The Clever Carrot's Sourdough Noir

I skipped posting last weekend, so this will be a mid-week catch-up post.  I turned 43 on Monday, so decided to take a break from cooking and posting.  I love celebrating birthdays - I think it's important to celebrate life and not worry about the numbers.

Maybe because it's my birthday week... or because I'm a girl... or because I have a love-love relationship with it... whatever the reason, I have been craving chocolate.  I am swimming in sourdough starter (haven't figured out how to tame it yet) so I went looking for something chocolate-y.  I decided to try the Sourdough Noir from The Clever Carrot.

I didn't take a lot of pictures this time - call it part of my lazy birthday week attitude. ;)

The Clever Carrot's Sourdough Noir

Ingredients:

• 150g active fed starter
• 350g water, preferably filtered
• 50g sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract or 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
• 500g bread flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 8g fine sea salt
• 150g semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Mise en place
• Get your stuff together.  You'll use almost all the ingredients in the first 10 minutes.
2. Autolyse
• Combine the starter, water, sugar, and vanilla extract until well combined.
• It will be wet.
• I used strong coffee in place of most of the water.  Coffee tends to enhance the chocolate flavor and I'm wanting a chocolatel-y bread here.
• Sift in the bread flour and cocoa powder.
• Mix to combine.
• I used my stand mixer with the dough hook.  Don't knead it to death, just get it to combine into a slightly sticky dough.
• Cover and let rest (autolyse) for 2 hours.
  
  ***Note: This time I decided to use my mixer to help with the dough.  My last few I've been trying to be a "purist" and hand mix only.  The mixer worked out much much better for me.  I'm giving up the "purist ideal" and going with what actually works for me.  No one is going to come into my kitchen and tell me I'm doing it wrong; if it tastes good and Scott and I like it.... it's good.  Done.  No stressing about what I'm supposed to do or what it's supposed to be.  If it's edible and I'm happy with it.... then it's perfect... for us.
  
3. Dough
• After the autolyse, add the salt and any other add-ins you would like.
• Knead gently until combined.
• The original calls for walnuts and raisins (65g each) along with the chocolate chips, but if you know me you know I don't like nuts or raisins in anything.  It's a texture thing.
• I realized partway in that I didn't have any chocolate chips.  Ooops.  I do have a chocolate bar.  It's not quite enough, but it's better than nothing.
4. Bulk Proof
• Once the salt and add-ins are mixed in, cover and let rise.
• The original calls for 4-12 hours at room temperature, depending on the temperature of your home.
• I'm choosing to do a refrigerated retard for this bulk proof.  This will buy me some time, since I don't want to bake for 24 hours and should intensify the flavors as well.
5. Divide, form, and second rise
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal parts.  This recipe will make 2 smaller loaves than the recipes I've been doing previously.
• Gently form into 2 rounds.
• Line 2 bowls or bannetons with clean towels and dust generously with rice flour.
• Rice flour doesn't mix with the moisture from the dough and make a paste.  It stays dry and becomes like ball-bearings to keep the dough from sticking.  It's a HUGE difference and really worth having on hand.
• Invert the dough into the bowls so the bottom is now the top.
• Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.
• Let rise for another hour.
6. Prepare
• While the dough is resting and rising the last time, place your pans in the oven and preheat to 400°F.
• When the dough finishes rising, invert it out of the bowls onto parchment.
• PARCHMENT!!  Do not forget this step like I did once before...
• Slash the top of the loaves with a sharp knife or bread lame.
• Using the parchment, lift and lower the dough into a pan and cover.
7. Bake
• Place the covered pans into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the lid and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
8. Cool
• Using the parchment, carefully lift the breads out of the pans and put on a rack to cool.
• Let it cool completely before cutting into it!!
• Yeah.... good luck with that... it smells SO chocolate-y!!

The bread is chewy and the crust is crisp but not super-crunchy (so I'm a happy girl).  It tastes like chocolate, but isn't overly sweet either.  I would definitely make this again... and I'm sending one of the loaves to Scott's daughters so they can enjoy this treat!

A childhood favorite: American "Pumpernickel" Bread

I LOVE American pumpernickel bread.  LOVE.  And my husband has a love for a good Reuben sandwich.  So, on this journey to becoming a better baker, I decided to tackle the Pumpernickel loaf.

Besides knowing it was related to, or a variation on, rye... I really didn't know what went into that lovely dark brown loaf that I love so much.  So I did what any good nerdy girl would do - I researched!!

My husband likes to joke about my excellent Google skills - and he's right.  I can often find pages on the strangest topics that no one else manages to find.  It's fun.

First thing I learned: to differentiate between "real" pumpernickel (known as Westphalian) and American.  They are VERY different.  Very.  Do not be confused.  (And check out this page on Cooks Info for the details and great images of the differences.)

So then I went on the hunt for a nice recipe for American Pumpernickel.  Most of the results that sounded right to me... were written for bread machines.  Oooops. No.  I don't have one and right now I don't want one.  I like my process.  So then I had to do math (good thing this nerdy girl LOVES math and spreadsheets) to convert the recipes.

My recipe below is based on:
Red Star Yeast
Betty Crocker
Shipton Mill
and Make Your Own 

So here is my version, which I think came out pretty great!

Jenn's American Pumpernickel

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup strong brewed coffee, cooled to 110°F
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 Cup molasses
• 1 pkg dry active yeast
• 1 Cup bread flour (more later in the list)
• 1/3 Cup (or less) cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Cup Rye flour
• 1 Cup bread flour (for a total of 2 Cups)
• 2 Tbsp toasted caraway seeds (optional, but highly recommended)
• up to 1 Cup (~ish) of AP flour

Instructions:

1. Mise en place!
• Get all your stuff together before you begin.  Measure, prep, chop so that when you start moving forward, you don't have to pause to do something!
   
• This is a good time to lightly toast the caraway seeds in a dry pan until warmed through and you can smell the yumminess.  You're not looking to overly brown them, just wake up the flavor.
  
2. Proof the yeast.
• Test the temperature of your coffee and when it's about right for working with yeast (around 110° Fahrenheit) add the oil and molasses and packet of yeast.
• Let proof for about 10 minutes until it's foamy and the yeast is clearly working.  If it doesn't get foamy, throw it out and try again!  It isn't going to magically "fix itself" later on in the recipe.  Not that I would be guilty of trying that myself... *ahem*
  
3. Make the dough.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 1 Cup bread flour, cocoa powder, and salt.  Use the paddle attachment to mix together thoroughly.
  
• Add rye flour, remaining bread flour, and caraway seeds.  Mix for 5 minutes until well combined.
  
• Switch to a dough hook and add up to 1 cup of AP flour, as needed, to bring to the correct consistency.  Knead for 5-7 minutes until smooth and elasticy as a yeast dough generally is.
  
4. Bulk Proof (a.k.a. first rise)
• Coat a bowl lightly with cooking spray or oil.  Turn the dough into the bowl and flip once to cover completely with a light coating of oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel and place someplace warm for at least an hour.
  
• Note: If you keep your home on the cool side (*cough* like ME *cough*), turn the oven on to the lowest temperature while you're kneading the dough.  When you're ready for the rise, turn the oven off, place the covered bowl in the warm oven and keep the door shut.  Make-shift proofing box!
  
5. Form and second rise
• Punch down the dough and form into loaves.  Put in pans, if desired, or form into a round boule or any other shape you'd like.  I used 2 8x4 loaf pans hoping to make sandwiches with it.  They came out a bit small, so I might do one loaf in 9x5 or even a free-form boule next time.
  
• Cover and let rise again for 30 minute to an hour.
  
  
6. Bake
• Bake @ 400° F for 30-35 minutes.  Tent it for a portion of the cook if your oven tends to over-brown things (like mine).
  
  
7. Cool
• Pull from the pans and let cool completely on wire racks.
  
  
8. Enjoy!
• I enjoyed this with just simple butter.
• Husband made reubens:
  

The beautiful brown color comes from cocoa powder, coffee, and molasses!  I did not know that going in.  Mine came out a bit chocolate-y, so I might reduce the cocoa next time, but it will be less brown, I'm sure.  Otherwise, we were both quite happy with this experiment in my Practice Kitchen!