White and Spelt Bread with Poolish using the Cold Start Method (and an Attempt at Yeast Water)

This white wheat and spelt bread has a crispy chewy crust and a moist and airy crumb. 

This white and spelt bread begins with an attempt to make yeast water as a leavener. Years ago, I tried making yeast water, but failed. This time, our Bread Baking Babes (an every-other-month group of bread baking enthusiasts) host Judy of Judy's Gross Eats challenged us to make a loaf of bread, any bread, using a yeast water starter. 

Yeast Water?

Yeast water can be used in the place of a flour-based sourdough starter to leaven bread. While it's not new, it became quite popular in March, 2020 when commercial yeast and flour (not to mention toilet paper), were hard to find, and everyone who was stuck at home became a sourdough and bread baking hobbyist. 

I know I found a ton of new sources for ingredients I needed, including War Eagle Mill, for whom I am eternally grateful for having all of the flours I needed (not sponsored). 

Yeast water became an attractive option because you don't have to discard any of your starter or keep feeding it more flour to maintain it. 

You typically make it with dried fruit, water, sugar, and a tiny bit of salt, and then babysit the water over a period of nine days. If everything works as it should, the water will develop yeast, as indicated by lots of bubbles. 

You then combine some of the water with flour and let it develop over about 16 hours until it becomes active and bubbly. 

Poolish?

This time, my yeast water (for the fruit I used prunes), developed over a period of nine days, seemed to be working and getting bubbly, so I mixed it with some flour and let it ferment for several hours. It only developed a few bubbles. Because I was leaving town for a week and had promised our travel companions that I'd bring homemade bread, I spiked the starter mixture with a pinch of instant yeast. 

Thus, it was "re-christened" a poolish, which is a catch-all term for a liquid starter that you make and ferment before mixing the final dough to add flavor over time. 

I added the pinch of yeast in the morning, and by the end of the day, a few bubbles appeared on the top of the mixture. 

I let it sit overnight and the next day it was completely bubbly and bouyant. 

The poolish had a lovely fruity aroma from the yeast water, and the final loaf was very fragrant, so not all was lost. 

I do think that if I'd given it a little more time, the yeast water could have worked on its own, but I was leaving town and needed the added security of instant yeast. I'm commited to keep trying even though I'm perfectly happy with the sourdough starter I've maintained for about 15 years. 

At least this one got bubbly and didn't form any mold like my first attempt a few years ago! 

Fortunately, you can easily make this bread with or without the yeast water. 

Ingredients in this Bread:

Flours: I used a combination of bread flour and whole spelt flour. You can substitute whole wheat flour for the spelt flour, or even barley, buckwheat, or rye flour. You can also make it with 100% bread flour. 

The spelt flour is pretty thirsty, so the hydration is a little higher than if you were to use all white wheat flour. 

Additional Ingredients: Salt, water (either yeast water or plain water), and instant yeast. 

For the Optional Yeast Water: Water, granulated sugar, salt, and dried fruit.  For the fruit, I used prunes, but you could also use raisins, dates, or figs. 

To Make the Bread: 

First, combine the yeast water (or plain water), with a tiny pinch of instant yeast along with bread flour and stir with a spoon to make the poolish. Cover and let rise until bubbly, about 12 to 16 hours. 

Next, mix the poolish, more bread flour, the spelt flour, more water, and instant yeast. Let it rise for about two hours, until tripled. 

After that, shape the loaf and let it rise in a banneton until doubled, about an hour. 

Finally, starting in a cold oven, bake the bread in a lidded roasting pan or Dutch oven for 25 minutes, covered, and 20 minutes more, uncovered. 

Be sure to let the loaf cool completely before cutting. 

To Make the Yeast Water:

To a one liter glass bottle (just over 33 ounces) with a narrow opening, add the following:

500 grams (2 1/2 cups) water, 50 grams (1/4 cup) granulated sugar, and two dates or prunes, or a handful of raisins, and shake vigorously until the sugar has dissolved. Cap the bottle and place it in a warm spot and let it sit for 4 days. Twice per day, uncap the bottle to release any built up gases and recap the bottle and shake it. 

After four days, add one more date or prune, 5 grams (1 teaspoon) of salt, 20 grams (1 1/2 tablespoons) of granulated suger, and 400 grams (1 3/4 cups) of water and shake until the sugar dissolves. 

Continue to shake and release the gasses from the bottle for 4 to 5 more days. 

At this point, the water should be bubbly and ready to use to make your poolish. You can store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. 

Sources: King Arthur Baking, and PPG Baker. 

To maintain the yeast water, take 200 grams of the water, strain out the prunes or dates, and add 700 grams of water, 35 grams of sugar, 3.5 grams of salt, and 2 more dried prunes or dates. Shake two times per day for three days. Strain out the fruit and store in the refrigerator. 

Cold Start Bread Baking: 

I baked this bread using the cold start method, meaning, I placed the dough into a cold roasting pan into a cold oven without pre-heating. 

I've used the method before with chilled dough, but this time I tried it with this room temperature dough and it worked out great! I'm thinking that the pre-heating time gave the loaf time to develop more oven spring. 

Plus, it saves a little energy!

Kitchen Tools I Used:

Enameled Roaster. You could also use a Dutch oven, but add about 10 extra minutes until you remove the lid, and possibly the baking time. 

Cambro Dough Rising Bucket: For the first proof. 

Banneton: For proofing the shaped loaf. 

Parchment Paper: It really helps in moving the proofed loaf to the roaster. I buy it in bulk. 

After the recipe, be sure to check out the rest of the experiences that the Bread Baking Babes had with yeast water, as well as the recipes that they used. 

White and Spelt Bread with Poolish using the Cold Start Method

Yield: 20 Slices

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 3 HourCook time: 50 MinInactive time: 20 HourTotal time: 23 H & 50 M

This white wheat and spelt bread has a crispy chewy crust and a moist and airy crumb.

Ingredients

For the Poolish

• 100 grams water or yeast water
• 100 g grams bread flour
• Small pinch of instant yeast

For the Bread

• 350 grams bread flour
• 50 grams whole wheat spelt flour
• 300 grams room temperature water
• All (200 grams) of the poolish
• 10.5 grams sea salt
• 4 grams instant yeast

Instructions

To Make the Poolish

1. Mix together water (or yeast water), flour and yeast. Stir.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature overnight, about 16 hours.

To Make the Bread

1. Combine the flours, water, and the poolish in a large bowl or dough rising bucket. Mix with your hand until all of the flour is incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes.
2. Sprinkle the top of the dough with the salt and the yeast. With a wet hand, fold the dough over the salt and yeast, and then pinch the dough with your fingers. Continue to wet your mixing hand and fold the dough over itself, and continue to pinch and fold, until the salt and yeast are dissolved. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes.
3. Fold the dough by picking up each "side," stretching it, and folding it over the middle. Cover again. Fold the dough again after 20 minutes. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and let rise until tripled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
4. Gently scrape the dough out onto a floured surface, and shape it into a boule or batard by gently folding the dough over itself from all "sides." Flip the shaped dough over so that the seam side is on the counter. Using a bench scraper, draw the loaf toward you, and then away from you, to tighten up the top of the dough. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime, dust a banneton or towel lined bowl with a 50-50 mixture of wheat and rice flour.
5. After 10 minutes, place the bench scraper under the shaped loaf, and scoot it around from all four sides to tighten up the loaf a bit. Place the shaped dough into the banneton, seam side up or down. If you do it seam side down, you won't need to slash the dough before baking, as it will open naturally.
6. Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap or a clean towel, and let rise until puffy, about an hour.
7. When the dough has risen, turn it out onto parchment lined plate. Score it with a serrated knife or a lame. Lift it into the roasting pan, or a half sheet pan. Cover with the lid, or in the case of the half sheet pan, cover with a stainless bowl or hotel pan.
8. Place in the center of the oven and set the heat to 475 degrees F.
9. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, remove the lid or pan, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the bread is a deep brown and reaches an internal temperature of about 205 degrees F. Cool completely, for several hours, on a wire rack.

For the Yeast Water

If you'd like to use yeast water, besure to plan ahead. Instructions and measurments are included in the post above.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

100

Fat (grams)

1 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

0 g

Carbs (grams)

21 g

Fiber (grams)

2 g

Net carbs

19 g

Sugar (grams)

1 g

Protein (grams)

4 g

Cholesterol (grams)

0 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2024/10/white-and-spelt-bread-with-poolish.html

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