I did an Apple and Oats porridge sourdough bread last year and it was loved by so many of you. I know a few baked it in a loaf pan and some others used apple juice instead of water (how awesome does that sound??!!)
So I thought to give this original recipe a new spin and came up with this sandwich recipe. I have been baking sandwich loaves on a weekly basis for the last 6 months (probably longer) for a community donation program. Needless to say I had plenty of opportunity to perfect my dough handling skills, specially with high hydration porridge loaves with whole grain.
We all know sandwiches are a big part of most families with kids. Its such a versatile bread, great for sandwiches, toasts or even to make croutons. Why not make it a wholesome loaf by adding whole grain, apples, oats, honey and a healthy dose of good bacteria. If you chose to slow proof the bread(retard) it will be even more gut friendly. Doesn’t all that sound amazing? So lets get started.
Few things before we jump in
You can replace honey in the recipe with sweetener of your choice or you can even completely omit using it. Apples give enough sweetness to the bread.
If you don’t have wholemeal flour, use bread flour or all purpose flour. This can be made with 100% all purpose flour too. But adding whole grain flour will add texture, color and nutrients. You can use high extraction flour too and mix it with some all purpose flour. Depending on the flour you use, you might have to adjust the water (hydration) as some flour are thirstier than others.
Do not hesitate to replace butter with oil. Fat helps keep this bread moist for longer.
Following are the important steps. Also find this recipe video on my YouTube channel.
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Get your sourdough starter ready. Give it a feeding, refresh it and use well fed mature starter to minimize sour flavor.
Get your apples and oats porridge ready.
Great the apples and weight 130g out of it. leave the skin on.
Cook the oats with water until mushy and add the honey and olive oil while still hot
Dissolve starter in water and add the mixture to the flour and mix with a spoon. Add a bit more water if the mixture is too dry. Finish mixing with hand. make sure all the flour is hydrated.
Cover and leave to rest for about an hour
Add the apples and oats porridge to the rested flour mixture and knead using a stand mixer. Knead for about 2-3 minutes on medium. Or until a dough is developed. Scrape the bowl as necessary.
Take the dough out and finish off kneading by hand. Use wet hands and do several slap(or stretch) and folds to bring the dough together. Place in a bowl cover and let this bulk for about 2 1/2 hours.
Give 3 coil folds during the bulk at 45 minute intervals
After the final fold, place in a bowl cover tightly and refrigerate for several hours to develop flavor. If you don’t want sour flavor do a same-day bake.
For the same-bake
Cover and leave at room temperature for another 2-3 hours to finish off bulk. Then move on to pre-shape and shape.
If you did a long fermentation in the fridge; take the dough out and let it thaw for about an hour and shape into a loaf, top with oats and place in a greased pan.
If you didn’t refrigerate, take the dough out on to a floured surface, preshape and let it rest for 15 minutes before shaping.
Leave this in a warm place to proof ( for about 3-4 hours)
Halfway through to the proofing, pre heat the oven
Once the bread is fully proofed, bake in the preheated oven. Spray some water to the surface, just before it goes in the oven to create a crustier top.
This is 8.5″ by 4.5″ pan loaf. This bread fits a 9″ by 5″ pan too.
Side by side comparison of the two pans with same dough. If you used a 9″ by 5″ pan the dough may not rise too much above the rim. So always use the poke test to see if it is proofed.
Check video below
Do the poke test to see if the bread is fully proofed. Check this video and see what to expect. When you poke, the dent should spring back slowly. It it springs back quickly, its under proofed. It it doesn’t spring pack its over proofed, but nothing to worry, get in the oven as quickly as possible.
Sourdough loaves take a long time to proof so be patient. Make sure it’s in a warm place (somewhere in between 26 – 29°C)
How the loaves bake up in different pans. In the 9″ by 5″ pan the height is less. This doesn’t affect the taste though.
Once baked, remove from the oven and take off the pan as soon as possible. Leave on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into the bread.
This bread stays fresh(soft) for up to a week if you keep it air tight. I usually place the leftovers in a plastic bread bag.
Apple and Oats Sourdough Sandwich Loaf
Ingredients
- 250 g strong bread flour (or high extraction flour/T85)
- 100 g wholegrain flour (can replace this with all-purpose or bread flour)
- 80 g mature sourdough starter (levain)
- 220 g water plus extra
- 50 g oats
- 100 g water to cook oats
- 120 g grated fresh apples (use any apple variety you like)
- 20 g honey (skip this if you want to make this vegan or replace with another sweetener)
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 6g salt
- extra oats to garnish the top
Instructions
- Cook the oats in the water. Use either the microwave or the stove. Cook until they become mushy, like porridge
- Take off the heat add honey and butter, mix and set aside to cool
- Grate an apple with skin on and weight 120g and set aside
- Mix the starter with 220 g water and add it to the flour. Mix using a spoon. If mixture is too dry add a tablespoon of water at a time and mix just until all the flour is hydrated
- Cover and leave for about an hour
- And then add the porridge, grated apples to the flour mixture along with salt and mix using a stand mixer (you can knead by hand too. Use wet hands to stop dough from sticking)
- Mix at low speed until everything is incorporated and then on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes
- Dust the bowl with flour to encourage mixing. Scrape the bowl when necessary
- Once a dough is developed, bring it onto a table and use slap and fold technique to bring the dough together into a smooth bowl
- Place in a lightly greased bowl cover and bulk (rest) for about 2.25 hours. Give 3 coil folds roughly at 45 minute intervals during this bulk. (slightly longer bulk is okay)
- After the final bulk, you can decide if you wan to bake on same day or do a slow proof in the fridge
- If baking on same day, leave to bulk for another 2-3 hours or until the dough is puffed up and visibly grown
- If slow fermenting, place in the bowl, close tightly and place in the fridge for several hour (12-18)
- If you are baking on same day, pre shape the bulked dough in to smooth bawl and rest for a bout 15 minutes before shaping
- If you refrigerated, take the dough out, let it thaw for about an hour and continue to shape
- Shape in to a pan loaf. check videos to see how to do this. Decorate top with oats if you like
- Place in a lightly greased 9 by 5 ( 8.5 by 4.5 is okay too) loaf pan and leave to proof
- This final proofing may take 3-4 hours or longer depending on the room temperature.
- Towards the end of the proof, preheat the oven to 400 °F
- Spray a little water(mist) on the loaf and place in the oven and after 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 375 °F and bake for 20 minutes
- Reduce the temperature to 350 °F and continue to bake for a further 15 – 20 minutes until the top is golden brown
- Once it’s baked, remove from the oven and switch off the oven
- Take the loaf out of the pan immediately (otherwise the loaf will go soggy) place in the switched off oven for about 10 minutes to fully dry off the sides and bottom of the bread
- Then leave on a wire rack to cool completely
- Do not cut while still warm, as the inside will still be sticky. The bread continues to cook as it cools and all the moisture need to evaporate
- Slice using a serrated knife once fully cooled. (may take 4-6 hours to fully cool)
6 comments
I’m baking this today. Looks delicious Vindi!
I’m glad you decided to. Looking forward to know what you think 🙂
Happy baking!
Hi Vindi, thank you for this recipe and your detailed instructions, it is absolutely delicious!! Super yummy fresh, and makes the most amazing toast 🙂
I decided to try again today (practice makes better!) and had a couple of points I’d love to troubleshoot…
1. My bread has a dense gummy line all through the bottom of it (the rest of the bread’s texture is perfect!), I am wondering if that means it was under-baked? Maybe I should try leave the oven on 375 instead of reducing to 350 in the last part of baking?
2. The bread has bigger air-holes in the top of the loaf. I wonder if this can be caused by over-proofing once in the pan? Part of the reason may be of course that my tin was a bit small I think (the 8.5 x 4.5 USA Pan) and it did ‘spill’ over a bit at the end of proofing, so it baked with ‘handles’ hanging over the side! I guess this would have distorted the structure of the top of the bread.
Any thoughts I would love to hear! Thanks so much! 🙂
Thanks Robyn.
1. The gummy line at the bottom is due to slight under proofing
2. The big air holes is usually due to not enough degassing before you shape the loaf
Hope this helps
Cheers!
Oh thanks Vindi, I had it quite wrong haha!SO much to learn 🙂
Can I just clarify, due you mean under proofing during the bulk or after being shaped? Or both?
You are welcome 🙂
I meant after being shaped. Sorry about the confusion.