100% kamut only bread

[tima1956]

Recipe called for 4 cups of flour and extra as needed but I had to use eight cups. I don’t want to use processed flour.

I baked two 100% kamut loaves.

So I ground eight cups of flour then drove to Target and bought a Kitchenaid stand mixer for kneading.

The recipe called for 4 cups of kamut only flour and extra as needed. However it took eight cups to make a sort of a ball of dough. I ‘m sure I strained the stand mixer a little, tho right after adding flour It would pull from the side of the mixing bowl, but after the flour was incorporated into the dough it became sticky again and remained sticky. The dough became stretchy after about 5 minutes of kneading, is this desirable. I lost some of the dough when I transferred it to a sheet of wax paper from some of it sticking to the paper and from having to wash my hands a few times. However the dough did rise during the two stages of prep as expected including while it rested in the 8 inch dutch ovens (I baked without lids).

I ate a slice of the bread after toasting it and it seemed ok. It was delicious, crunchy and toasty, not hard and dry.

So any idea why I had to use so much flour and it it supposed to be kinda dense on the inside, I can pinch it and it will mush together between my fingers, but it did seem to toast up dry like bread. My guess is if I used less flour the bread would be less dense and a little lighter.
Do the loaves look like they should.

Thank you for any suggestions, Tim

p.s.

I have milled half a 20lb bag of kamut berries in the past few weeks trying to finally make eatable bread.

[anon44372566]

That’s a very good 100% kamut flour bread. Not the easiest of grains to work with and why you needed to use so much extra flour is difficult to say without seeing the recipe. More info the better. The only thing I can say at this point is going by volume will be much more open to variables than following a recipe by weight. It looks good and from the sound of things tastes delicious. That’s a success in my book.

[tima1956]

Thanks Abe.
Here is the recipe, I looked for one that used only kamut flour.
KAMUT BREAD
Yield: 4 loaves

Mill whole Kamut grain into flour.

Place in a mixer or mixing bowl:
4 cups warm water (110 degrees)
4 cups Kamut flour, freshly-ground
1 Tablespoon SAF instant yeast
1 teaspoon organic apple cider vinegar (optional)

Mix well until it forms a batter-like consistency. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes to sponge.

Stir down batter and add:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, or organic coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 cup vital gluten flour (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
Additional freshly-ground Kamut, enough to make a study but moist dough, approximately 4-5 cups. Only add enough flour to have the dough form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Mix well until dough holds together.

If using a stand mixer, knead on medium-low for 5 minutes, or until dough is smooth and springy, but not sticky. If kneading by hand, this will take 10-12 minutes on an oiled surface.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.

Stir down dough and divide into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan to rise. Let rise for 30-45 minutes or until loaves are domed on top and have risen about 1 -2 inches above the rim of the loaf pan. *I use the 8 x 4-inch pans.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while the bread is rising.

When oven and bread are ready, bake for 30-35 minutes or until bread is browned. Remove bread from oven, remove the bread from the pans and place the loaves onto a wire rack cooling sheet. Cover with a clean dishcloth and let the loaves cool completely.

[anon44372566]

That’s an interesting recipe. The first step is a sponge. Very wet indeed! It’s meant to be. And I see the reason why you added an extra 4 cups of Kamut flour but the recipe says to do this!

It’s like making a poolish but instead of a long slow rise it’s quick. I believe it’s called a flying poolish. Kinda makes a lot of sense now and you didn’t do anything wrong not straying much from the recipe.

If you don’t mind I’d like to give you a simple, but effective, lean dough Kamut recipe. Keeping it simple but delicious. It’s by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou. See if you like it. Makes one small 1lb loaf. Double up for a 2lb loaf.

Ingredients

• 300g Kamut flour (2.5 cups) [or Spelt flour]
• 6g salt (1 teaspoon)
• 2g dried yeast (3/4 teaspoon)
• 200-230g warm water (up to one cup) [this recipe works well for both Kamut and Spelt with Kamut needing a bit less water hence the 200-230g. So best to start off with less and add extra if needed]

1lb loaf pan.

1: In a small bowl mix the flour and salt. Set aside. This is the dry mixture.
2: In a large bowl add the yeast and 3/4 of the water. Keep the remainder of the water to one side. Stir so the yeast has dissolved. This is the wet mixture.
3. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and form the dough. Slowly add more water, if it needs it, till the dough feels right.
4: Cover and rest for 10 minutes.
5: After 10 minutes perform a set of stretch and folds like so… Keeping the dough in the bowl pull a portion of the dough up from the side and press it down in the middle. Turn the bowl slightly and repeat. Keep going round the dough till it begins to resist. Cover and rest for and rest for 10 minutes.
6: Repeat this process until you’ve done 4 sets of stretch and folds with 10 minutes rest in-between each set. Then cover and let rest for 1 hour.
7: Shape the dough into the loaf pan and final proof until slightly less than doubled in size. About 30-45 minutes.
8: Pre-heat the oven to 240C (475F). When ready place the dough in the oven and turn down to 220C (425F) and bake for 35 minutes (with steam if possible) or until ready. When you take it out of the loaf pan make sure it taps hollow. I like to return the loaf to the oven for a nice all over golden crust.
9: Allow to fully cool.

Hope you try it. Very good introduction to Kamut.

[tima1956]

Anon, Thank you for the recipe. I finally found yeast at Publix, tried your recipe and it was easier than the previous one I tried. Why does my dough remain so sticky throughout from start to when I finish with it. I can’t knead it because its just a sticky blob that comes apart and sticks to my fingers. I actually lose some of it, it gets all over the place. I watch videos of people kneading dough and their’s is well behaved, stretches and folds and ends up a fancy smancy cooking show piece (fun intended). I have yet to create a dough that I can handle. I started my bread making journey with a 20 lb bag of Kamut berries and a Mockmill 100, less than half left. I have enjoyed every moment. The smell brings back memories of home cooking when I was a kid, my Granny Rea had a milk cow so I’m talking way back when. I have eaten my own home milled/baked bread but tossed more. Toasted Kamut bread is delicious.
If I could learn to create a dough that I can handle & knead I would be very happy! Maybe I just haven’t developed some required intuition yet.
I’m not complaining.
Thanks again