Linseed and roasted oats sourdough

Summertime means vacation. This also means that there is time for lots of experimental baking.
Sometimes it doesn’t turn out that well, like my try with Dijon mustard.
But sometimes the result is just great.
Like this linseed sourdough bread.
The only thing I had to do was replacing the mustard with roasted oatmeal.
I still think that the combination of linseed and Dijon mustard sound like a great idea, if it had worked.
It didn’t.
I suppose the acidity from the mustard in combination with my starter was more than the dough could handle. The fermentation was poor, and the dough floated out to the sides instead of rising upwards.
It was a failure, but admit that it sounds good.

Roasted oats are perhaps not as innovative, but it works. It gives the bread a nutty taste that I like a lot.
The list of health benefits for linseed is long. It is also an excellent flavoring for bread. But don’t use those old ones that have been laying around in the pantry for a couple of years. Linseed contains a high amount of oil that goes rancid very quickly, giving them an unpleasant fishy aroma.

PREPARING THE DOUGH

I mixed all ingredients, except salt, and let it rest for an hour. After that, I added the salt and performed a set of stretch and fold every half an hour during bulk fermentation, four sessions in total.
The hydration of the dough is 74%, and I have used wheat flour and Durum flour with 11.5% and 12% protein content.
I used my ordinary wheat starter, 100% hydration.

BULK FERMENTATION

I always try to let the dough ferment at a temperature of about 78ºF/25ºC.
It can be a bit tricky to find such a worm place, but not this summer. The heatwave we have had here in Sweden is the hottest ever.
So I had 90ºF/32ºC in my kitchen this day. I let the dough ferment for 4 hours only as it expanded very quickly.

SHAPING

I decided to shape the dough into a Boule. This video shows one way to do it, but feel free to use your preferred technique.
I sprinkled a lot of linseed into the banneton together with some flour.
I tried to keep the dough as wet as possible to allow the linseed to stick to it. It didn’t turn out that well. The linseed still fell off too easily after baking, so next time I will try to paint the loaf with an egg wash before adding it to the banneton.

FINAL RISE

It’s almost impossible to give advice about the time required for the final rise. Therefore I have stopped doing that. Instead, I encourage my readers to observe and touch the dough.
The finger poke test is a good indicator if the proofing is ready or not.
You make a little imprint on the top of the loaf by pressing your finger on it.
If the imprint springs back and fills up quickly, the loaf is probably under-proofed.
If the imprint springs back partly, the loaf is ready to be baked.
But If the imprint doesn’t recover at all, you probably have an over-proofed loaf.

TIME TO BAKE

Preheat the oven to 480ºF / 250ºC. I have used a baking stone for the bread in the pictures, but you can also use a dutch oven with good results. If you don’t have any of those items, It’s OK to use an oven sheet.
Always score the loaf before baking. Otherwise, you may end up with some interesting but undesired forms on your bread. I know it can feel a bit scary, but don’t let that stop you. Practice makes perfect.

Always use steam in your oven when baking bread. It doesn’t have to be anything advanced. An extra preheated oven sheet that you can pour a lot of water on is OK. Steam prevents the surface from drying out and gives the crust a more pleasant color.
This bread needs about 35-40 minutes in the oven. You may have to lower the heat during the last 10-15 minutes.

CONCLUSION

I think this bread has lots of taste. The roasted oatmeal adds a nutty flavor, and the linseed adds, well, linseed taste? I find it hard to describe what linseed tastes like. I just know I like it with bread.
Some would say the crumb is a bit tight, but that’s the way I want my bread if it’s not a ciabatta.

The crust is a bit special. It’s thick and chewy and will perform a little taste explosion in your mouth, thanks to the linseed.
This bread is perhaps not suitable to serve with food, but it’s a great foundation for any innovative sandwich.

Linseed and roasted oatmeal sourdough

A tasty sourdough bread, made with durum flour, linseed, and oatmeal, that will make a solid foundation for your favorite sandwich.

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Servings 1 loaves

Ingredients

  

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• 275 gram Wheat flour
• 50 gram durum flour
• 225 gram water
• 120 gram starter 100% hydration
• 8 gram sea salt
• 20 gram oatmeal
• 1 tablespoon linseed

Instructions

 

• Spread oatmeal on a baking tray and roast them in the upper part of the oven in 480ºF / 250ºC until lightly browned. Let the oatmeal cool.
• Mix all ingredients except the salt. Make sure that all flour is hydrated. Let the dough rest for an hour. You can also let the dough autolyze for an hour. In that case, mix the starter together with the salt afterward.
• Add the salt and perform one stretch and fold. Perform 3 additional sets of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation, spaced out by 30 minutes.
• Let the dough rest for about 4-5 hours at a temperature of 78ºF/25ºC if possible.
• Lightly flour your work surface and dump out the dough. Flatten the dough gently with your hands. Form each piece of dough to a boule. There's a link to an excellent video showing how to form a boule in the recipe notes*. Spread linseed together with some flour into the banneton before adding the dough.
• Let the loaves rise until they pass the finger poke test. The time required depends a lot on ambient temperature so don't look at the clock.
• Preheat your oven to 480ºF / 250ºC with two oven plates. One to bake the bread on and one just below. If you have a baking stone or dutch oven, use them instead.
• Score the loaves in your preferred pattern and place them in the oven. Pour some water on the plate below and bake each loaf in 30-40 minutes.
• Let the breads cool on wire racks.

Notes

*Weekend bakery has made an excellent video showing how to form a boule

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