Buckwheat Sourdough

I get bored easily. Even with something like bread making, I’ve got to keep trying new things and small variations if I am to keep myself on my toes. I don't always want to go and endeavor to make a three stage rye or something equally meticulous to get my fix, though. I like this buckwheat sourdough because it’s one that doesn’t deviate that much from my basic bread routine, but it gives me something subtly different to work with. It goes without saying that it tastes different than an all wheat sourdough, but it’s more than that for me. When I work with this dough I get an aesthetic change which I’m always fond of, the color of this dough is really neat. It’s a muted blue-gray color with specks throughout it. The feel of this dough is that of any dough with the inclusion of a gluten-free flour, slightly more fragile and sticky. This dough takes a lot of kneading to get it going, but be gentle with it in the later stages and you’ll have a dark, pungent bread with a light crumb.

Add a small amount of any non-wheat flour to a wheat dough and you’ll be rewarded with a bread with more character than you can shake a stick at. I came across the idea of doing the final levain build with a non-wheat flour in Daniel Leader’s Local Breads. I like this method and I’ve gotten a much deeper flavor from it without losing any leavening ability, as compared to adding other flours only to the final dough. Leader has a formula using this method with buckwheat flour in the book and I based the following formula off of that one. I changed the percentages and amounts to suit what I felt would work for me. The following are the amounts that I used with the percentage changes. As Leader points out in his book, feel free to replace the buckwheat flour with anything else you like. Perhaps barley, oat or corn flour. Try something subtly different in your bread making, it’s quite fun.

Buckwheat Sourdough
*Adapted from Daniel Leader’s Local Breads

Buckwheat starter
25 grams ripe wheat starter (at 100% hydration)
20 grams water
25 grams buckwheat flour

Final dough
150 grams water
225 grams bread flour
25 grams buckwheat flour
70 grams buckwheat starter (all of it)
10 grams salt

The night before
Mix the buckwheat starter. Cover and let stand for 8-12 hours, until ripe.

Mixing
Once the buckwheat starter is ready, combine the bread and buckwheat flours with the water. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Add the buckwheat starter and salt and knead 10-12 minutes by hand or 8-9 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook. The dough should be sticky and a little on the wet side. If you are kneading by hand try not to add much extra flour, instead coat your hands with oil to prevent sticking.

Bulk Ferment
Ferment in an oiled, covered container until doubled in bulk, somewhere in the area of 3-6 hours.

Divide and Shape
Split the dough in half or don’t. Preshape into rounds and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape however you like.

Proofing
2 hours or until the imprint of your finger doesn’t bounce back immediately.

Baking
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Slash loaves and load with steam. Wait a minute then turn the oven down to 450. Bake for 25 minutes if you have 2 loaves and 30 minutes if you have one.