Bread Baking Day...Oats

April really got away from me, and now it's April 29th already. Fortunately, two of my favorite breads are oat-centric and I've tried to get into the habit of taking pictures when I make bread that I'm happy with so I'm not completely unprepared. I've got one proofing right now as a matter of fact. I've always been a fan of Peter Reinhart's Struan in all of it's iterations from Brother Junipers on up to the newest version in his new Whole Grain Breads, New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor. This new version uses a soaker to hydrate the grains and seeds and to break out some of the flavors from the flour. Here's what I started last night, and am finishing as I write.

First I built up my white levain to the amount necessary for his formula:
Levain 75g
Organic High Gluten Flour 225g
Water 225g
1. Mix until all Flour is Hydrated.

Next I made the soaker:

Spelt Flour 20g
Whole Wheat Flour 27g
Sea Salt 5g
Buttermilk 170g
Stone Ground Grits 30g
Rolled Oats 50g
Rye Flakes 15g
Wheat Flakes 15g
Golden Flax Seeds 15g
Brown Flax Seeds 15g
Poppy Seeds 15g
Sunflower Seeds 20g

1. Combine and mix all the above until well Hydrated. All the Grains & Seeds, with the exception of the Poppy Seeds, are Organic.
2. Allow to sit at room temperature 12 to 24 hours.

Then I Mixed the Final Dough:

Soaker ALL
Levain 400g
Melted Butter 15g
Maple Syrup (made at my house with Sap from my trees) 57g
Sea Salt 5g
Yeast 7g
Spelt Flour 20g
Whole Wheat Flour 52g

1. Combine all ingredients except Soaker and Levain in mixing bowl.
2. Break up Soaker and spread over the above.
3. Add the Levain and mix on low speed (Kitchenaid 3 for me) for 3 minutes.
4. Allow to rest/autolyse for 5 minutes.
5. Mix at low speed for another 3 minutes.
6. Ferment at room temperature in an oiled bowl until it rises to 1.5 times it's original size; usually about 75 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 425F. Get a steam pan in the oven, and have 3/4 cup water ready to go.
7. On a floured surface, shape into a loaf and proof in loaf pan until it crests at the top of the pan, about another hour.
7b. If you want to scatter seeds or Rolled Oats on the surface, slash the loaf when you put it in the pan, mist with water, and scatter away. This time around, I did Poppy Seeds, Rolled Oats, and Sunflower Seeds. Then proof as above.
8. Place in oven, dump water in steam pan, spray walls with water 3 times at intervals of 30 seconds with the door closed between each spray. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.
9. Bake 20 minutes, rotate, bake another 20 minutes, rotate, bake another 20 minutes.
10. Check temperature, it should register 195F when the bread is done.
11. Remove bread from loaf pan and cool on a cooling rack for at least an hour.
12. Enjoy the Oat-y goodness!

This month I also made the seedy baguette I've already blogged about using Maple Sap in place of water just to see what would happen. The bread turned out about the same as always with a very slightly darker crust, and a very light aroma and flavor of Maple Syrup. It's definitely something I will try again more than once when the sap starts running next spring.

Here are the pictures...