Ciabatta with Kamut

Compared with Kamut Levain and Kamut Bread, I like this one the most.

It is in fact Jeffrey Hamelman’s Poolish Ciabatta, but I replaced 30% total flour by kamut (adding to final dough, all poolish was regular flour). I also increased the hydration from 73% to 83%, as water absorption of kamut is higher.

However, apparently 83% hydration was too high and the dough was very slack. Hence instead of folding the dough 2 times (1 time every hour according to original recipe) in the 3-hr bulk fermentation, I folded the dough 4 times in total (1 time every half hour).

Luckily though the dough was wet and kamut’s gluten is low, the crumb is satisfying. It is less chewy than a regular ciabatta, but is pleasantly moist. One thing is the crust is not crispy after cooled down, and I will try to bake the dough longer next time (20mins at 460F this time for 420g dough).

About the taste, it is wonderful. This ciabatta has a stronger wheat flavor than regular ones, at the same time with a mild but unique kamut flavor. I love it! Have had a fun time playing with Kamut flour this time.

Recipe based on: “Bread” by Jeffrey Hamelman

Kamut Bread

As in last week after making the Kamut Levain, I found that sour and Kamut flavours did not match (or not my taste), I tried to make Kamut bread with pate fermentee this week to see what will happen.

According to Richard Bertinet, the original name of Kamut should be Khorason, hence the recipe I used from his book is called “Khorason Bread”. The amount of Kamut in this recipe is high, and is 1.2 times the bread flour.

As protein level of Kamut is high, its water absorption is also high. The hydration is approximately 74% in the recipe, but the dough is not wet at all, and is similar to regular dough. Since gluten of Kamut is low, I found there was no window pane formed after kneading to the indicated time, and the dough only had moderate gluten development.

I do not like the taste of the bread. Kamut flavor is too strong. Besides a strong “buttery” flavor, I can also feel a strange “tangy” flavor (not sourdough tangy flavor). I think I would prefer a lower proportion of Kamut flour in the bread. Crumb of bread is denser than last sourdough, but there is still moderate chewiness, which is fine for me.

Recipe: “Crust” by Richard Bertinet

Kamut Levain

Though both spelt & kamut are acient grains, the flavor of kamut is light instead of being as strong as spelt. It also has a unique flavor that many resources describe as buttery. I cannot think of the best description to the flavor now, but I think there is another flavor besides buttery. Anyway, Kamut’s light flavor is good for summer.

This bread is made of starter, and I think the sour taste has overwhelmed Kamut’s light flavor, even though I did not retard the dough overnight. Hence I would prefer to prepare a less sour levain next time or try baking with pate ferment.

Also, I sprinkled the dough with Kamut instead of plain flour. However the taste is just similar to plain flour even after baking.

Recipe: “Local Breads” by Daniel Leader