Ingredients:
Organic Flour (Seasonal hard red 70%, Farro Nero 30%), Filtered water and Diamond Crystal flake Salt.
Net Weight: 950g (2.09lb)
The Loaf
The Hearth Loaf is the beating heart of Wild Daisy - Organic, freeform and nourishing. The Levain Hearth loaf is a free form loaf meant to be eaten as is, with a spread, dipped in soup or whatever your habit might be - It can also hold its own as a sandwich. The loaf is capped with a thick and hearty, caramel colored crust (which I love for croutons), and the crumb has a soft tang that balances the nutty grain character of the Farro Nero.
The Muse
Bread is one of the world’s oldest crafted foods (we’ll let the Brewers and Bakers of the world argue this one), and its humility and simplicity push it to the front of the Pantry. I honor it by making it with as much integrity as I can; just 3 ingredients, organic flours and grains sourced from Janie’s Mill in Ashkum IL, fermented overnight and mixed by (clean) hand in a bowl. Bread is both ridiculously simple, and frustratingly unaccommodating. It takes time, patience and planning; 3 traits I sorely struggle with. But when it’s right and served fresh out of the oven, there’s nothing quite like it.
The Grain
I use a blend of flour made of 70% Hard Red Wheat and 30% Farro Nero. Hard Reds are what we are most familiar with when it comes to bread flour. It’s high in gluten, and gives us the color and texture of the classic rustic loaf. We use this for the base. Farro Nero, also know as Black Emmer, is an ancient Egyptian grain that was brought from France to the U.S. in 1904. Black emmer is one of the oldest ancient grains (Einkorn the oldest we know of) and packed with nutrients. It has substantially more gluten potential than other ancient grains, but still lower than contemporary bread flours such as hard red varieties. This makes it a perfect blender. Flavor wise, it often has a nutty, earthy and mildly malty character. The result, is a more complex, grain-forward flavor, denser nutrients and a classic freeform hearth loaf we all love.
Good to Know / Eating with Consciousness
A single loaf of bread takes about 16 - 28 sqft of wheat land depending on farming practices.
A wild yeast polyculture is much heartier than commercially farmed yeast. Micro chemicals can often kill commercial yeast, but a wild culture will survive much harsher conditions. Wild Yeasts can also help “clean up” somewhat compromised foods.
