Durum-Spelt Egg Bread with Cherry Maple Syrup and Durum Tangzhong — practical bake notes

# What this bake is

This is a levain-forward durum-spelt egg bread that uses fresh-milled flours, a small amount of commercial bread flour in the levain, and a durum tangzhong (a cooked starch roux). The baker added cherry maple syrup to the levain and folded in a drained fresh cherry slurry so the cherry presence is noticeable but not sweet-heavy.

# Why the components matter

Tangzhong: Cooked durum flour and water until it thickens to a wallpaper-paste consistency. It increases loaf hydration tolerance and keeps crumb moist.

Levain with maple-cherry: A levain containing some KA bread flour plus added cherry maple syrup for flavor and a touch more sweetness.

Cherry slurry: Fresh cherries are pitted, pulsed to a slurry, and drained through a fine sieve to remove excess water. The drained cherries are folded into the dough late to preserve texture and prevent excess dilution.

Egg yolks and sour cream: Add richness and flavor.

# Key process and timing

• Dough temperature aimed for 75°F.
• Levain: mix ingredients and ferment at ~75°F until almost doubled (peak), about 5–7 hours in the baker's proofer setting.
• Tangzhong: cook, cool to room temperature (or speed-cool in an ice bath) before adding to dough.
• Cherry slurry: pit, pulse, drain, and optionally use the extracted juice as part of the dough water.

• Coil folds and stretch-and-folds: a set of coil folds at 30-minute intervals twice, then one set of stretch-and-folds at 30 minutes later to build gas structure and layers.
• Pre-shape and bench rest 15–20 minutes, then final shaping and place in banneton or proofing container. The baker retarded overnight in the fridge for the final proof.

# Baking parameters

• Preheat oven to 500°F with steam arrangement (heavy pan on bottom, baking stones above). Preheat at least one hour.
• Score, load, pour 1 cup boiling water into bottom pan to generate steam, then lower oven to 450°F.
• Bake until crust is well browned and internal temperature reaches 205–210°F.
• Cool on a rack as long as possible before slicing.

# Results and uses

The finished loaf was moist with a fairly open crumb and good oven rise. Cherry flavor came through without dominating sweetness. The baker notes excellent performance for grilling and sandwiches. Mixing longer up front and building gluten early were deliberate choices to encourage an open crumb despite significant whole-grain content.