Quinoa bread: the recipe

Name: Quinoa bread
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 19 h 10 min
Yield: 2 pieces of 680 g
Ingredients: 102 g Wheat flour; 61 g Water; 2.0 g Salt; 20 g Sourdough starter; 305 g Wheat flour; 229 g Spelt flour; 327 g Water; 196 g Soaking water; 12 g Salt; 98 g Quinoa

Toasted quinoa gives this loaf a deep, enveloping nutty note, while also enriching its nutritional value.

You can use white, red or black quinoa, but white offers a softer, more delicate flavour profile.

Given the dough's high hydration, the bassinage technique is used, adding the remaining water gradually toward the end of mixing.

The recipe was conceived as pure sourdough (starter only). An overnight retard in the fridge will give it a pleasant, light tang.

If you want to lighten the structure and open up the crumb, you can add about 1% commercial yeast.

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 — 16% of the flour
Mixing: Stand mixer

Number of pieces: 2
Weight per piece: 680 g
Preferment weight: 185 g
Dough weight: 1166 g
Total dough weight: 1360 g

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Ingredients

Quantities for 2 pieces of 680 g, kitchen at 21 °C

Preferment

Wheat flour (0, W320)102 g
Water61 g
Salt2.0 g (two pinches)
Sourdough starter20 g

Dough

Wheat flour (0, W320)305 g
Spelt flour (Whole wheat, W140)229 g
Water327 g
Soaking water196 g
Salt12 g
Quinoa98 g

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Method

Prepare the grains (see notes)
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 (25 min)
- Use water at 24 °C
End of mixing, start of bulk rise (at room temperature) (2 h 30 min)
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. Alternatively, the dough can be retarded and baked the next day.
Ready to cook

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Baking

- conventional oven, with steam
- Overall temperature: 240 °C
- Time: 15 minutes
- Normal steam
- conventional oven, without steam
- Overall temperature: 225 °C
- Time: 25 minutes
- Lower the temperature and keep baking until the crust is solid all the way around.

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

Preparation notes

Cooking the quinoa: Toast the quinoa (white, if you can choose) in a dry nonstick skillet, stirring occasionally, until it starts popping and smells toasted (6-8 minutes). Pour the recipe's water over it, brought to a boil, and cook until the quinoa is tender. Cover and let it cool completely.
Bassinage: If mixing with a stand mixer or spiral mixer, pour in the last 20% of the water gradually, in a thin stream, only after the gluten network has formed.

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