Everyday Bread #55 - Camp Bread in a Dutch Oven: Brenda's Loaf

Camp Bread #6: 

A Spent Sourdough Rye, Multigrain and All Purpose Bread Baked in a Dutch Oven by Brenda

"You've spoiled me for bread," Brenda said, reading the ingredients of Sudbury's Golden Grain Bakery's Light Rye Loaf.  Leah's mom and dad left the remainder of the loaf they brought with them in our camp, and we were using it up for breakfast.

We are told that this is the loaf that the Golden Grain Bakery's reputation was built on (although we read raves of their garlic cheese bread and their chocolate croissant online too).  Indeed, the Golden Grain Bakery's light rye is a good loaf.  You can tell it is a light-rye meteil; they obviously use a lot of all purpose or bread flour.  But the only other ingredients are rye culture (I take that to mean a kind of rye preferment, perhaps not a true sourdough), yeast and water.  We both agreed that it was very good bread, meaning it had no artificial ingredients like dough extenders or preservatives.  But it was, now, to us, very flat tasting.  It is not an artisan bread, and it is not a whole grain loaf.  Despite what some reviewers online have said, no, it does not taste like home baked bread.

Brenda followed Paul's recipe except she doubled up on the yeast and used only 1/2 the amount of sourdough starter (it worked out to be about 1/4 c).  This starter was even more spent than the one Paul used (way more sour, something Brenda doesn't usually like).

Method:

This loaf was set to rise for 24 hours.  It was a humid day, and damp, but it rained on and off all night and most of the day.

This made the lighting of the fire problematic, and the timing of the coals was extra difficult.  The pot went in early, probably before the coals were properly established.  This threw off the timing of the dough, so that the preheating was done before the dough had sat even an hour after folding.

Brenda put it into the hot Dutch Oven anyway.

She did not check on the loaf until 30 minutes had passed (there was some dispute over time, but I didn't get into it, as I wasn't wearing a watch).  By then, it was golden brown but because it sat directly on the hot coals for that entire time, it was slightly burnt on the bottom (though certainly not as bad as my first loaf).  But her bread even stuck to the bottom of the Dutch Oven when being turned out -- something that has never happened before.  She dug it out with a paring knife.

Brenda opted to keep the bread in the cooling Dutch Oven for another 20 minutes or so before taking it out again and letting it cool on a rack.

She was disappointed that it didn't rise more.  Probably the trouble was in her folding, which tore the dough, and a certain amount of over-handling of it while forming the dough (she was listening to my instructions, and I probably was a bit long-winded, so I must take some of the blame for that).  A longer proofing while the oven preheated another 30 minutes would also have helped. 

We toasted this bread on the Coleman Stove using the Camp Toaster, and it was good.  Brenda didn't care for it for jam, but she ate it with honey -- it was good with Board's Honey, locally produced in Restoule, and a family treat each year.  We usually stock up on the Basswood Honey when we visit the area, but the Buckwheat is also usually extra flavourful, and we always take home some of that too.  These breads require one of these extra flavourful honeys, I think.

Toasting Camp Bread

I loved this bread.

Notes to Myself

• These Cast Iron Dutch Ovens should be kept from the rain. As soon as the rain began to contact the metal, rust began to appear. I think that I will have to temper the pot again with oil now.
• I think we now have a pretty good idea of how to bake bread with the cast iron Dutch Oven over a wood fire. In short, these are the steps:
• Get the fire started while you proof your bread.  
• Expect about 2 hrs for the proofing, during which time you must let the fire burn down to hot coals, and preheat your pot for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Put lots of coals on the top of the Dutch Oven to heat the entire pot.  You might want even to place some on the lid in the middle of the baking process: plan for this.
• The dough should be well hydrated, so that steam from the dough will bake the crust when the lid traps it there during the initial bake.  Getting the lid on fast once you put the dough in, is important.
• The initial bake should be the hottest: 10-15 minutes minimum on the direct coals.  You can lift the pot from direct contact with the coals after that (setting it up on a nearby grate, for example, or just up on some unburned logs near the coals), but do not open the lid for 20-25 minutes.
• At that point, decide whether or not your loaf can tolerate being put in direct contact with the coals.  You may have to turn it out to have a look at the bottom to know this.  You can stick a thermometer in it at this point to make sure that the interior of the loaf is 210 degrees F. (we didn't have one with us), or knock on the loaf to determine if it is done.

Everyday Bread #54 - Camp Bread in a Dutch Oven: Paul's Loaf

Camp Bread #5: 

A Spent Sourdough Rye, Multigrain and All Purpose Bread Baked in a Dutch Oven by Paul

Dough: 

• 1/2 c rye flour
• 2 1/2 c multigrain flour
• 1 1/2 c all purpose flour
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1/2-3/4 c old sourdough starter
• 1 1/2 c potato water (+1/4 c + 1/4 c added during mixing)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

At about 4 p.m. my son Paul mixed up this dough.  He had smelled some of my leftover sourdough bread, comparing it to the all purpose loaf of the day before, and he said he found the sourdough version smelled more interesting.  For that reason, he decided to use a similar recipe for his bread.  Once again we followed the outline of the Sourdough Discard Bread Recipe.  This time we were using real sourdough discard, unrefreshed; it would be more sour, but that was okay, we didn't have quite as much.  We had some potato water to use up, and I personally think that he put in lots of salt, although he didn't think so.  We still don't have measuring spoons to arbitrate discussions.

I told him that the longer the dough rose, the more flavour it would have, and he decided to not bake it that night.  It sat in the car, the coolness of the summer evening the equivalent of retarding the dough in the refrigerator.  In the morning it was removed and placed in a prominent spot out of the way of critters and people, and it appeared to have tripled.  Around noon, when we were all around having lunch, a fire was started.  

Paul removed the dough from the container and folded it once, envelope style.  It seemed to have good elastic properties.  Then he lifted it with wet hands and formed a boule, making the gluten sheath nice and tight, at the same time not overhandling it.  He placed it on the couche with rye flour dusted on it, and the dough was covered to rise while the fire burned down.

Once we had some coals, we preheated the Dutch Oven 30 minutes and the dough was placed in the pot.

After 25 minutes the pot was still in the coals but rotated once, the lid was removed for a peak at the top.  It was a nice, honey-coloured crust already, the scent was of a strong sourdough that Paul identified as "nutty".

He elected to remove the Oven from the direct heat, but to keep the loaf in the pot and place more coals on the top lid.  After 5 minutes he looked again, and his mother advised him to bake it as long as possible.  He left it another 10 minutes, and then turned it out onto a grill to cool.

There was one darkened, burnt area on the bottom, but overall Paul was pleased with the way his bread looks.

I thought it tasted great. Others who tried it said they liked it too. A few people were skeptical about the scent of the sourdough, but it didn't taste all that sour to me.

Notes to Myself

• Paul's loaf is the best loaf baked, by far: the coals were hot, and retained a lot of heat throughout the preheating and baking stages. Paul used a lot of coals for the top lid, a very good idea.
• Better would have been fresher sourdough starter, so the bread would have tasted a little less sour. Not everyone liked it because it is sour.
• It might be impossible to work out accurately the precise hydration of this loaf, but I suspect that the reason Paul's loaf was nicely browned on its crust was due to its higher hydration. The extra 1/2 c of potato water really helped, as did sprinkling some water on the top of the loaf when it first is put into the oven.

Everyday Bread #53 - Camp Bread in a Dutch Oven: Sourdough Discard Bread

Camp Bread #4: 

A Spent Sourdough Rye and All Purpose Bread Baked in a Dutch Oven 

"Why doesn't your bread rise much?" my sister-in-law Kathy wanted to know.

I told her it was because of the flour I was using: the rye and multigrain bread flour wouldn't form as much gluten as an all-purpose or plain bread flour.  It is difficult to tell people who like fluffy air bread that the more denser whole grain loaf is actually what I am after.

This bread was an attempt to prove that I could bake an airy loaf using all purpose flour.  I took few pictures of this loaf, though: this blog is about whole grain breads, and this is not a whole grain bread.  It is also not a no-knead bread: this bread is kneaded 5-7 minutes, during which time the gluten gets really cohesive and springy.

But the most interesting thing about this loaf (to me) was, I used 1 c of sourdough starter.  This was a very liquid starter, built from my older spent sourdough with my nephew's other son, Andrew the day before.  This refreshed wild starter was made with rye.

I followed the sourdough discard bread recipe from Bread and Whine, that I have used previously.  The only difference being, I was using recently refreshed sourdough.


Method:

This dough had a long rise, overnight in the cold car.
In the morning I formed it into a single loaf after a single fold.
I made a fire, but I didn't wait 2 hours before putting the dough in the preheated pot.
I admit that my coals were poor, the rotten birch logs that I used were burning up too quickly.
In spite of the uneven heat of the pot and the fire's coals, the bread rose in the Dutch Oven.  After 25 minutes, I snuck a peak at the loaf.  It had blown apart on top.  But to me, it didn't quite look done.

I set it back on the coals for 10 minutes, lid off, but the problem I was having was, it was burning on the bottom and unfinished on the top.

I flipped it onto the grill and then turned it over in the pot for 10 minutes more.  This probably had the effect of pushing down some of the rise of the loaf.

The bread was mostly baked, but one section of it in the middle remained a bit clinchy.

This is a mild tasting sourdough, good when toasted, edible with cheese.

Notes to Myself

• Keep the pot on the coals for the hottest part of the bake: the beginning.  Try putting the Dutch Oven, covered, on the coals for 10 minutes, then remove it from direct contact with the coals for 10-15 minutes.
• The lid off, check the loaf, turn it over as needed and bake for 10-15 minutes more (lid on or off as required).
• Why are all-purpose breads more of a crowd pleaser than any whole grain breads?  Why don't people like denser loaves that don't rise as much?  It must be taste.  Many people prefer the taste of simpler, refined-flour breads.  To me, they taste flat and less interesting.

Everyday Bread #52 - Camp Bread in a Dutch Oven: Evan's Bread

Camp Bread #3: 

Evan's Trail Mix Bread Baked in a Dutch Oven

This was an experiment with less than 18 hours fermentation.  My nephew's son Evan helped me put it together.

Dough:

• 2 c multigrain flour
• 1 c rye flour
• 1 c cold tea
• 1/2 c water
• ? more than 1/4 tsp yeast ( a little bit more than the last time)
• ? less than 1 1/4 tsp salt (a little bit less than last time)

We are still just measuring by hand (or in this case, Evan's hand).

Evan thought that we should add raisins, so I picked some raisins out of a trail mix that we had in a bag at the campsite.  Evan also thought that the papaya and pineapple chunks in the mix might go nicely in the bread.  And the banana chips he thought might give it an interesting texture.  Maybe the peanuts might be nice in bread, then you wouldn't have to even put peanut butter on it.  Heck, we just tossed in handfuls of trail mix.  Some for me, some for you, some for the  bread...

Method:

Evan was going to be in his tent sleeping for the actual baking, so I took over for this part.
8:15-8:30 p.m. I folded it (That's about a 12 hour ferment)
9:00 pm fire was started.

9:25 p.m. preheated the Dutch Oven.
10:00 p.m. Dough in the pot, pot on top, away from the coals.

10:20 p.m. Bread was "done".

My sister-in-law Kathy had come back at this point with a rather large pickerel she had caught out on the lake at dusk, and taking pictures of that became a distraction for me to record all the bread-baking times.

I did put the pot back on the coals for a few minutes with the lid off, then thought better of it.  To me, it looked done.  But it was very dark at this point, and everyone was getting ready for bed, so I felt like winding it all up.

Once again the loaf was placed in the car to cool overnight.  At 0400 I awake to hear raccoons sniffing around the car, looking for a way in.  This loaf, they thought, smelled interesting.

This loaf was eaten by most of us, although it didn't get the raves that the previous loaf had.

Notes to Myself

• This bread was not completely cooked through. Although it looked done on top, it was still gooey inside in places.
• The bread probably needs 20-25 minutes lid on, off the coals, then 10-15 minutes back on the coals (lid on or off, depending on the top crust)
• More raisins, less peanuts or other fruit (papayas, pineapples, bananas)
• Toasting can almost make an undercooked bread palatable. Almost.
• Evan would not eat his own bread, but he was willing to share.

Everyday Bread #51 - Camp Bread in a Dutch Oven: My Second Attempt

 Camp Bread #2: 

A Multigrain Bread Baked in a Dutch Oven 

This bread was made with only multigrain flour.  I was thinking that I'd like to make an olive bread if this one turned out.  So I used no sourdough, and no rye in the dough (except for the floured crust).

Dough: Same as before, only with 3 c of multigrain bread flour.

Method:

• 24 hr initial rise.
• At about 1930 I folded the dough and put it in a floured couche.
• I started the fire at 8 p.m.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• At 2100 I put the Dutch Oven in the coals to preheat 30 minutes.
• At 2130 I put the Dutch Oven on the top of the barbecue grill of the firepit.  I left the coals on the lid, but there were no coals under it.  I estimate the pot was now 12-18" from the hot coals.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The bread baked in the closed pot on the top grill for 25 minutes.
• At that point I looked at the loaf.

• To me, it didn't quite look baked.
  
• I took the lid off for 5 minutes and placed the Dutch Oven back on the coals.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Then I stuck the lid back on for another 10 minutes.

At this point, most of the campers on our site had gone to their tents for sleep.  I took the loaf out of the pot and locked it away in the car, on an oven mitt, to cool overnite.  I didn't want raccoons or bears to get into it, after all that work.

In the morning we toasted some, and others raved about it.  To me, it tasted quite bland, however, like white bread, but with some particles of multigrain throughout.  I finished eating the older burned-on-the-bottom loaf that no one else was interested in, finding it more to my own personal taste.

This second-attempt bread is a lot more moist and flimsy than I like.    But once toasted, it seems to hold up well.  It seems to take a lot of moisture from the air, when sitting.

Notes to Myself

• You can probably leave the Dutch Oven in the hot coals for a time, but the pot will likely be hot enough to bake the bread without doing so, with an adequate 30 minute proofing. All of this depends, of course, on the quality of the coals.
• To regulate the heat, you may have to place it in the coals, or remove it from direct contact with coals, several times during the baking session.
• With the lid on , you can't really depend on your sense of smell of the baking loaf: the smoke of the fire will predominate (unless it is already burning on the bottom, then you may be able to tell if it should be taken from the coals)
• D
• E

Everyday Bread #50 - Camp Bread in a Dutch Oven: My First Attempt

Camp Bread #1: 

A Spent Sourdough Rye and Multigrain Bread Baked in a Dutch Oven

We've just returned from camping, and during our stay in Restoule Provincial Park (it is a family tradition that we all go there), I made a few attempts to make some bread in my Dutch Oven, over a wood fire.

All of the attempts had very similar results; it was a struggle to regulate the heat.

My first attempt used a dough with Lahey-like hydration:


Dough:

• 2 c Multigrain Bread Flour
• 1 c Rye Flour
• The usual salt, yeast, hydration that Lahey advises.
  I had no measuring spoons, so I just eyeballed it, "Camp Style".
  I was aiming for 1 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp yeast, and 1 1/3 c water.
• Plus a glob of sourdough, unrefreshed for some time.

This dough sat 24 hours before I made the first and only fold and put it into the couche to rise.

Method:

At the time of folding it, I started a fire (0900).
At 1030, I set the kettle in the coals, and placed some coals on the lid.

This I left to preheat for 30 minutes.
At 1100  I put the dough into the Dutch Oven.
At 1125 I took off the lid and noticed it was burning a bit on the bottom.
The top was already done (and leaving the lid off would not have baked the top crust any further, like it would in a home oven).

At this point, I took it out and left it to cool on a grill.  It sure was black on the bottom.

But the crumb wasn't too bad, and if you cut off the worst of the charcoal, you had an edible bread.

Notes to Myself

• This was far too hot a Dutch Oven, or too long a time. The middle was well baked, the top was perfection, the bottom, however, was pure carbon for 1/4" from the outer crust. After I took that crust off, the bread was fine. Therefore, don't leave it right on the hot coals for 25 minutes.
• Try preheating it and then removing it for baking. (You can keep a few coals under it (perhaps not touching it), and over it, but everyone else has these grandiose ideas of digging pits and covering the thing with sand, and I don't think that this is going to be required.)
• This loaf's taste is ultra sour. Make the next loaf without the (old) sourdough.
• Perfect the loaf before adding olives, walnuts, cheese, etc.