Lovely oven rise, crackling crust with cracks after cooling.

This is a new Experimental Bread for me! I sowed and grew some Dill compacta from seeds and now it’s harvest time! So I thought I’d bake a bread containing dill.

The night before, I made a polish with 150gm yeasted apple water with 150gm Bob’s Red Mills bread flour. Proofed overnight at room temperature. Next day, after 16 hours proofing, I added in the following ingredients to the polish. 30 gm extra virgin olive oil; 1 tsp dried yeast and 240gm warm water. Add in 400gm Bob’s Red Mills bread flour. Stir all this up and stand for 15 mins. 

Meanwhile, I diced a large white onion, and gathered some dill from the garden (amounting to 3/4 cup after coarsely chopping the dill). Fried the onions in 1 tbs olive oil, in medium heat till brown, and when done, threw in the chopped dill. Switched off the fire, stirred and let this cool down. I then added the cooled onion and dill mixture to the dough and mixed everything by hand.

This is the amount of dill and onions.

Chopped dill and diced white onion.

Onion and dill fried in olive oil.

Poolish, Olive oil and yeast mixture.

Proofing after the final shaping.

The dough boules doubles in size.

After proofing for 45 mins, I did three Stretch and Folds at 45 mins intervals. This is followed by 1 coil fold, letting the dough relax for 20 mins, then divide the dough into two equal halves. Pre-shape into boules and let his rest for 10 mins before shaping into boules and setting them on baking paper to rest for 35 mins. Meantime fire up the oven with the Dutch Ovens inside to 350˚C for 35 mins. After this interval, score the boules and set each one into the hot Dutch Oven, spray a few times with water, baking at 245˚C for 20 mins with lid on; followed by 20 mins at 205˚C with lid off.

Finally when done, transfer the loaves to a metal rack to cool.

Hot out of the Dutch oven.

One of the two loaves cooling.

On the Left: The sliced loaf to show the thin nature of the crust, and the fairly open crumb.

On top: Taking a closer look.

Impression: The aroma was delicious, and the flavour sweeting and infused with the herb. The enitre loaf was so soft, it was difficult to slice. A truly savoury bread which I would bake again.

“Man’s greatness consists in his ability to do and the proper application of his powers to things needed to be done.” –Frederick Douglass