9 g honey

Ingredients for a hodgepodge bread with 72.1% hydration

112 g plain whole wheat bread flour
75 g plain bread flour
52 g spelled flour
52 g kamut flour
37 g rye flour
19 g oat flour
19 g barley flour
7 g of buckwheat flour
7 g non-iodized salt
between 2 and 5 c. tablespoons crushed walnuts
117 g fed ripe sourdough starter
244 g water
9 g honey (or malted barley syrup)

Consult the text of this table

Preparation

In a large bin, place the flour and salt, as well as the seeds in the case of a rustic bread. Mix everything well with fingers, then set aside.

Put a small container that can hold hot water in a ramekin. Fill a bowl large enough to wet hands with lukewarm water. Set everything aside on the work surface.

Diluting the sourdough starter: Place the sourdough starter in a large bowl, then pour the water into it and, if applicable, add the molasses, honey or malted barley syrup. Dilute the sourdough starter in water using a wooden spoon, stirring everything well to provide the microorganisms in the sourdough with a sufficient supply of oxygen to promote their proliferation.

Mixing: Add the flour and salt mixture to the bowl containing the diluted sourdough. Begin to incorporate them into the water with a wooden spoon at first, then with hand. Using a scraper, loosen the flour stuck to the inner wall of the bowl, then incorporate it into the dough.

First fermentation period: As soon as the dough is relatively uniform and homogeneous, place it, using the scraper, in a dough bin. Put the ramekin and the small container in it, then pour in a little hot water. Cover the bin and let the dough rise there for the time required for this period.

First stretching/folding: Remove the ramekin. Wet hands very slightly, stretch the dough and fold it on itself to the left, to the right, far from you and close to you without breaking it, then turn it upside down.

Second Fermentation Period: Put a little hot water in the ramekin, then put it back in the bin. Cover the bin and let the dough rise there for the time required for the second period.

Second stretching/folding: Remove the ramekin. Wet hands very slightly, stretch the dough and fold it on itself to the left, to the right, far from you and close to you without breaking it, then turn it upside down.

Third Fermentation Period: Put a little hot water in the ramekin, then put it back in the bin. Cover the bin and let the dough rise there for the time required for the third period.

Third stretching/folding: Remove the ramekin. Wet hands very slightly, stretch the dough and fold it on itself to the left, to the right, far from you and close to you without breaking it, then turn it upside down.

Fourth fermentation period (if there is still proofing time): Cover the bin and let the dough rise there for the time required for the fourth proofing. If necessary, put the bin in the refrigerator and leave it there for the time required for the fourth period.

Preparation of the baking sheet: Once the time for the last pointing has elapsed, cut out a sheet of parchment paper and place it on the back of a baking sheet. Set aside.

Place a fine-mesh sieve in a bowl and add all-purpose flour to it for white flour bread. In other cases, use a regular sieve and place whole wheat flour in it. Set aside.

Very lightly flour part of the work surface. Put on the other part of the work surface a bowl of lukewarm water large enough to wet hands, a toothpick and a dry cloth (as well as kitchen scissors in the case of a wreath). Set aside.

Invert the bin of dough on the floured part of the work surface, letting the dough detach itself from the bin.

Bastard pre-shaping: Wet hands slightly, gently stretch the dough to give it the shape of a longer than wide rectangle whose side near you is larger than its opposite (i.e. an isosceles trapezoid). Fold a quarter of the dough over another quarter lengthwise starting from the side opposite you (the shortest side), gently tap the top of the dough to release the excess flour, then press very lightly fingers at the junction of the two pieces of dough to seal the joint. Fold the roll over another quarter, gently tap the top of the dough, then press fingers very lightly at the junction of the two pieces of dough to seal the joint. Fold the roll over the last quarter, then gently pat the top of the dough. For a tighter crumb, turn the dough right side up, then transfer it away from you to the unfloured part. Slightly wet hands, join them to form a scraper, then roll the dough towards you. If air bubbles appear on the surface of the dough, burst them with the toothpick.

Pre-shaping into a ball (for ball or crown): Wet hands very slightly, gently stretch the dough on the left and fold it over on itself in the middle, then gently tap the top of the dough to release the excess flour. Do the same to the right, far from you and close to you. Turn the dough right side out. For a tighter crumb, transfer the dough to the unfloured side. Slightly wet hands, then shape the dough by rolling. If air bubbles appear on the surface of the dough, burst them with the toothpick.

Resting: Transfer the dough right side up to the floured part and cover it with a dry cloth. Allow the dough to rest for the required resting time.

Bastard shaping: Transfer the dough upside down to the unfloured part. Fold it back on itself to firm it up, then hermetically close the joint (the key) by pressing it against the work surface with the bone of the wrist or the side of the hand. Roll the dough on the work surface to smooth the seam and to accentuate the shape of a roll. Roll the dough on the work surface to smooth the seam and to accentuate the shape of a roll that is wider in the centre and narrower at the ends. If air bubbles appear on the surface of the dough, burst them with the toothpick.

Place the dough right side up on the sheet of parchment paper. Using the sieve, lightly flour the top of the dough.

Proofing: Place sheet in a draft-free location such as a proofer, very large container, microwave or small toaster oven. If the bread is in a large container, put a ramekin in it containing a small container filled with lukewarm water or, then, put a large damp cloth on top of the container, stretch it, then put the lid on to hold the laundry in place. If the bread is placed in the microwave or toaster oven, place a cup of warm water there as well. It is also possible to leave the plate on the work surface, put a small container filled with lukewarm water and cover everything with a large salad bowl. Allow the dough to rise until it slowly springs back halfway to its original shape when pressed with a floured finger while showing some resistance to finger pressure.

Preparation of the oven: Place the grid on the third position of the lower part of the oven, then place a pizza stone on it. Preheat the oven to 500°F for at least 1 hour. Provide a large deep roasting pan or a large salad bowl that will cover the bread in the oven when the time comes.

Put lukewarm water in a spray bottle. Provide a baker's blade and a wide enough brush. Set everything aside on the work surface.

Put the baking sheet on which the bread rests on the work surface. In the case of a white flour bread, gently brush the top of the bread using the brush to remove the flour, except where the bread will be scratched. Also remove all the flour around the bread. In other cases, it is possible to leave the flour to give the bread a rustic appearance.

Scoring: Make at least one incision on the top of the dough. If desired, remove the rest of the flour with the brush.

Baking -- Part One: Transfer dough (and parchment paper) to pizza stone, spray with water (if flour was left on bread, water should be sprayed by holding spray bottle higher a foot of bread), then cover it with the roasting pan or the salad bowl. Bake for 15 minutes at 450°F.

Baking -- second part: Remove the roasting pan or salad bowl, and continue cooking for 15 to 30 minutes. If necessary, cover the bread with aluminum foil for the last 5 or 10 minutes to avoid burning it.

Taking out of the oven: Take the bread out of the oven using an upside-down baking sheet. Tap on the underside of the bread with your finger. If the bread sounds hollow, it's done. Otherwise, continue cooking a little longer.

Cooling: Place the bread on a cooling rack without the parchment paper. Let the bread cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing (preferably 60 minutes).

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Suggested Timetables

Schedule without Refrigeration: Mixing around 10 h / Between 3 h and 5 h first fermentation (45 mins. between each of the 3 stretches) / Pre-Shaping / 15 mins. resting / Shaping / Between 1 h 30 and 2 h 30 final proofing / 30-45 mins. baking at 450°F (230°C)

Schedule with Refrigeration: Mixing around 19 h / Between 2 h and 3 h first fermentation (30 mins. between each of the 3 stretches) / Putting the dough in the fridge / Taking the dough out of the fridge between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. / Pre-shaping around 9 a.m. / 15 mins. resting / Shaping around 9 h 15 / Between 1 h 30 and 2 h 30 final proofing / 30-45 mins. baking at 450°F (230°C)