Sourdough Tapioca Bread

Today, my featured guest blogger is Sissy from the blog Eat Bread with Me. I met Sissy a couple of months ago at the Masters Bread-Baking Class at the Asheville Bread Festival.  During the masters’ class, we learned more about bread-baking through hands-on demonstrations, but we also had the opportunity to network with other bakers around the country.

I wanted to showcase Sissy’s bread because she is originally from Brazil and likes to incorporate unique flavor combinations in her loaves. The bread she created for this post includes a porridge made from tapioca, a popular ingredient in Brazil. It is a very interesting sourdough bread that I hope you will try.

 

A little bit about Sissy…

Before we learn how the bread is made, let’s find out a little bit about Sissy’s background.

How long have you been making bread and how did you get started?

I started baking bread when I was a teenager, back in Brazil, where I’m originally from. A good friend of mine gave me a potato bread recipe. I made it once and changed it many times. I remember making it with purple cabbage, just to change its color.

I took some time without making any bread and then started again, years later, when I got concerned about what was in my food. Then I decided to make everything I could, myself.

What do you like to do besides baking bread?

I like to take photos, travel, to be outdoors and to spend time with my husband and kids. I homeschool my kids. I also love to read and wish I had more time to do so. One of my dreams is to be a writer.

What are your favorite types of bread to make and why?

My favorite types of bread to make are the “no recipe ones”; in other words, the ones I create myself. I can never follow a bread recipe without changing it or making ingredient substitutions. I get distracted if I have to pick and choose a recipe from a book, so I just look through them to have ideas about ingredients and methods and that is all. Also, I incorporate levain in every recipe I make and that is a challenge, mostly when making enriched breads. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it is the challenge I’m after and that is what keeps baking bread interesting.

Do you use any special flours or grains in your bread?

I only use organic local flours. I like to play with different flavors, so I try adding new ingredients all the time. Sometimes I grab something left over from a meal and go for it.

Why did you start your blog?

I started my blog after sharing bread with friends. They would ask me for the recipe and I would not know. So I thought that a blog would be a great way to write them down and to keep it for my kids. Having a blog takes time, and sometimes it is very hard to keep posting.  But in a way it makes me feel like a writer.

For more info about my blog go to http://eatbreadwithme.blogspot.com/

 

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Sourdough Tapioca Bread

by Sissy of Eat Bread with Me

I decided to create a recipe using an ingredient that is very popular in Brazil – Tapioca. We make a lot of recipes using cassava, where tapioca comes from. Street vendors in Brazil make a type of flat bread that one can fill with cheese, meat, or jams. It also makes a delicious porridge, that I usually make using milk and add mashed banana as a sweeter.

As with every bread I make, I try to incorporate a levain. This one is no exception. It needs high hydration as tapioca porridge has a glue like texture that begs for lots of water. It isn’t an easy dough to handle, but its worth the time. The tapioca adds a nice texture and the addition of different flours, including some Teff will give it a great flavor.

Ingredients:

• For the starter:
• 20 g of Mother Starter
• 50 g of Water
• 50 g of Sprouted Wheat Flour

Method:

Mix starter ingredients until well incorporated and let stand covered, at room temperature, for 6-8 hours or overnight until very active (bubbly)

Next day, or when the starter is ready proceed as follows:

For the Tapioca Porridge:

• 250 g of Water
• 50 g of Tapioca

Method:

Cook it in medium heat for about 5 minutes, until it thickens up and let it cool down.

Autolyse ingredients:

• 300 g of Water
• 60 g of Sprouted Wheat Flour
• 70 g of Spelt Flour
• 420 g of White Bread Flour
• 120 g of Starter

Method:

Mix the above ingredients until well incorporated and let it rest for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes add to the autolyse ingredients:

• 300 g of Tapioca porridge
• 14 g of Salt
• 15g of Teff flour (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together until all incorporated for about 5 minutes.

 

Do 4 sets of stretch and folds at 30 minute intervals.

After the last interval let it rest for one hour.

Pre-shape, rest for 20 minutes

Shape and let it proof for 30 minutes and the retard in the refrigerator, covered, overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 500ºF. Fill a container with water to add steam and place in the lower shelf of oven while preheating. Bake at 450ºF with stem for 15 minutes, remove steam and continue baking for another 20 minutes of until it is done (brown).

Happy baking 🙂

I want to thank Sissy for providing a glimpse into her life and for sharing her bread and photos with us.

Please visit her blog http://eatbreadwithme.blogspot.com/ to see more of her breads.