{"id":12616,"date":"2017-09-11T09:40:19","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T07:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bake-street.com\/?p=12616\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:30:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:30:37","slug":"potato-and-seeds-sourdough-bread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bake-street.com\/en\/potato-and-seeds-sourdough-bread\/","title":{"rendered":"Potato and seeds sourdough bread"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember that I recently left you a post in which I talked about high hydration breads? For those of you who haven’t finished locating it, this is it<\/a>. Well, today I bring you a bread with a much higher hydration than that which was intended to be a first contact with this type of dough. A bread with 94% hydration which result is this potato and seeds sourdough bread<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Many times not everything is what it seems<\/strong> because, as I have told you on many occasions, not all flours behave the same way<\/strong>. When we talk about hydration above 80%, we immediately come up with chapatas<\/a>, crystal bread, super aerated breadcrumbs that we could almost keep peaches inside… And it doesn’t always have to be like that.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Depending on the flour we use, we will obtain one result or another<\/strong>. In this case, the result would not have been similar if instead of using the flours that I specify below (whole wheat flour, rye, strong\/bread flour) I had just used a plain flour. What’s more, there are likely to be some plain flours that can’t withstand such high levels of hydration.<\/p>\n

Rye and wholemeal flour have a higher absorption capacity than plain\/all purpose flour.<\/p>\n

\"Pan <\/picture><\/div>\n
That is why I always put a lot of emphasis on this point.<\/h5>\n

This is one of the main reasons why the results you expect may vary from what you intended. There are also two other factors that influence this outcome:<\/p>\n

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  • Potato flakes:<\/strong> part of the flour has been replaced by potato flakes. These have a high absorption capacity, which allows us to work with a greater amount of final hydration.\u00a0It will also bring extra tenderness to the bread.<\/li>\n
  • Seeds<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    On this last point, I would like to go a little further. \u00a0The seeds, when added to bread without a soaker<\/strong>, also absorb part of the hydration of the dough. At one point they can help us to solve a slight excess of unwanted hydration<\/strong> if we add them to the dough, but it doesn’t work miracles either.<\/p>\n

    What is a soaker?<\/h5>\n

    It is simply to soak seeds, before they are integrated into the bread or dough, for several hours. Ideally, if they are going to be part of the interior of a dough, they should be previously toasted to give more flavor. But it is not essential.<\/p>\n

    How much water should I use to make the soaker?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The same weight of seeds is usually used as water<\/strong>, which is the amount they will normally absorb. It is important that you know the amount of seeds you use to make the soaker because, when it comes to integrating them into the dough, you need to know how much water they have absorbed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    You will only have to weigh them, after soaking and draining them, before adding them to the bread to know how much water they carry with them.<\/p>\n

    Why do I need to know how much water they have absorbed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Because this will become part of the final hydration of the bread. In fact, you must subtract that amount of water from the final hydration of the dough<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Example:<\/em><\/p>\n

    If your bread has a final hydration of 400 grams of water and your soaker consists of 100 grams of seeds + 100 grams of water, the final amount of water to add will be 300 grams of water because the remaining 100 grams are already incorporated in the seeds.<\/p>\n

    How do I toast the seeds?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The simplest thing is the oven, although you can do it in a iron skillet if you want. Spread the seeds on a tray lined with baking paper and bake at 355\u00baF for 10 minutes. Take out and pour in cold water to cut the cooking and prevent them from continuing cooking can become bitter. Done \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

    The process is different when we use the seeds for the outside.<\/h5>\n

    When we decorate a bread with seeds on the outside, we don’t have to do anything beforehand. We are interested in making them dry so that they adhere easily to the dough and, in addition, that they are raw. The reason for this is simple: they will be exposed to heat during the entire cooking process and will be roasted.<\/p>\n

    You already know that both the seeds and nuts, if we roast them too much, come to have a bitter and unpleasant taste.<\/p>\n

    What more good things do seeds bring to the doughs?<\/h5>\n

    By favouring moisture retention, it makes them fresh for a much longer period of time, prolonging their useful life. This is also true for soaking grains.<\/p>\n

    With this we learn one more thing and it is that not always a high hydration is directly related to alveolate breads and ultrafine crust. We must always keep in mind the ingredients\/products we are using to make our bread, know them inside out, know how they work and how to take advantage of it when baking.<\/p>\n

    \"Pan <\/picture><\/div>\n

    It’s been a long time since I left you guys some music. Today I share this song of\u00a0Whilk & Misky “Clap your hands” ( Youtube link)<\/a>\u00a0to start the day \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n