The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

doctordough92's blog

doctordough92's picture
doctordough92

On my quest to get better at batards, I baked FWSY's white 80% biga recipe and subbed 20% of the flour with WW. 

I'm finally getting some good scoring. I think my razor blade is too dull, I have to go back a second time through to get a decent score. I also think part of my issue with batards falling flat as soon as I get them in the oven has been to do with my proofing baskets. I think my batard bannetons are actually pretty small? (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006J7KBPW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) When I've tried a whole 500g dough (half of a FWSY recipe), it almost seems like it's too much dough for the basket. Anyway, I've quartered the recipe so this is half the amount of called dough per loaf. 

Baked at 460 (per David's suggest when using a stone instead of DO with FWSY) for 15 minutes covered and 20 uncovered. 

 

doctordough92's picture
doctordough92

I made KAF's March baking along recipe - Gruyere stuffed mini loaves. 

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gruyere-stuffed-crusty-loaves-recipe

While they may not look like much in this pic, these turned out to be an awesome cheese-filled volcano. I divided the dough into 4 per the "mini loaf" sizes but they were much too big for one person so we cut them in half. Also, instead of the starter they prescribed with dry active yeast overnight, I used equal weight sourdough starter (although I'm sure my hydration wasn't equal). I also did half Gruyere and half Pecarino Romano. I didn't have pizza seasoning on hand so I made my own - equal parts dried basil, dried oregano, and dried thyme. 

Perfect flavors and perfect cheesiness. I would say that in order to better hold the shape, I would roll my dough log tighter before cutting them. A skewer may even help to hold the tight coil while it bakes. I also thought mine could have risen more in the oven, it was a touch dense in the end. I may choose to proof it longer next time. 

I would almost say that 10 oz of cheese is a bit too much. While I never imagined saying that, it may be true in this case. I'll try 8 oz next time. A blend of parmesan and asiago may be nice to try as well. 

doctordough92's picture
doctordough92

Having been baking for 2 months and several mediocre baguette attempts, I've finally executed a sub-par baguette with an A+ recipe - SJSD baguettes from dmsnyder. 

The recipe is great. A nice blend of WW and all purpose (I didn't have the rye on hand to use but will next time). I recently purchased a baguette pan from a baking store that has three wells with many holes to cook baguettes on. What I found was that the three I baked on the pan did not brown on the bottom but the remaining one baguette that I baked on a sheet was slightly browned on the bottom. 

I was impressed with the forty-five degree scores. I would, however, like to have them open up more like dmsynder's did. The crust was great, though. I steamed with a preheated cast iron and boiling water for the first ten minutes. 

I believe there is a size issue here. While these are good length, they are fairly skinny and haven't beefed up like dmsynder's have. What can I do to make sure these not only rise but expand out and bulk up? Did I not proof them long enough? I also have splitting at my seam underneath which makes me think it may have under-proved as well. 

Subscribe to RSS - doctordough92's blog