Cloughjordan Wood-Fired Bakery
20 Apr 2013Bread baked by Joe Fitzmaurice is essentially art.
Edible masterpieces that go up in *taste* value as they age {see his remarkable long-fermented rye sourdough recipe below.}
Carefully designed, crafted, nurtured, and loved, each loaf is fired in the beautiful brick oven bakery he built at his home located in Ireland’s first and only eco-village.
Joe is a maker, a craftsman. He wasn’t always a part of this trade, but to meet him you get the sense that he’s always had a baker’s soul. He is a warm fella; like his bakehouse. His oven was designed by the late, legendary oven crafter, Alan Scott. He counts reknowned Tartine baker, Chad Robertson, as inspiration. He wins bread awards, but doesn’t talk about it. And lucky for us, his loaves are still served up at Blazing Salads in Dublin where his baking story began.
The efficient, timber-burning brick oven gets fired in the evening, which, in turn, magnificently provides enough heat to bake breads for the entire next day. Brick-radiated heat is meant to be “more kind to the dough” Joe explained. The bakery uses only certified organic flours, and specialises in sourdough, long fermentation, spelt and rye breads.
Find Joe’s bread at Blazing Salads Bread Company, Dublin. Cloughjordan Wood Fired Bakery is not open to the public, but you are welcome to visit by appointment….go on. www.cloughjordanwoodfiredbakery.com.
Joe’s Country Rye
For the Starter:
Organic Strong bread flour 1100g
Organic Rye flour 1000g
Water (lukewarm) 480ml
Water (78f/25c) 150ml per feeding
For the Leaven:
Water (78f/25c) 200 grams
For the Dough:
Water (80f/27c) 750ml
Leaven 200g
Organic Strong bread flour 900g
Organic Rye flour 100g
Salt 20g
1. Make the Starter: Mix strong bread flour with rye flour. Place lukewarm water in a medium bowl. Add 315g flour blend (reserve remaining flour blend), and mix with your hands until mixture is the consistency of a thick, lump-free batter. Cover with a tea towel. Let rest in a cool, dark place until bubbles form around the sides and on the surface, about 2 days. A dark crust may form over the top. Once bubbles form, it is time for the first feeding.
2. With each feeding, remove 75g; discard remainder of starter. Feed with 150g reserved flour blend and 150ml warm water. Mix, using your hands, until mixture is the consistency of a thick, lump-free batter. Repeat every 24 hours at the same time of day for 15 to 20 days. Once it ferments predictably (rises and falls throughout the day after feedings), it’s time to make the leaven.
3. Make the Leaven: The night before you plan to make the dough, discard all but 1 tablespoon of the matured starter. Feed with 200g reserved flour blend and the warm water. Cover with a kitchen towel. Let rest in a cool, dark place for 10 to 16 hours. To test leaven’s readiness, drop a spoonful into a bowl of room-temperature water. If it sinks, it is not ready and needs more time to ferment and ripen. As it develops, the smell will change from ripe and sour to sweet and pleasantly fermented; when it reaches this stage, it’s ready to use.
4. Make the Dough: Pour 700ml warm water into a large mixing bowl. Add 200g leaven. Stir to disperse. (Save your leftover leaven; it is now the beginning of a new starter. To keep it alive to make future loaves, continue to feed it as described in step 2.) Add flours (see ingredient list), and mix dough with your hands until no bits of dry flour remain. Let rest in a cool, dark place for 35 minutes. Add salt and remaining 50ml warm water.
5. Fold dough on top of itself to incorporate. Transfer to a medium plastic container or a glass bowl. Cover with kitchen towel. Let rest for 30 minutes. The dough will now begin its first rise (bulk fermentation), to develop flavor and strength. (The rise is temperature sensitive; as a rule, warmer dough ferments faster. Try to maintain the dough at 78f/25c degrees to 82f/27c degrees to accomplish the bulk fermentation in 3 to 4 hours.)
6. Instead of kneading, develop the dough through a series of “folds” in the container during bulk fermentation. Fold dough, repeating every 30 minutes for 2 1/2 hours. To do a fold, dip 1 hand in water to prevent sticking. Grab the underside of the dough, stretch it out, and fold it back over itself. Rotate container one-quarter turn, and repeat. Do this 2 or 3 times for each fold. After the 3 hours, the dough should feel aerated and softer, and you will see a 20 to 30 percent increase in volume. If not, continue bulk fermentation for 30 minutes to 1 hour more.
7. Pull dough out of container using a dough spatula. Transfer to a floured surface. Lightly dust dough with flour, and cut into 2 pieces using dough scraper. Work each piece into a round using scraper and 1 hand. Tension will build as the dough slightly anchors to the surface as you rotate it. By the end, the dough should have a taut, smooth surface.
8. Dust tops of rounds with flour, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest on the work surface for 20 to 30 minutes. Slip the dough scraper under each to lift it, being careful to maintain the round shape. Flip rounds floured side down.
9. Line 2 medium baskets or bowls with clean kitchen towels; generously dust with flour. Using the dough scraper, transfer each round to a basket, smooth side down, with seam centered and facing up. Let rest at room temperature covered with towels for 3 to 4 hours before baking.
10. Bake the Bread: Twenty minutes before you are ready to bake the bread, preheat oven to 500f/260c with rack in lowest position, and warm a 9 1/2-inch round or an 11-inch oval heavy ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid.
11. Turn out 1 round into heated pot (it may stick to towel slightly). Score top twice using a razor blade or a sharp knife. Cover with lid. Return to oven, and reduce oven temperature to 450f/230c degrees. Bake for 20 minutes.
12. Carefully remove lid (a cloud of steam will be released). Bake until crust is deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes more.
13. Transfer loaf to a wire rack. It will feel light and sound hollow when tapped. Let cool.
14. To bake the second loaf, raise oven temperature to 500f/260c degrees, wipe out pot with a dry kitchen towel, and reheat with lid for 10 minutes. Repeat steps 11 through 13.
Slan Abhaile,
Imen
Photos by Imen McDonnell 2013 with exception of fire photo which Joe provided to me.
Tags: Alan Scott, Blazing Salads, brick oven, cloughjordan, country life, Dublin, eco-village, farm, farmer, farmette, Farming, food, foodie, foodies, I Married An Irish Farmer, Imen McDonnell, ireland, Irish country living, irish farmer, irish food, Irish food photography, irish foodies, Joe Fitzmaurice, Married an Irish Farmer, married an irishman, Oven craft, rye, sourdough bread, Tartine, wood fired bakery
I’m looking at building a wood over. Just for me and the family. I see you are placing bread pans in the wood over. It looks like they are on cookie sheets in the oven. Is that what you are doing? Is that so they won’t burn on the bottom. Your bread looks wonderful and I would love to get your wild garlic recipe too.
Hi Imen
with your permission and credit/link can I use your shot of Joe for a blog post and poster for an event I am organising for Jan in Kilkenny?
please and thanks, Keith
of course! no problem Keith.
Love that shot of the wild garlic leaf on the bread – it inspired me that day to try my own wild garlic sourdough, which was tasty although not quite as good looking as Joe’s masterpiece. Must go visit!
Imen, your pics are so beautiful, I love the first one where he holds the bread. Makes me crave for real tasty bread right now!
Oh how gorgeous. I LOVE the leaf/herb they baked on top. It’s beautiful. 🙂
Thank you Krista…the bread was UNBELIEVABLE. It’s a wild garlic leaf on the top, YUM! Hope all is well. x
Wish I didn’t have to cross the pond to get a loaf of this bread! It looks so delicious, and I can only imagine how wonderful it smelled!
Thank you for sharing, and the next time I’m in Ireland (a few years hopefully) I’ll look him up!
We ate it with freshly made butter…piece after piece. So gorgeous. Do come and visit the eco-village. it’s magnificent. thanks for your comment.
Imen- These are gorgeous. I am so keen to visit now (fancy another trip?) and meet Joe and see him in his element. It’s always so inspiring isn’t it? 🙂
Rincy, DO visit! And, stay at Cloughjordan House and Cookery School. Fab.