Mini Farro Sourdough
Packed with fiber and protein, it seems like farro is suddenly all the rage. Maybe it’s because it’s so versatile and downright delicious. I wondered if I could include farro in a sourdough loaf. It was DIVINE. You could use this bread to create a crostini topped with smoked trout, eggplant, and herbs. Any smoked fish and herb-y schmear would be heavenly. Or perhaps burrata and pickled tomatoes. Whatever you choose, this bread’s dense crumb and moist interior toasts up like a dream and won’t buckle when piled high with delicious things.
Ingredients
180g Fresh Milled Farro Verde (Anson Mills)
325g White Bread Flour (Anson Mills)
380 grams tomato water
10 g kosher salt
100g All-purpose/Rye Sourdough Starter
Pulse the tomatoes and strain using a fine sieve. If you can’t find fresh tomatoes in season, add some aromatics (basil, shallots, garlic, etc) to the tomatoes before blending. I used a Vitamix, but any blender or food processor would work.
Combine 100 g sourdough starter and 330 g warm tomato water. Add the flours and slowly mix to combine until all flour is incorporated. Cover with a towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Add the salt and 50 g of water remaining to the dough. Mix slowly to combine and then mix on medium-low for a few minutes. Transfer to a clear bowl, cover with a damp towel, and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Bulk Rise: Using a wet hand, perform four folds of the dough, bringing each corner to the center. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Do this again twice and then 1 per hour for 2 hours. The dough is ready when stable and doesn’t lose shape after folding.
Pre-shaping: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and separate it into four equal-size pieces with a bench scraper. Using floured hands and working with one piece of dough at a time, gently pull all the edges of the dough toward the center to create a round shape. Allow the dough to rest seam-side down for 30 minutes or so. Be sure to lightly flour the dough and cover it with a damp towel.
While the dough is resting, prepare your baskets (or bowls) by dusting them with rice flour.
Final Shape and Proof: Start by lightly dusting the tops of each dough ball. One at a time, flip the dough ball over and lightly flatten the dough into a thick disc. Bring the dough bottom up and over the center and press to secure; stretch the left side up, and over the center towards the right, press down to ensure the dough, and then do the same on the right side. Stretch the top of the disc down and over the center of the dough and press down slightly to secure. To finish the shape, gently roll the dough from bottom to top and work to create a tight boule by using a circular motion. Dust the boules and place them in the baskets to proof for 2 hours (more if it’s cold and less if it’s warmer in your kitchen). You will know when the boules are ready to bake when the dough bounces back slowly after doing the finger poke test (press a finger 1/2 or so down into the dough).
Bake for 20 minutes at 500 F, remove the top of the dutch oven, lower the temp to 450F and cook for 25 minutes.
