I love bread, and have an on/off relation with baking it. After reading Michael Pollan's "Cooked", I was determined to start anew with whole, unprocessed grains. I found a source of organic wheat, and looked at flour mills.
Then I remembered making dosas (Indian crepes) from whole grains of rice and lentils, blended with water to make a smooth paste that is left to ferment, on its own, until cooked in a pan. Why not do this with wheat berries?
This just makes so much sense. Forget about burning up your flour in a hot mill, or letting it oxidize after milling. Throw the whole wheat berries in a powerful blender with enough water, and you have the start of a dough. Let it autolyze, then add your starter, salt, and enough regular flour to make a loaf at your target hydration ratio... I'm thinking 65% for starters. Throw it in the fridge for a few days, if you like it more sour. This is about as fresh and organic as it gets.
I'm still in the process of optimizing the ratios of grain, water, time, and etc. I'm glad to share my results, but I wonder if somebody else has already figured all this out? Surely, they have.
Then I remembered making dosas (Indian crepes) from whole grains of rice and lentils, blended with water to make a smooth paste that is left to ferment, on its own, until cooked in a pan. Why not do this with wheat berries?
This just makes so much sense. Forget about burning up your flour in a hot mill, or letting it oxidize after milling. Throw the whole wheat berries in a powerful blender with enough water, and you have the start of a dough. Let it autolyze, then add your starter, salt, and enough regular flour to make a loaf at your target hydration ratio... I'm thinking 65% for starters. Throw it in the fridge for a few days, if you like it more sour. This is about as fresh and organic as it gets.
I'm still in the process of optimizing the ratios of grain, water, time, and etc. I'm glad to share my results, but I wonder if somebody else has already figured all this out? Surely, they have.
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