Einkorn & Amaranth Porridge Sourdough Bread

Breadtopia Blog Recipes
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This looks fabulous indeed, Melissa! I’m totally impressed. I make 100% Einkorn loaves but of course they don’t rise not nearly as much while tasting absolutely fantastic. For the record, while sprouted amaranth is somewhat different, not everyone loves the amaranth porridge taste - I think using quinoa instead (a close relative) may work for those people.

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Thanks, Dan! So true about amaranth porridge. Actually, I almost added to the recipe a personal note about it. I like it a lot, but my kids and husband don’t like the porridge. Nonetheless, they devoured the bread. All versions. Even the two who don’t like quinoa, which I agree is a milder greens flavor, do like the bread. A substitution of quinoa sounds really good though. I’ll definitely try it soon.

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I don’t like the porridge myself (probably the only grain porridge I truly dislike, to be honest). So I recently baked the sprouted amaranth bread from Tartine No. 3. Sprouting takes away most of that unpleasant (at least for me) taste. I do like other porridge breads: millet, barley, oats. Challenging to make, but well worth the effort.
Melissa, if I may make a suggestion: if still possible, your printable recipe should state what kind of Einkorn flour you use (you do say in the preamble, but not in the recipe) and also what type of leaven (hydration, built of, how mature…).

Congratulations again on a great recipe and on your award-winning crumb pictures!

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Dan,

The info has been added :slight_smile:

Can you tell me what type of colander or lid you used when you rinsed the amaranth when sprouting it? I’ve sprouted it and found it difficult to strain. Made lovely bread but was quite the process to rinse and drain.

-Melissa

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Looks like a tasty loaf. I haven’t had a chance to use amaranth yet but have just done some reading and it is an interesting grain that looks worth some experiments. Einkorn is one of my favorite grains to bake with.
A suggestion for draining your sprouted amaranth, try a flour sieve or sifter like the ones Breadtopia sells. I have a forty mesh and am sure the grain will not go through that.
Stu

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I didn’t use either. I used a sprouter that works very well for tiny grains, picture attached. Basically just spreading out the seeds on a non-absorbent, somewhat porous piece of what may be called a very dense mesh, with some drainage provided underneath. Don’t forget to cover so they don’t drain out. But just as Stuart says, you can use a fine sieve if you feel you can handle the hurdles.

A526FBCB-6393-4570-9A68-3A473B657F56.JPG3024×3024 1.88 MB

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Stuart & Dan, Thanks for the straining and sprouting product info. Very helpful

Stuart, I hope you enjoy trying out Amaranth!

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I’ve made a couple of these loaves using Tartine Book 3. And I’ve used a number of different grains for the porridge part. They were a great success and his with friends.

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RE: Einkorn & Amaranth Porridge Sourdough Bread

Hello Melissa, I am new to Breadtopia. A friend forwarded this recipe, and I’d like to give it a go, altho I need clarification on some of the steps.

  1. Split recipe to make one loaf? In order to do that, should the leaven also be cut in half? I understand with yeast bread recipes, there’s a percentage ratio and not necessarily an exact 1/2 reduction as it is for other ingredients.

  2. Leaven readiness? This is tricky for me as I am still trying to understand “readiness” and the right timing before it peaks. (I remember the float tests from Tartine’s country bread recipe I made in 2014.) Should the starter be fed and rest on the counter one day before making the bread, or is it necessary to feed for a few days continuously 2x per day to ensure it has consistent rise/fall pattern before using in bread recipe?

  3. Recipe step: mixing flour + water What’s the difference between letting it sit for “1 or 2 hours”? Is the 1-2 hours a window of time that it’s okay to rest before the next step?

  4. Recipe step: fermenting What’s the difference between letting it sit for “8 or 12 hours”? What characteristics determine that “the dough has fermented” and ready for next step?

I have all the ingredients and look forward to making this recipe.
Thanks very much for your advice!
Patricia

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PLBT,

Hopefully I can answer your questions -

  1. The recipe is for 1 loaf. I happened to make double the porridge because I like to eat it for breakfast. I also often make two loaves of any recipe, so my photos might have two bowls in them but I’ll write up the recipe for one loaf. To answer your specific question: I always halve or double starter when halving or doubling a recipe.

  2. I have a simplified – to me at least :slight_smile: – method for managing my starter because I bake a lot. My main fridge jar is my build jar. As long as the starter floats, I use it. Usually this is a few hours after removing from the fridge and feeding it. To be honest, I’ve even used sinking starter with no I’ll effects a few times, but my starter sees a lot of feeding and is in and out of the fridge for hours all week.

  3. In theory a longer autolyse (flour and water) will make a dough with more whole grain wheat be better to handle and develop gluten. People debate the point of diminishing returns – 1, 2, 12 hours. Also, this step may reduce bitterness in some whole wheats. I do whatever is convenient to me from the starter peak and float standpoint, and the rest of my schedule for the day… 40 min to 2 hrs.

  4. For more info on this, check out my response in the zucchini sourdough comment thread.

I hope this helps!