Tuesday we continued with commercial bread mixes by making a Bohemian rye bread and a pumpernickel bread. The bohemian rye had an ingredient that was sort of strange... we added these seeds had been coated in a dehydrated sourdough mixture. This came in a large bucket, and you can't grab any using your hands since the enzymes on skin will make it grow mould within a few days. So we wore gloves to scale this very weird substance. It was sort of goopy... Along with this we added a few other bagged mixes, flour, water and yeast as usual. The dough can only be mixed for a few seconds seeing as it is made with rye flour and will not develop much gluten. We only mixed it until just combined, then let it sit in a heap for approximately 45 minutes, that way the gluten that is available can develop and become stronger. My instructor told us that this bread is one of the very best breads that we will ever taste, and that there is an incredible amount of flavour. I had high expectations! Once it had rested, we formed the dough into a boule and placed it in proofing baskets, which are a lot like regular baskets but are covered in flour and will leave its design on the dough. It sat in the baskets for a while then we put it in the proofer. We baked it and it came out looking very nice. The only thing was that it had a strange odour... It was fairly sour smelling because of the sourdough mixes and the rye flours. Hmmm... We needed to wait a while before trying it so that the dough has time to cool and gelatinize. I tried it once I got home and it definitely was strong in flavour! It was interesting... I think it'll grow on me the more I eat it. Next we made two pumpernickel loaves from mixes. I love pumpernickel so I was looking forward to this. We used the mix to make the dough and it smelled very good. Once they had rested for a bit, we shaped the doughs and put them in the proofer. After they proofed, we baked them and they came out looking great! The only issue is that since I'm only one person, I can only try one loaf of bread at a time otherwise I would have way too much bread to eat! So I haven't had the chance to try the pumpernickel yet, but I will soon.
Here they are! My last loaves to show off (tomorrow's our last day, but we're making the easy sapore and the rye again for the test)... I've really enjoyed learning how to make bread the proper way these past four weeks. I think that it is likely one of my favourite things to bake so far.