ananda's blog

Equality and Diversity Competition

My Level 2 Bakery students are very competitive.   Following on from Faye's Nettle Bread, and their determined, difficult yet successful adventures into Practical Exams, the group came up with a theme for their own entry into the College's Annual Competition:

"Breads of the World Arise"

See if you can name some of the breads, and where they come from?

We then worked together to produce a lovely basket and Cornucopia to house the finished loaves.

This was to ensure we made it through to represent our School in the College-wide competition....which we did!!   Some people in this group won the competition outright last year; they seem to be equally determined to repeat their previous success!   Let's wish them well.

And, here's some recent home bread making.

1. Pain de Siègle

Method:

• Build the sourdough from stock over 2 refreshments and 36 hours
• Combine sour with flour and water and autolyse 45 minutes
• Continue the mixing cycle by developing the dough and adding the salt to form a strong dough.
• Ferment in bulk for 2 hours, with 1 S&F after 1 hour
• Shape and proof in a banneton for 3 hours prior to baking
• Cut the loaf top and bake with steam for 50 minutes to 1 hour >

2. White Leavened Bread

Chewy and moist Sandwich bread made with a natural leaven and a retarded fermentation process

Method:

• Build and mix as above
• Bulk ferment for 2 hours, then shape loosely and retard overnight in the chiller
• Shape and proceed to final fermentation and baking, as above.

Both of these are really tasty breads for our daily sandwiches whilst at work!

Best wishes to all

Andy

It's been half term holiday week here; where has it all gone I'm asking, as I go back to work tomorrow.

I s to have spent much of the week working hard to tackle all the complex issues I have to deal with ready for next year.

A brief reflection on our trip to Bolton on Friday 18th February is quite calming and re-assuring that my job is a good one.   Unfortunately Faye was not in the "prize money" on this occasion, but we both had a great day out, and were very well treated by our hosts.

Some photographs are attached as Faye presented her Nettle Bread to a judging panel of VIPs, including Brett Warburton, the man in the open neck shirt, busily checking out her loaf, and asking very pertinent questions.   How cool is that?   Also on the panel was the head of Innovation for Warburtons, Darren Littler, who I met some years ago when still a student myself.   Many of Warburtons R&D team were taught by the same lecturer as me, on the Baking course at Leeds.

Faye's bread was one of only 2 loaves which were genuinely artisan and made with a pre-ferment.   The other 2 Baking colleges in the hunt both used bread improvers in their loaves.   The other 4 entrants' loaves were from catering students, and looked like fairly ordinary homebaked bread.   What matters, however, were all the students' wonderful ideas and the hardwork put in to develop their loaves.   And, it cannot be an easy task to stand in front of 3 esteemed bakers from the Warburtons Company, and present your own product, and talk about it so confidently.   I was really proud of Faye, especially when she stated simply that she used a leaven in her bread as she was only interested in "artisan" bread, then proceeded to explain to Darren how she had built her own leaven from scratch, and kept it going all this time.   Some photographs below:

 Level 2 Baking Students have an entrance into the College "Equality and Diversity" Competition tomorrow, with a theme based on breads of the world.   These are to be made with our own local ingredients, primarily, and presented in a Cornucopia, made from bread dough.   My contribution is the Borodinsky bread shown below.   Given I had an active rye sourdough, a bag of good bread flour, and plenty of Bacheldre Dark Rye, I could not resist more baking today, with a Pain de Siegle.

Borodinsky using a "Scald"

Makes 1 "Pullman Pan"

Method:

• Build the rye sourdough over 2 to 3 refreshments from stock. Ferment fully after final refreshment through to sour
• For the "Scald", dissolve the molasses and malt extract in hot water, and bring to a boil in a pan. Grind the Coriander seeds and combine these with the salt and rye flour. Pour on the boiling liquor and stir to mix. Cover tightly and cool to ambient.
• Combine the sour and scald for the first stage of the final mix, then add in the remaining portions of flour to form a paste
• Bulk proof for one hour
• Shape into a Pullman Pan, pre-lined with silicone paper. Proof for 3 hours, approx. before baking
• Place into the oven rising to 180°C, with a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. Leave for one hour. Turn the oven down to 130°C and bake a further 3 hours. Turn the oven off and leave in the cooling oven a further 3 hours
• De-pan and cool on wires

Pain de Siègle

2 Boules of classic naturally leavened bread proved in Bannetons.

Method:

• Build the rye sourdough from stock with at least 2 refreshments
• Weigh the required sourdough, and add the correct amount of water to this. Blend, then carefully add the white flour. Combine, and autolyse for 1 hour.
• Start to develop the dough on the bench with 5 minutes work. Rest for 10 minutes. Add the salt, and develop the dough a further 5 - 10 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes, then develop a further 5 - 10 minutes.

• Line a bowl with a little oil as a container for the dough. Cover with cling film and bulk proof for 2 hours. Stretch and fold after 1 hour.
• Scale and divide. Mould round and place upside down in prepared bannetons.
• Final proof is approximately 3 hours.
• Pre-heat the oven and masonry to 250°C. Tip out each loaf, score the top, use steam, and bake for 15 minutes. Drop the oven temperature to 220°C and bake a further 20 minutes. Drop the oven temperature to 200°C and bake each loaf out.
• Cool on wires

It's proving hard to spend so much time on TFL at the moment.   I wish I had more time to post, but it's a tough time in UK education right now, with lots of challenges needing full response.

Andy

I've had a heap of marking to do again this weekend now that my bakery students have successfully completed their exams for the unit in dough fermentation, and as I prepare for a visit from our External Verifier tomorrow.   I hope she is suitably impressed with their wonderful work.   So, I thought I'd make some bread at home to keep me on track as I wielded the red biro!

In case anybody's interested, the exam consists of a one hour written paper seeking to give credit to knowledge, and a 5 hour practical exam, in which students make a range of 3 fermented dough products.   I asked them to categorise these as 1] simple bread using either bulk fermentation, or a no-time dough; 2] an enriched dough with a ferment, or, a laminated dough; 3] something using complex fermentation such as biga, poolish or levain.   This tests practical skills, and understanding with 3 questions looking at dough production, temperature and fermentation.   So, quite a challenge!

Anyway, I ended up challenging myself in the end, with my chosen baking schedule, as I ran short of flour....again.   I live about 12 miles from a town, so this is not good!

I ran short of flour because I ended up making too much wheat leaven, and didn't want to waste it.   Originally, I planned to make just short of 2kg of the Pain au Levain dough, but ended up with over 3kg.   So my plan to make the 80% Rye Sourdough took a radical transformation, and became 100% Dark Rye instead!!

I have made thousands of All-Rye Sourdough breads like this, so I'm not sure why I'm using the exclamation marks?...100% Rye Sourdough with a Rye Flour Soaker

It's my formula, really, but with the inclusion of the rye flour soaker in Hamelman's recipe on pp. 213-4.   There are 2 elaborations on the sour, which I maintain at 1 part flour to 1.67 parts water, done on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon ready to make the paste early Sunday morning.   I made the soaker on Saturday afternoon at the same time as the second elaboration.   It's just one big loaf in a Pullman Pan, weighing in around 1860g of paste, and taking nearly 3 hours to bake!

Bake Profile 2¾ hours @ 170°C, with constant supply of steam from a "larva pan"

Method:

• Let down the soaker with the warm water, add the salt, then combine the liquid sour
• Add the flour and use wet hands to mix and form a paste
• Ferment in bulk for 1 hour
• Line the Pullman Pan with silicone paper, and use wet hands to mould the paste for the pan. Smooth the top and set to proof, covered, for about 3 hours.
• Dust the top of the loaf with Dark Rye flour and cut the top with 4 "X" shapes down the loaf. Put the lid on and set in the pre-heated oven.
• Bake as profile above
• Cool on wires

Pain au Levain

I aimed for 720g of levain, but ended up with 860g.   The excess of final dough meant I ran out of flour, hence the wonderful All-Rye loaf above!

Oven Profile: Pre-heat to 250°C, and bake on the bricks using steam.    Drop the heat to 225°C after 15 minutes, and to 215°C after 30 minutes.   Bake each loaf out, then move to the next!

Method:

• Autolyse flour and water for 1 hour
• Combine autolyse with leaven, mix by hand to start development, then rest 5 minutes
• Add salt and mix further 5 - 10 minutes to develop. Rest 10 minutes
• Mix a further 5 - 10 minutes to achieve window pane
• Bulk ferment, covered, for 2 hours in a bowl lined with olive oil; "Stretch and Fold" after 1 hour
• Scale and divide [I used 1400g, 950g and 700g banneton pieces]. Mould round and set to proof upside down. Refrigerate 2 of the pieces a short while to set a working production schedule. The first loaf should be ready after 3 hours final proof; bake to profile.
• Cool on wires

Nice looking breads; the house smells great; bread supply now sorted as we move to Confectionery in the student groups at College!

The weather, though wet, has turned mild, but the stove continues to blast out the heat.   It's outrageously warm, and the cat has been quite disgracefully indulgent in front of the fire!!!   Meanwhile, I gather you may be snowbound in parts of the US.   You are hopefully better equipped to deal with it all than the authorities are capable of back here in Blighty, that's for sure!

Best wishes to you all

Andy

White Boules with Gilchesters Flour and a Poolish 

Made in College on 26th January 2011

Oven Profile: Use a deck oven set at 235°C, top heat 6.5, bottom heat 5.   Apply steam set at 4.   Turn heat down to 225°C after 15 minutes and bake a further 10 minutes.   Open the dampers, and bake out a further 5 - 8 minutes, reducing the heat to 220°C.

Method:

• Prepare the "Poolish" 16 hours in advance and ferment covered at 21°C
• Combine all the final dough ingredients in a small spiral mixer and mix on slow speed only for 15 minutes.   Scrape down the bowl as required
• Ferment in bulk for 45 minutes, covered, at 28°C.
• Scale and divide into 1000g pieces, and mould round.
• Place upside down in prepared banettons, and prove for 1 hour 45 minutes at 30°C, 80%rH.
• Tip out onto a peel and cut the top of the loaf for coburg style with a cross.   Set in the oven and apply bake profile.
• Cool on wires

Large Boule with Gilchesters Farmhouse Flour and a Biga

Made in College on 26th January 2011

Method and Profile:

As above, except change cutting to cuts covering the whole of the loaf top; 5 parallel cuts.

>

The crumbshots of the finished loaf made with biga and farmhouse flour:

Good, honest and tasty bread.   Not tried the white coburgs yet, but I have a loaf in the freezer ready to sustain us for next week.

As a ps. a Level One student wanted to make Tiger Bread on Friday.   This is what we came up with as a joint effort.   I'm hoping he'll go far!

 All good wishes

Andy

>

80% Rye with a Rye Soaker, plus Black Strap Molasses

Very close to 2kg weight of paste, baked in a Pullman Pan, resulting in beautiful bitter sweet flavour!

This is close to Jeffrey Hamelman's recipe in "Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes"   pp.213-4.   The differences I used were as follows:

• Rye Sour is prepared as a liquid culture with water at 1.67 times the flour.


• Molasses in the formula at 4% on flour


• Overall hydration is increased to 85%


• High Gluten flour is substituted with regular Strong White Bread Flour [Allinson, 12% protein]


• There is no added yeast in the final paste.

Impact of relying on the Sour only for leavening meant 40 minutes bulk fermentation, then 2 hours 20 minutes final proof in the Pullman Pan.

Bake profile was 2 hours at 160°C, with a pan of water in the oven.

For more information on this bread, see my earlier postings, here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/21307/some-variations-hamelman039s-quot80-sourdough-rye-ryeflour-soakerquot and here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/17539/slight-variations-two-more-formulae-hamelman039s-quotbreadquot

Pain au Levain using both a Wheat Levain and a Rye Sourdough

Hamelman (2004) has a similar concept in his book, above, but this formula is quite different in a number of ways.   Full details are given below:

Method:

• Build both the rye sour and wheat levain using 2 elaborations plus stock starters, over a 30 hour period for the Rye and a 15 hour period for the Wheat.
• For the final dough, first of all use autolyse, combining flour, water and rye sour. Leave for 40 minutes
• Combine autolyse with wheat levain and mix for 5 minutes. Add salt and mix a further 5-10 minutes.
• Ferment in bulk, covered, for 2 hours. Stretch and fold, and leave a further half hour.
• Scale at 1.5kg + 1kg piece. Mould round. And place upside down in prepared Bannetons.
• Proof in the fridge for 1 hour, then ambient for 2 hours prior to baking.
• Pre-heat oven to 250°C, hold for 10 minutes before setting the bread onto hot bricks.
• Fill a roasting pan with hot stones with boiling water for steam, and cut the top of the loaves before setting to bake. After 15 minutes drop the heat to 220°C. After another 30 minutes drop the temperature to 200°C and completely bake out each loaf.
• Cool on wires

Ok, so there is evidence that my hands are not so clean; please don't make comments about this oversight on my part; the photographs are posted to be instructive and helpful.   Thanks for appreciating this!

The finished dough was strong, resulting in a lovely finished flavour in the bread.   How I wish domestic ovens had sufficient power to do these large loaves full justice.

Best wishes

Andy

Finishing the year with what seems to have become our "regular" House Bread of late.   There is one loaf at just over 1500g scaled dough weight, and one at 1000g.   Crust, crumb and all round flavour are just as I like and aim to achieve.  

Method:

• Build the rye sourdough over 2 elaborations across a 24 hour period.
• For mixing I used the "bassinage" technique, by holding back 75g of the water. This was to counter the lack of apparent willingness on the part of the flour to take up as much water as I was hoping for. Starting at 63% and I ended up with a respectable 68%, which seemed perfect in the final dough.
• I let the dough stand for half an hour during the mix cycle, and thereafter it came together as a really good strong dough; given 25% Dark Rye.
• 2 hours bulk proof, with 1 S&F after 1 hour
• Scale, divide and mould. Final proof in bannetons. I held one back in the fridge for half an hour. Proof time for the first loaf was around 2 hours.
• Tip the dough out of the bannetons, and cut accordingly before setting in the oven at 250°C. Bake with steam on a hot brick base. I turned the heat down to 220°C after 15 minutes, then down to 200°C after a further 30 minutes, baking out for 1 hour in total.

I measured the weight loss for the big loaf, and did the following calculations:

Finished Baked weight of 1325g, meaning weight lost 222g.   As a percentage of the moisture, this means 35.83% of the original moisture was lost, thus, 64.17 was retained.

Photographs of the finished breads are shown below.

There's a bit of illness in our home tonight, so NY will be low key.   However, I just want to wish everyone at TFL a very Happy New Year!   All the best for 2011

Andy

I have made this bread before, and posted on it here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/17539/slight-variations-two-more-formulae-hamelman039s-quotbreadquot

The original formula can be found in:

Hamelman, J. [2004] "Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes" New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons   pp. 213 - 214

Changes I introduced this time round:

• The rye sour is made in the proportions of flour and water most familiar to me. An 18 hour ferment of the second elaboration of the sour followed a 6 hour fermentation time of the first elaboration.


• The formula includes both Caraway Seeds and Organic Blackstrap Molasses.


• As with my earlier version, no fresh yeast is used in this formula.


• The overall hydration is 85%, increased to satisfy the very thirsty coarsely ground Bacheldre Stone ground Organic Dark Rye Flour. In future, I would keep this level of hydration, but would add water at 25 to the soaker, rather than 20; this means no water would be needed in the final dough.


• The loaf is topped with Blue Poppy Seeds, but still baked with the lid on the pan.

Makes One Large Loaf in a Pullman Pan

Method:

• Build the sourdough using the elaborations described above, and make the soaker at the same time as the final elaboration. Cover both and leave overnight.
• Add the water, salt, caraway seeds and molasses to the sourdough. Break up the soaker into pieces and add this using a mixer with beater attachment to break up the soaker properly. Add the flours and mix either with a machine using a beater attachment, or use wet hands to mix the paste until it is "clear".
• Ferment in bulk for half an hour. Meanwhile prepare the Pullman Pan, lining it with silicone paper.
• Shape using wet hands, and drop the mixture into the pan, and smooth the paste neatly. Brush the top with a little water and cover with Blue Poppy Seeds. Prove for 3 to 4 hours at 28°C, with the tin covered with plastic sheet, or, cling film. The paste should be just short of the top of the pan.
• Pre-heat the oven to 170°C, with a pan of water in the base for steam. Cut the top of the loaf with 4 diamonds*, then put the lid on and bake the loaf for 2½ hours, turning the tin halfway through and topping up the water pot if necessary.
• De-pan the loaf, and check for an internal temperature of at least 96°C.
• Cool on wires

* You can see Hamelman uses this method for one of his rye loaves in the lovely photo between pages 224 and 225.   I needed to cut deeper, but am not sure this was possible.   My loaf being baked with the lid on meant the crown of the loaf had not passed the top of the tin.   Clearly, the seed-topped loaf in the photo in the book is made in a pan without a lid.

Photographs are shown here.

 Alison and I just sneaked a wee taste, although the bread is still somewhat "young".   There is a definite sour taste, and the bittersweetness from the molasses is also evident.   That unique flavour from Caraway brings greater complexity still.   It is so very moist, perhaps just a little too moist, but that will settle very quickly.   The flavour lingers long in the mouth...yum!

All good wishes

Andy

 Yields 2 large tinned loaves @ 1064g each

Method:

• The leaven was built with 3 elaborations. Thirty grams of stock white levain, was built as a liquid starter for 2 refreshments [equal flour and water], then a final refreshment to turn it to a stiff starter with a 60% hydration. The build time was just over 24 hours.
• From there, autolyse the flour and water for the final dough for 45 minutes. Note that the "Englishman's castle" was, yet again, snowbound, with the kitchen probe displaying a cruel 9°C. However, the multi burner was just being fired up, so the leaven was warm and active. Still, the dough water temperature used was around 40°C, and the final dough temperature was a mere 23°C
• The flour took up plenty of water, and then mixed very quickly with the salt and leaven added to form a well developed dough. Bulk proof time was just short of 2 hours, during which time, we had a somewhat worrying power cut. I was expecting to retard the dough overnight in the frozen and snowy Square where we live!
• Power restored, I set to scaling and dividing, cutting off 8 pieces at 266g. Mould these round and rest covered for 15 minutes. Then roll up and shape as for mini loaves, and place 4 pieces in each tin, as shown in the photos.
• Prove, fireside for 3½ hours
• Bake profile as follows: Preheat the oven for one hour minimum, to 250°C. Place the 2 loaves side-by-side on the hot bricks, acting as an oven stone. Pour boiling water onto the stones the roasting pot on the base of the oven for steam. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the loaves round and drop the oven temperature to 220°C for a further 20 minutes. Drop the heat to 200°C, turn the loaves around again, if necessary, and bake out a further 5 - 10 minutes.
• Cool on wires

Notes:

• I made this bread as an experiment, so I could offer useful feedback for my brother, David. He, and his wife, Lorraine, own a lovely Bed and Breakfast spot in the Yorkshire Dales. Dave has been making his own bread every day and offers this to his guests for both breakfasts and evening meals. He uses a breadmaking machine, on the long fermentation cycle. I believe he mixes a portion of wholemeal and "Granary" flour into the grist, along with this particular white flour I have used, and has been very pleased with the results from day one, until October time. Of course, this date is significant, as I estimate the problems he has subsequently encountered and complained about, to coincide exactly with the arrival of the newly harvested crops from 2010! My brother buys his flour online from Tesco, and, uses quite a bit, as a large-scale homebaker, I guess. He has been in touch with the technicians at Rank Hovis, who I actually know and have worked with. They are investigating his complaint, but I gather from his comments that his problem is inconsistency, rather than poor bread, every time! He's a bit lost on this, as am I. So, Alison and I are going to visit Dave and Lorraine on Tuesday, on our way to visit my Mum and Dad, pre-Christmas in East Yorkshire.
• The method used to "tin up" the dough pieces is known in the plant-baking industry in the UK as "four-piecing". I have discussed this with txfarmer in one of her posts, which you can see here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/20669/sourdough-pan-de-mie-how-make-quotshreddablyquot-soft-bread#comment-143675 Basically, with the moulding turned round from the conventional one-piece, the gas cells become elongated in the opposite direction to those in the four-piece, where each piece has been turned through 90° on the single piece. The way the light reflects on the finished crumb gives an added whiteness and superior appearance to the finished crumb. See this explanation from Stan Cauvain: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EKGUPlEwP5MC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=four+piecing+bread&source=bl&ots=7Ux1YI9K9K&sig=hedWkGHVvbXoK_hMqrkvwvBcynE&hl=en&ei=AJsOTYyOGY6AhQfLv5S3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=four%20piecing%20bread&f=false It's not that important a feature in the world of Artisan Bread, but it is of fundamental importance to the all-powerful plant bakers in the UK. That and a crumb with no holes, so your bread/toast doesn't drip butter, or, marmalade, onto your lap! These really are the priorities in the long ubiquitous loaf found the length and breadth of Britain. So, I'm trying to mimic this bread, but make it as "real bread" at the same time.
• So, what really matters to us then? Taste and flavour most likely!

Analysis:

• All four of us were really pleased with the bread in terms of its flavour. Granted, the dough had been entirely raised from the power of the natural leaven. However, my deliberate intention had been to make a bread which would have characteristics as close as possible to those of the conventional loaf, BUT, also be pleasing for all of us to eat. Since none of us particularly like "white bread" in this form, there was little point mimicking UK plant bread. So, the natural leaven was strong, but the multi elaborations were designed to create high yeast activity, but less bacterial fermentation, and thus a heavy reduction in any sour notes. Mission well-accomplished here.
• The final bread is not WHITE! Indeed, the ferment is quite clearly not white either. See attached photographs for detail. This is very interesting, as if Hovis were to do any benchmarking of my loaf, made entirely with their white flour, I suspect an immediate action plan may be needed. The end resulting whiteness of crumb in the British "sliced white" is of incredible significance, being one of the key signs of quality a large-scale baker would use to judge their bread. Culturally, this is a huge deal, going back to the invention of roller milling and the industrialisation of agriculture, and the use of world traded wheat. For Britain, this means going back to the latter part of the 19th Century; so white bread for the masses is very long established here, as in France, of course!
• Consideration should be given to the implications of a lack of whiteness. My baking mentor had been a Chief Executive at several of the large plant baking factories before he came into lecturing. His comments about the strong white flour we used during my time at College in Leeds were, of course, very telling. He was always keen to point out the little black flecks in the white flour, when carrying out visual inspections. "They are robbing us", is what he would say. You can imagine given his background, noted above, that he had deep suspicions of the miller! So, when he bought white flour in huge quantities, he really did expect it to be white.
• However, he really wanted his cake, and he wanted to eat it too! Flour which is not so white will have greater water absorbency. This is on account of the extra bran and germ content, which has not been removed so thoroughly as in very white flour. So, the up side of the greyer flour is greater water absorption, thus allowing a plant baker greater yield, the down side is a perception of lesser quality. A plant baker wants a very white flour with exceptionally high quality protein....somewhat like the All-Canadian "Special CC" I have the pleasure of using in College. This is milled by the same miller who mills for Warburtons, a huge and very successful plant baker in the UK. Indeed, currently the most successful of the plant baking triumvirate, and the one recognised by the buying public as producing higher quality bread. Interesting observations, indeed!

Well, we seemed to be guaranteed a White Christmas here in the frozen North of England.   Whatever the weather, and wherever you are, I'd like to wish all you good people at TFL a very Happy Christmas and a really great year in 2011

Andy

 This loaf contrasts well with the high rye posted on very recently.   A large boule, leavened with a rye sourdough, comprising just short of 25% of the total flour in the formula.

[A 1.7kg Boule made with Rye Sourdough; that's 3¾lb!]

Method:

• Utilise the autolyse technique with the flour, water and rye sourdough, for 50 minutes.
• Add the salt and mix using Andrew Whitley's "air-kneading" technique for 15 minutes. Rest for 15 minutes on an oiled-counter, under cover.
• Mix a further 10 minutes.
• Bulk proof covered in an oiled container for 1½ hours. Knock back, then rest for 15 minutes.
• Mould and place upside down in a Banneton, prepared with dark rye and semolina.
• Prove 1½ hours; meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 250°C.
• My Bake profile as follows: Pour boiling water onto a pan of large stones in the base of the oven, 3 minutes prior to baking. Tip the loaf onto a tray, and slash the top. Cover this with a large roasting dish, and place all of this onto the hot bricks in the middle shelf of the oven. Add further boiling water to the pan of rocks. Leave for 20 minutes. Then, remove the cover and turn the heat down to 210°C. Bake a further 20 minutes. Then turn the heat down to 200°C and bake out a further 5 - 10 minutes.
• Cool on wires.

Notes:

• It's freezing in the UK just now! Kitchen temperature 10°C, Flour temperature 11°C and Rye Sour just 12°C [but wonderfully active, all the same!] 4 times DDT [26°C] = 104. Take the 3 above numbers away, and the required water temperature is an astonishing 71°C! So, I used the kettle and drew water at exactly that temperature, and, lo and behold the DDT was just what I wanted: 26°C!
• This is one big loaf! The roasting pan method was almost successful, but I really needed a bigger vessel. The Lodge Logic Combo Cooker is on my Christmas list. I'm not big on volume. If anyone can advise on the diameter of pan which I need, I would be truly grateful. I'm guessing somewhere between 20 and 24cm?
• Photographs attached. Some may call this "well-fired". But, I'm really pleased with the crust, and the close-up shots give some good detail of prized qualities. The crumb? Beautifully moist; so looking forward to my sandwiches for lunch at work tomorrow: French Brie with salad.

Best wishes to you all

Andy

My Foundation Degree students were making their own breads using pre-ferments a couple of weeks ago.   Both a "Biga" and a "Poolish" were available for their use.   They made some very fine pizzas, and an assortment of flavoured breads.

Once they had weighed all their pre-ferments, I noticed there were some "leftovers".

So, I made the following as demonstrations.   The baguettes, shown below, were actually to help a late arriving student on his way, to enable product completion in the practical time.   The tinned loaves were an experiment to demonstrate how, even at a very high proportion in the final dough, a biga can contribute fantastic improving qualities, resulting in super high crown bread.

It was also a joy to be able to use local organic flour in the final doughs as well.

•1.    Baguettes with a Poolish

Method:

• Mix on first speed in an upright machine for 10 minutes with the hook attachment. DDT 26°C
• Ferment in bulk for 1 hour, covered at 26°C
• Scale and divide for baguettes at 340g; pre-shape and rest 20 minutes, covered
• Shape and prove, en coûche, 50 minutes. Use coarse semolina as needed.
• Use a loader and baguette peel to set the baguettes, and use a grignette to slash the surface beforehand.
• Bake in a deck oven, with steam at 240°C, top heat 7, bottom heat 5 for 15 minutes. Open the damper and bake out a further 5 minutes.
• Cool on wires

•2.    High Crown Tinned Breads with a large proportion of Biga in the final dough

Method:

• Mix the dough on slow speed only in a spiral mixer for 15 minutes. DDT 27°C
• Ferment covered, in bulk for 50 minutes at 27°C
• Scale and divide at 960g for large tins. Pre-shape by moulding round. Rest covered for 10 minutes.
• Shape and place in prepared tins.
• Prove at 35°C, 85% rH for 1 hour.
• Bake in a deck oven with steam at 235°C, top heat6, bottom heat8, for 15 minutes. Drop the temperature to 220°C for 10 minutes. Open the damper and bake out a further 5 -8 minutes.
• Cool on wires

•3.    A Rye Reversal

I was meant to be accompanying Faye to the Warburton's Young Baker of the Year; the National Final in Bolton, tomorrow.   Faye was scheduled to make her Nettle Bread in College this afternoon.   Let's say the weather has played havoc with our plans.   The bread uses a portion of white leaven in the final dough.   Building this leaven was problem number one.   Faye used up what flour she had at home, and I did the same here in Ananda.   But Alison and I have been snowbound for a few days now.   It took me 3 hours to dig the car out this morning.   A helpful neighbour made sure I could move by employing a digger to clear the route out of the Square.   I had 350g Leaven, and hoped Faye had the rest of what she needed.

But it was all to no avail.   I took a phone call just 10 miles down the road.   The Competition had been postponed.   The road conditions were poor and most of the morning had already passed.   I turned back and went home.   Once safely nestled back in our warm abode, I wondered what to do with the leaven I had.   "Good to go", but only Dark Rye flour in stock!   This is what I came up with.   I've used this title as I love the Pain Siègle formula with a Rye Sour used to raise a primarily wheat bread.   This is a wheat leaven used to raise a mainly rye loaf.   Here is the formula and recipe:

Method:

• Break up the leaven in water with temperature 35°C.
• Add and dissolve both the molasses and salt. Then fold in the flour to form a smooth paste; DDT 28°C.
• Drop the paste into a Pullman Pan lined with silicone paper.
• Prove for 4 hours at 32°C, lid fitted loosely.
• Bake from cold in an oven with a water bowl for steam. Heat to 175°C and bake for 1½ hours. Take the lid off the pan, drop the heat to 160°C and bake a further half hour. Probe the core to record a temperature of at least 96°C.
• Cool on wires

Happy Baking!

Andy