Dana Cowin: I have always wanted to make a sourdough or a rye bread and I'm completely
intimidated by this idea of the natural ferment. Sim Cass: We're going to demystify it.
Dana Cowin: Thank you. Sim Cass: Okay. The wild yeast is flying around
and we need to harness it.
You have to mix together water and stone-ground rye flour.
The water is room temperature, we mix these two together. Basically that's it.
Dana Cowin: We're done? Sim Cass: We leave this overnight and the
next day we feed it with more flour and water. What else can I put in there? Six grapes.
Dana Cowin: Great. Do you need to smash the grapes in order to release anything?
Sim Cass: No, not really. The grapes are going to kind of kick the ferment in. I'm going
to leave this like open like this for a few hours. Put some yeast inside, so I'll feed
this tomorrow. I'm going to cut this in half. For the first few days I'm going to discard
half. I need to replace this half with equal parts flour and water. I'm going to feed this
half here with eight ounces of water and eight ounces of white high-gluten flour. But, after
about five or six days, this half here we will make bread with.
Dana Cowin: It's a commitment but it gives back.
Sim Cass: It does. Dana Cowin: Can we get to making some bread
now? Sim Cass: We're going to mix dough, about
a pound of water. We're going to put that water in there first. You don't need this
warm water thing, it's a bit of a myth. We're going to put our flours in, our white--this
is high-gluten bread flour, stone-ground, organic rye. I put some whole wheat flour
in. We need salt because the salt really controls the dough and it also adds a lot of structure.
Mix the salt in a little bit into my flour in the mature version of the starter we made
earlier. You can see, see how it's bubbling? Dana Cowin: Yes.
Sim Cass: It's basically alive and this going to be our raising agent.
Dana Cowin: Okay. Sim Cass: All right. And we want about nine
ounces. You can go up to about 20% of the dough weight can be this stuff.
Dana Cowin: Wow. That's a lot. Sim Cass: So about, yeah. We're going to bring
it all together, we're going to take this and fold it into itself. So what we start
doing is we start bringing it into the middle, just keep going, keep going and try and get
everything in there. And how is it coming, it's coming together?
Dana Cowin: I think its okay. Sim Cass: That's good, right? And we're going
to use the heel of our hand and we're going to start doing this a bit.
Dana Cowin: It's quite wet. Sim Cass: The hydration of the dough is very
important, it should be quite wet. Now you're just going to keep kneading this now. Keep
going, a couple minutes of this. We�re developing the gluten.
Dana Cowin: Right. Sim Cass: And we're providing structure. It's
becoming elastic now, all right. We cover this and we leave it for about two hours,
two and a half. After about an hour proofing this, we're going to turn it into itself.
Dana Cowin: Uh-huh. Sim Cass: Like we're going to do this thing,
that--one, two, three, four and then we're going to turn it upside down, do that. It's
nicely proofed there. It's nicely alive. And I'm just going to break this into four. This
is a proofing basket. We need flour just nicely around the edge so it catches on our little
ridges. You don't have this, you have this. Dana Cowin: Yes.
Sim Cass: You put your cloth inside. Put flour in here upside down to the middle, push quite
down firmly, then you're going to turn the dough around. Put this in the middle like
this, turn it around, middle. You don't want lots of flour underneath it. Three and now
fourth one is like that. Okay? And we're going to turn it upside down.
Dana Cowin: Nice, I'm liking this. Sim Cass: See how that makes that? I want
you to just pull the dough towards you and see if you can get this thing on tight, and
now stop. Good. Now turn it around, pull it towards you.
Dana Cowin: What am I doing? Sim Cass: I want it to stick to the table.
So, when it sticks to the table, it tightens. That's essentially you shaping bread.
Dana Cowin: Wow. Sim Cass: The best way is just pull it like
this and pull it like this and tighten it out like that. Another way you can do that
is by doing this, as well like you can do this.
Dana Cowin: Oh, I love that. Sim Cass: You like that one?
Dana Cowin: Look, it's round. Sim Cass: I know, I know, I know. Impressive.
Dana Cowin: That's amazing. Sim Cass: I want you to start to bring it
together like that, just the top. Dana Cowin: It's like I'm making a dumpling
top. Yes. Sim Cass: Yes, it's like a dumpling. This
is the top of the bread, that goes in like that. Brilliant. How do we proof it? We could
put a plastic wrap on the top. That's it. Dana Cowin: And then how long is it going
to stay? Sim Cass: Probably another couple of hours.
Dana Cowin: Okay. Sim Cass: You can take these and put them
in the refrigerator and leave them overnight. Dana Cowin: So, how do you know if you've
overproofed? Sim Cass: It will start to collapse. These
have proofed nicely. It's important to have a nice bit of flour on top.
Dana Cowin: Why? Sim Cass: The flour stops it from over cooking.
So, we're going to take a regular straight razor.
Dana Cowin: Are there any option on that if I just don't want to use a razor?
Sim Cass: you can use an X-ACTO knife, make a nice size square.
Dana Cowin: Why am I cutting into this beautiful boule?
Sim Cass: We want the bread, when it goes into the oven, to be able to move open.
Dana Cowin: Okay. Sim Cass: Try a little bit of wavy, wavy.
Okay? Look. Dana Cowin: I like that.
Sim Cass: That's great. That's fantastic. Make it like this. We're going to pick it
up. We're going to like this into here. This, and gonna go in there.
Dana Cowin: So, how long is that going to Sim Cass: It's going to be all bread in an
oven. It's usually about 35 minutes average. Then we're going to put some steam in here.
Dana Cowin: But what would happen if I was at home and there's no steam?
Sim Cass: Then, fortunately, I have this here. This is you, 99 cents, okay? You're going
to just spray right on top of your bread. That is going to provide you with moisture
in the oven. Dana Cowin: Perfect.
Sim Cass: Oh, the bread is probably ready by now.
Dana Cowin: That is exciting. Sim Cass: Right? And I'm going to take that
one out and put it here. Fantastic. And there's another one.
Dana Cowin: Now we got the big boys. Sim Cass: They should be nice and dark. Can
we hear this? Dana Cowin: Crackling.
Sim Cass: Bread talking. Dana Cowin: They're talking to each other.
They're saying, oh my God they're going to eat us.
Sim Cass: Yeah. The bread crackling like this, this is the sign that you've cooked it correctly.
Dana Cowin: Oh, thump, thump, nice. Sim Cass: Thump, thump, hollowness inside.
Off I go and then I cut this right in half. Okay. And here's a bread.
Dana Cowin: Oh my God, it's so beautiful. Sim Cass: Not too bad. A successful venture
I think. Well done. Dana Cowin: It has a really great chewy texture
and it has so much sort integrity in the grain. And part of that is the natural ferment, right?
Sim Cass: That's right. Dana Cowin: It just keeps springing it back.
Sim Cass: Okay, fantastic. Dana Cowin: Thank you.
Sim Cass: Thanks. Dana Cowin: Thump.
[music 0:06:57.7] [Audio Ends]