Toasted buckwheat and spelt miches: the recipe

Name: Toasted buckwheat and spelt miches
Cook time: 58 min
Total time: 20 h 3 min
Yield: 2 pieces of 1200 g
Ingredients: 159 g Rye flour; 132 g Water; 32 g Sourdough starter; 615 g Spelt flour; 20 g Rye flour; 431 g Wheat flour; 700 g Water; 185 g Soaking water; 26 g Salt; 123 g Buckwheat

In this recipe the buckwheat is first toasted, then soaked, giving these spelt miches an unmistakable, intense earthy aroma.

Given the dough's high hydration, add the water gradually toward the end of mixing to develop the structure properly (bassinage).

Bulk fermentation takes about 3 hours: a time needed to make up for the low percentage of starter in the recipe and to fully develop the aromatic profile.

This recipe is freely inspired by, or adapted from, a formula by Master Jeffrey Hamelman.

At a glance

Method: Preferment, without autolyse
Preferment: Sourdough starter — 13% of the flour
Mixing: Stand mixer

Number of pieces: 2
Weight per piece: 1200 g
Preferment weight: 323 g
Dough weight: 2099 g
Total dough weight: 2400 g

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Ingredients

Quantities for 2 pieces of 1200 g, kitchen at 21 °C

Preferment

Rye flour (Whole wheat)159 g
Water132 g
Sourdough starter32 g

Dough

Spelt flour (Whole wheat, W140)615 g
Rye flour (Whole wheat, W80)20 g
Wheat flour (W350)431 g
Water700 g
Soaking water185 g
Salt26 g
Buckwheat123 g

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Method

Tosta e ammolla il grano saraceno (vedi note)
Lievito madre: make it and let it ferment (at room temperature) (14 hours)
- Weigh the ingredients
- Use water at 30 °C
- Mix the flour, water and starter until you get a smooth batter
- Transfer to a container, covered but not airtight
Weigh the ingredients and knead (30 min)
- Use water at 23 °C
End of mixing, start of bulk rise (at room temperature) (3 hours)
Reinforcement fold 1 of 2
Reinforcement fold 2 of 2
Divide/shape: weigh and form the pieces (5 min)
Start of proofing (at room temperature) (1 h 30 min)
About 1h30 at 24 °C.
Ready to cook

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Baking

- conventional oven, with steam
- Overall temperature: 240 °C
- Time: 15 minutes
- Steam, hot oven
- conventional oven, with steam
- Overall temperature: 225 °C
- Time: 43 minutes
- Lower the temperature: Bake until the crust gives you real confidence ("a crust you can trust")

The calculator adapts baking times to the weight of your pieces. Open the calculator

Preparation notes

Soaking the buckwheat: Toast the buckwheat in a dry skillet or in the oven for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it darkens and smells toasted. Pour the boiling water over it, cover, and let it sit alongside the sourdough.
Bassinage: If mixing with a stand mixer or spiral mixer, pour in the last 10% of the water gradually, in a thin stream, only after the gluten network has formed — 10% here, not the 20% of the other recipes in this family.

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