2nd bake with new hombrew culture and Kaiser pans = energy domes

On Thursday I came across a pair of Kaiser miche-style round loaf pans in the liquidation corner at Homesense (Homegoods in the US). I thought this might be the solution to the flat miche loaves I have been getting that seem to rise horizontally than vertically.

I figured I would try out the new homegrown atmospheric culture with the new Kaiser units to see how things would "pan" out (sorry... couldn't resist:-)

I used my usual 3 stage recipe, which surprisingly only took about 10 hours to complete. My stored sponge culture has not lost any of its power even after 2 weeks in the fridge! 

The speed in which the culture was developing kind of threw me off schedule, so I decided to refrigerate the last stage before making the dough so I could go to bed not worrying about a mess all over the counter. I actually expected overflow the next morning in the fridge, but the culture stayed within the confines of its bowl. I made the dough with a slight variation, using a bit more salt, about 1/3 cup of organic raw sugar, 2 cups organic rye flour and 1 cup of organic whole wheat, with the balance (about 10 cups) organic unbleached white flour. First proof was 3 hours, then I split the 2.2 kg of dough into the two Kaiser pans for a final proof before baking.

According to the Kaiser leaflet that came with the pans, it is recommended to release the loaf upside down on a baking sheet after 10 minutes. I did this, but I found the loaves collapsed somewhat and could have easily been 2-3 inches higher. Overall bake time was 45 minutes at 375 F, and the loaves could have stood another 5-10 minutes as they were a tiny bit doughy in the center. These are BIG loaves, and weigh in at 1100 gr each!

As you can see from the photos, the loaves have an unusual pattern, which to me looks a lot like a Devo energy dome (please Mr. Mothersbaugh, don't sue me for trademark violation! (As you can see, Mark is also eating too much bread.)

Mouth feel and taste were absolutely fantastic. The bit of extra sugar and salt really helped. Crust was crispy and thin and the crumb, while on the tight side and a bit dense, had just the right blend of chewiness. It was incredibly hard to resist. Can't wait for toast in the morning!

Sourness was almost non-existent, and this had me surprised. I expected the extended time in the third stage would result in more sourness, as the relatively liquid (100% hydration) 3 stage technique is to promote more lactic bacteria activity. Also I find my cultures get considerably more acidic the longer I leave them in the fridge, and since the first loaves from this culture were quite sour, I was worried these loaves would have been worse.

Next bake I'll try and improve on this with a slightly longer pan proof (this was 2 hours) and a longer set time before releasing. However I am out of President's Choice organic flour, and will be switching to Abenaki unbleached organic. These may be too many variables to change...