Let’s Try Something Fun – Kimchi And Apple Sourdough

I know, I know. Kimchi and apple sourdough bread isn’t a common sourdough flavor and it may even sound bizarre but hey let’s have some fun with sourdough. This kimchi and apple sourdough is an inspiration from my boss. He’s obsessed with kimchi (he’s a french!). One day he had this idea of making kimchi pizza with sliced apple. At first, all my colleagues and I were unsure about it. However, it came out surprisingly tasty and well balanced. Today I’m going to share my experiment of kimchi and apple sourdough bread.

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kimchi and apple sourdough recipe

weight	ingredient	baker’s percentage
400g	baker’s flour (12.5% protein)	100%
260g	water	65%
120g	starter	30%
6g	salt	1.5%
20g	kimchi juice	5%
100g (after cooked, 80g)	kimchi	25% (after cooked, 20%)
48g	diced apple	12%
total 930g

workflow

Day 1
7:00	Mix flour and all water until a dough form. Cover with a tea towel and leave aside for 30 minutes (autolyse)
	Slightly chop and cook kimchi in a fry pan to get rid of excess water. Leave it aside to cool down. Dice apple.
7:30	Add active starter to the dough and continue mixing. Gradually add in kimchi juice to the dough and add in salt. Mix until gluten develops. (windowpane test)
7:50	Lamination: Spread the dough on slightly oiled bench, spread out kimchi and apple. (check this post for how to add in inclusions with illustration at bottom “NOTES section”)
8:00	Bulk ferment starts. Perform coil fold *2 with 30 minutes intervals.
19:00	Pre-shape : 465g *2
19:40	Final shape. 15 minutes bench rest.
20:05	cold prrofing in the fridge.
Day 2
14:00	Pre-heat oven and cast iron bread pan.
14:45	Scoring. Bake at 250 degree for 25 minutes lid on. 230 degree for 20-23 minutes lid off.

Notes

* Overall taste is mild. It didn’t come out as spicy as I expected. Can barely taste kimchi. I’ll try not to cook kimchi but just drain off the extra juice from it. Or I’ll incorporate some gochujang (korean red chilli paste) to enhance the flavor.

* I like the colour that kimchi brings to the dough. I believe the vibrant color in gochujang will make the bread even more delicious looking

* I enjoy the sweetness from apple and it also contributes to the texture. I might try doubling the amount next time.

* 2 coil folds only due to the strong structure (and also lower hydration) of the dough.

* The final bread is baked beautifully with all the blisters around. May be the bacteria in kimchi juice boost the fermentation process. (Lactic acid bactaria can be found in fermented food such as kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles and of course sourdough!)

At the end

I’m happy I tried making bread with kimchi and apple. This is fun. Try something new and learn something new along the way. This is just the first trail of this kimchi apple bread. I’ll give another go soon and see how far I can reach. Stay tuned people!