I have been working on porridge breads for a while now. Still tweaking on the best way to get the porridge cooked to the proper consistency, the kind of grains to use, while maintaining the desirable open crumb structure. When you grind the grains too fine, the porridge gets too sticky and gluey. A mixed-grain porridge delivers an average muddled mild-tasting brew. Too much whole grains makes for a dense loaf of bread. I believe this rye porridge sourdough bread is getting closer to the great tasting and crisp open texture I’m looking for. However, the work in the test kitchen never ends.
This recipe follows closely Chad Robertson’s rye porridge’s formula in Tartine Book No.3. I lowered the whole wheat flour to 40% instead of his 50%. Rye flakes are soaked overnight and cooked into a porridge. I may have added too much water since the porridge was too wet for my taste. I ended up having to put the wet porridge in the oven to dehydrate it a little. The final porridge ended up weighing 350 grams, much less than Robertson’s 500 grams in his recipe. 250 grams of toasted walnuts were added to the dough together with the rye porridge, one hour into bulk fermentation.
Sourdough breads, and porridge breads in general, have a way of tripping me up. But this loaf turns out with all the desirable characteristics: ears on the crust, the purple tinge from the walnuts, and some irregular holes throughout. Best of all, there are still plenty of whole grains to make the bread nutritious. They are 40% of whole wheat flour and 35% of rye porridge. As always, I enjoy the distinct earthy note of rye in the bread. Next time, I may put in a little more rye flake porridge for flavor. Maybe a little less in whole wheat flour to open up the crumb just a tad.
Additions: 350g (35%) of rye porridge and 250g (25%) of toasted walnuts
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