I know the channel is heavy on enriched dough recipes full of eggs, butter, fats, and plenty of recipes with special methods like scalding, soaking, and porridge. So, I decided to step back a bit and make a basic lean dough for once. Great breads can be made with simple ingredients. Some even argue that it’s not bread if it is made up of anything but flour, water, salt, and yeast. For me it’s all good. I prefer breads made with various ingredients and methods. It’s what keeps it interesting for me. A lean dough is welcome occasionally though.
Both recipes in the video are made up of the same ingredients. The only difference is the slight variation in hydration and the amount of yeast. Either one can be cold fermented or fermented at room temperature.
If you want to get maximum crispiness in the crust, then you should go with cold fermentation and bake with steam at a high temperature.
You can adjust the recipes by changing the amounts of flour or swap in some other type of flour. Keep in mind that you must increase the hydration as you increase the amount of whole grain flour. Seeds can be added too.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the room temperature buns –
205g (7.24oz) water
3g (0.1oz) instant dry yeast or 3.6g (0.13oz) active dry yeast or 9g (0.32oz) fresh yeast
6g (0.21oz) salt
4g (0.14oz) caraway seeds
20g (0.7oz) wholegrain rye flour
280g (9.9oz) white bread flour
For the cold fermented buns –
220g (7.76oz) water
2g (0.07oz) instant dry yeast or 2.4g (0.085oz) active dry yeast or 6g (0.21oz) fresh yeast
6g (0.21oz) salt
4g (0.14oz) caraway seeds
20g (0.7oz) wholegrain rye flour
280g (9.9oz) white bread flour
To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.
The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration.
If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.
Method
- To make the room temperature fermented buns. In a large bowl combine the water, yeast, salt, caraway seeds, and wholegrain rye flour. Mix well. Add the white bread flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature 25C (77F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust fermentation time accordingly.
- Cover and ferment for 30 minutes.
- Fold.
- Ferment for 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Pre-shape and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
- Final shaping.
- Cover and proof for 45 – 60 minutes.
- Bake at 210C (410F) fan on for 15 minutes covered and 5 – 8 more minutes uncovered.
To make the cold fermented buns mix the dough the same way as described above. *Desired dough temperature 24C (75F). Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Fold. Cold ferment for 18 – 24 hours. Divide, pre-shape, rest 15 minutes. Shape, proof 45 – 60 minutes, bake at 220C (430F) fan on for 15 minutes covered and 10 more minutes uncovered.
Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.
Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.
