Buckwheat Chia Bread

More experimentation with chia seeds was called for after the first, rather meek, attempt a few weeks ago. For a change of flours I included some buckwheat flour. Unless you really like the flavor of buckwheat, it is best to keep the amount of buckwheat low. This bread also continued my trials with the delayed fermentation process.

Ingredients:
For one loaf
400 g whole wheat flour (about 3 cups)
50 g bread flour (scant ½ cup)
30 g buckwheat flour (¼ cup)
½ tsp instant yeast

1 Tbsp agave nectar
4 Tbsp sour cream
½ cup applesauce
½ cup warm water

Mix 2 tsp chia seeds in 8 tsp water
5 g cracked flaxseeds. (about 2 tsp)
1 tsp salt

(I used ¾ cup water and had to add about 40 g whole wheat flour later)

Day 1:
Mix first four dry ingredients in a big bowl. In another small bowl, mix the warm water, sour cream. If the water is hot, the sour cream will form lumps, so make sure the water is not too warm. Mix in the applesauce and agave nectar. I skipped oil in this recipe, because the sour cream has sufficient fat content.

Ingredients

Mix the wet ingredients in the dry ingredients and stir well till dough comes together. I wanted to get the gluten development started. Salt hinders gluten development, so I decided to add it later. In order to ensure the salt mixed in well, I decided to stir it in the chia gel, along with the flaxseeds and add the mixture after an hour or so. Cover the dough while it sits on the counter.

9:19 pm: Partial dough set to rest for an hour or so

10:20 pm: Time to add the remaining ingredients

10:25 pm: All ingredients mixed in.

Cover the dough and let sit for another 30 minutes to an hour before putting it in the refrigerator for overnight delayed fermentation. The dough will continue to rise a while before the yeast becomes dormant.

Day 2
I removed the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for an hour or so. I am still experimenting with how long to keep the dough before proceeding with a second rise or shaping and proofing.

12:05 pm: Out of the refrigerator

1:07 pm:Very little rise in the hour

I decided to shape and proof right away.

1:09 pm: Deflated and rounded

But I let the dough rest for 10 minutes before final shaping (Laurel Robertson recommendation)

1:20 pm: Rested, reshaped a bit and ready for proofing

Because the dough is still fairly cool, compared to a single day baking process dough, the proofing takes longer.

2:30 pm: Proofed, slashed and ready for the oven.

The dough was baked in a preheated cast iron combo cooker in an oven preheated to 400° F and then reduced to 350° F for 50 - 55 minutes.

3:33 pm: Decent oven spring

Dark color from buckwheat flour. Good crust, decent crumb. Sliced well

Date: March 24-25, 2012

Recipe: My own recipe

Flours: Whole wheat flour, bread flour, buckwheat flour

Bread specific ingredients: Chia seeds, flaxseeds, sour cream, applesauce

Sweetener used: Agave nectar

Liquid: Water

Comments: Used twice the amount of chia seeds as the first attempt and I do think it helps keep the bread moist longer. The buckwheat flour lends a definite flavor and color even with a little amount. The overnight delayed fermentation makes the second day's work much easier. The true test of the flavor difference would be if I used the same formula and made a loaf each way: single day baking and two day delayed fermentation baking. Unfortunately, I am not patient enough for that.