low hydration bread

I spend way too much time on Instagram looking at other peoples baked goods.  I like to bake.  I like to be inspired.  There are a lot of hydration breads on Instagram.  What does that mean?  That the amount of water usually sits in proportion to flour at 70% or higher.  For example, if you use 100 grams of flour there is 70 grams of water used for the bread.

One of the high hydration gurus actually posted that the bread he makes most normally for his family or as a gift is a low hydration bread. Low hydration has water at about 65% compared to the flour.  65 grams of water to 100 grams of flour.  That made me go hmmm.  Because the crumb is soft but it holds butter.  Also, because most of these breads are flour, water, and salt, it is a very good traveling bread.  He calls it pioneer bread, which it really is.

I decided to see what I thought of a low hydration bread.  I put a scoop of my starter in a bowl.  Which should have been measured but was not.  I then started with 325 grams of water in the bowl with the starter.  I added 250 grams of flour.  The flour was a mix of white and whole wheat. about two for one.  I let that get all nice and bubbly.  It took about twelve hours.

I scooped out a bit of starter to freshen my jar and added about 200 grams of flour and 10 grams of salt to the waiting dough.  Why did I keep out a bit of the flour?  So I could knead with no more flour then I had.  Also, the moisture in flour is ever changing.  I did not wish too stiff a dough.  I knead the bread dough until all the flour was kneaded in.

I covered and let rise until double.  My kitchen was very cold so this was over night.  I deflated it and let it rise again until double.  Just lots of patience and waiting.  This how I used to make bread all the time.  Pioneer bread.  Or crazy lady bread.  Grandma bread.  Once the second rise occurred, I shaped it into a small loaf.  I let rise and baked it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes.  I shortened the time because the loaf was small.  I also do not pre-heat.  It means that my crust does not hurt to bite into but I also do not get the thin crust that is so brittle that it goes everywhere.

This is a bread I like.  I have made it in the past without all the proportions and scale.  I can do it by feel but it helps when I talk to chefs who are baking bread to speak their language.  And I said, it is a good traveling bread.  Without the sugar, it has less chance of molding due to the variation in temperatures as one travels.  It makes good toast or goes well with cheese or as a simple sandwich.  I do like it toasted with butter and strawberry jam.  I am quite simple at times.

This just shows how simple good bread can be and how few ingredients.