Chocolate Chip Cherry Sourdough Challah | The Recent Loaf

I made a model of this earlier than however by no means posted it. It’s a fairly moist dough, however not so moist that you simply couldn’t do a standard braid. I made one in every of these plain to make use of for stuffing, and the opposite one was a request for one in every of my mates’ households.

A lot of the flour used was KAF bread flour and I combined in some contemporary milled Butler’s Gold entire wheat and spelt each from Barton Spring Mills.

I used darkish chocolate chips and Chukar model air-dried Rainier cherries which had been rehydrated in water earlier than including to the dough.

The dough was combined utilizing my trusty Ankrusrum and open-baked with steam.

The completed loaves got here out wonderful and are good for breakfast with some butter or cheese or higher but used for some killer French toast.

Components

Levain Instructions 

Combine all of the levain elements collectively for about 1 minute and canopy with plastic wrap.

Let it sit at room temperature for round 6-7 hours or till the starter has virtually doubled. I used my proofer set at 76 levels so it took round 5 hours for me. Both use in the primary dough instantly or refrigerate for as much as 1 day earlier than utilizing.

 Principal Dough Process

Notice: I take advantage of an Ankarsrum Mixer so my order of blending is barely completely different than if utilizing a Kitchenaid or different mixer. Add all of your liquid to your mixing bowl besides 50-80 grams. Add all of your flour, and egg yolks, to the bowl and blend on low for a minute till it varieties a shaggy mass. Cowl the blending bowl and let it relaxation for 20 – half-hour.   Subsequent add the levain, salt, oil, vanilla extract and remaining water as wanted and blend on medium low (about pace 3) for 12- 24 minutes till you’ve a pleasant developed dough.  You’ll be able to both combine within the chips and cherries with the mixer or take the dough out and laminate them in.

Take away the dough out of your bowl and place it in a frivolously oiled bowl and do a number of stretch and folds.  Be sure the dough is as flat as attainable in your bowl/container and measure the dough in millimeters and take the temperature of the dough as effectively. Primarily based on the chart from www.thesourdoughjourney.com, decide what % rise you want and make an observation. When you’ve got a proofer resolve what temperature you need to set it at and what rise you’re aiming for. If the dough is totally developed you don’t must do any stretch and folds, but when it’s not, do a number of units 15-20 minutes aside.

As soon as the dough reaches the specified bulk rise, pre-shape and let relaxation for 15-20 minutes. End shaping place in your banneton, bowl, or in your sheet pan and canopy it so it’s fairly hermetic. You’ll then place it in your fridge so that you don’t need the dough to get a crust on it. I often don’t depart the dough within the fridge for greater than 12 hours due to all of the contemporary milled flour however it’s attainable to go longer. I let this one go 15 hours whole and the dough was properly fermented.

If you find yourself able to bake, an hour beforehand pre-heat your oven to 540 F and put together for steam. I’ve a heavy-duty baking pan on the underside rack of my oven with 1 baking stone above the pan and one on the highest shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water into the pan proper after I place the dough within the oven.  Take away your dough from the fridge and rating instantly. I used some cookie cutters to jazz it up a bit.

Take the bread(s) out of the oven when carried out and allow them to cool on a baker’s rack for so long as you possibly can resist.