I have not made a bread with dates in a long time and wanted to make a new version using fresh milled flour.
I used fresh milled Bulter’s Gold, Spelt, and a new variety of soft red wheat, called Mediterranean, from Barton Springs Mill. This is a Heritage grain that has not been tasted in over 50 years. It was originally from the seaside town of Genoa, Italy, in 1819. It was grown in Texas until 1919, after which it disappeared.
The dates add a wonderful sweetness to the finished product. I used some good-quality, thick balsamic vinegar, which really creates an amazing, rich, dark brown color in the crust and crumb.
The dates were soaked in hot water and drained. I calculated the total water content to include the water that was absorbed by dates. In my case, it ended up being 47 grams. They were then pulsed in the food processor.
The fresh milled flour was all milled with my Mockmill 200 and sifted once with a #30 drum sieve, and re-milled at the finest setting.
The total amount of fresh milled flour in this bake was 74.5%. I sifted 2% of the bran from the whole wheat and around 5% from the spelt. It really is a very small amount of bran, but I feel it improves the flavor and lightness of the bread. You could certainly add it back in as part of the levain, which I did for this bake.
I used my Ankarsrum to mix the dough and oven-baked it on a baking stone with steam.
Formula
Levain Directions
Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.
Let it sit at room temperature for around 6-7 hours or until the starter has almost doubled.
Dates Preparation
Pour boiling water over the dates so they are completely submerged. Let them soak for 30 minutes to an hour until they are soft. Drain thoroughly and note how much they weigh. Add the difference to your water total and adjust as needed.
Add them to a mini food processor if you have one and pulse until you have a paste. If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop them up and mush them up as best as you can.
Main Dough Procedure
Note: I use an Ankarsrum Mixer, so my order of mixing is slightly different from that of using a Kitchenaid or other mixer. Add all the water to your mixing bowl except the 80 grams of water. Add all your flour to the bowl and mix on low for a minute until it forms a shaggy mass. Cover the mixing bowl and let it rest for 20 – 30 minutes. Next, add about half of the remaining water and sour cream and mix for a couple of minutes. Add the levain next and mix for 10 minutes, increasing the speed to position #4. Let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes and then add the remaining water, dates, salt and mix on medium-low (about speed 4) for around 14-17 minutes until you have a nicely developed, smooth dough. If necessary, mix longer. You want to have good gluten development from mixing the dough.
Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and do several stretch and folds. Make sure the dough is as flat as possible in your bowl/container, and measure the dough in millimeters and take the temperature of the dough as well. Based on the chart from http://www.thesourdoughjourney.com, determine what % rise you need and make a note. If you have a proofer, decide what temperature you want to set it at and what rise you are aiming for. I had a DT of 73 F and set my proofer to 75 F and aimed for a 50% rise. Do 2 sets of coil folds, 30 minutes apart. After another 30 minutes, do a set of stretch and folds.
Once the dough reaches the desired bulk rise, pre-shape and let rest for 25 minutes. Finish shaping and place in your banneton, bowl, or on your sheet pan, and cover it so it is pretty airtight (note: It is not necessary to cover the dough when refrigerating it. Most professional bakeries do not cover their dough, but they do have dedicated retarders for dough, so if you are like me feel free to continue to cover it). This dough is very sticky, so make sure you use plenty of rice flour in your banneton or bowl to prevent it from sticking.
On baking day, you can take the shaped dough out of your refrigerator and bake as soon as your oven is ready, after scoring, of course.
When ready to bake, score as desired. Prepare your oven for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water into the pan right after I place the dough in the oven. I then lower the temperature of the oven to 450°- 455° F. Bake until they are nice and brown, and the internal temperature is at least 205 – 210°F.
Take the bread(s) out of the oven when done and let them cool on a baker’s rack for as long as you can resist.
mookielovesbread 