Caramelised Macadamia Nut & Orange Sourdough

Prep: 20 hr 0 min

Cook: 0 hr 40 min

Servings: 1 large loaf or 2 smaller loaves

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This bread is lightly flavoured with pieces of macadamia croquant and fresh orange zest.

If you can’t find macadamia croquant in the shops you can make some of your own in advance:

Combine 1 cup sugar with 1/4 cup of water in a small, heavy saucepan. Stir gently over high heat only until the sugar dissolves. Dip a clean pastry brush in water and use this to brush any sugar crystals on the side of the pan down into the liquid.
Cook sugar mixture over high heat until a light golden brown (takes about 10 to 15 minutes, but keep an eye on it). Remove from heat; gently stir in 1/2 cup of toasted macadamias.
Immediately pour mixture onto a baking pan coated with cooking spray. Let cool before breaking into pieces. Use some for the bread and the remainder as an ice cream topping.

You can also replace the croquant in this recipe with an equal amount of toasted macadamia nuts if you prefer.

Ingredients

Levain: 1/2 cup Kialla’s Organic White Unbleached Flour or Organic Spelt flour

Levain: 1 teaspoon Kialla’s Organic Rye Flour

Levain: 1/4 cup of water

Levain: 1/2 cup of Starter (see our Starter recipes)

1 + 1/2 cups Kialla’s Organic White Unbleached Flour or Organic Spelt flour

1/2 tablespoon salt

1 cup water

2/3 cup of Levain

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon of Toasted macadamia croquant

Method

Mix all Levain ingredients together until well incorporated.
Allow to ferment for 12hrs at room temp (21ºC).
Once Levain has fermented, mix all remaining ingredients together until the dough has developed.*
Prove 3-4 hours, with 2 folds.
Weigh into two smaller doughs or leave as one large dough. Rest for 30 mins, then mould into shape.
Leave for 60 to 90 minutes for Final Prove.
Bake for 20 mins at 330ºC with steam.
Reduce heat and bake for another 20 mins at 210ºC.

Notes

*To know when your dough is developed, use one or more of these methods as your criteria:

The dough is smooth: in the beginning, your dough will look like a messy lump but will gradually smooth out as you knead it. When it is smooth and slightly sticky to touch then it is developed.

The dough is clear: pull off a small ball of dough and stretch it between your fingers (as pictured above). Well-developed gluten will allow the dough to stretch into a thin film without breaking. If holes appear or the dough ‘breaks’ then you must keep kneading.

The dough holds its shape: when you lift the ball of dough off the bench, if it holds its shape, the gluten is tight and strong. If it sags down between your fingers, keep kneading.

For final proof (before going in the oven) use the ‘finger’ test: poke the dough firmly with your finger. If the dough falls back it’s over-proofed, if it springs back it’s ready to put into the oven.

If a loaf is over-proofed, and you are baking naked bread (eg not in a tin) it can collapse when you place it in the oven. If you are using a tin to bake the loaf, it will suck in at the bottom and collapse when removed after baking.
So test your dough as you go.

ALL OVENS ARE DIFFERENT AND BAKING TEMPS/TIMES ARE GUIDE ONLY.

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Caramelised Macadamia Nut & Orange Sourdough