The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Gérard Rubaud attempt

cpc's picture
cpc

Gérard Rubaud attempt

I decided to try the Gérard Rubaud bread that so many people around here seem to be enjoying.  I followed dmsnyder's instructions using a single levain build.  I had quite a bit of trouble shaping this dough into batards; it was sticking to everything and didn't seem to have much strength at all.  I proofed the loaves in a (improvised) couche but during proofing they seemed to fall and spread out instead of rise.  Fortunately they sprang quite a bit in the oven.


My scoring mostly disappeared! This seems to happen quite a bit to me.  I think they might be under-proofed or not scored deep enough.  Maybe?






I'm not sure about this crumb.  Yes, there certainly are holes!  But I'm wondering if they are from poor shaping technique because the non-hole crumb is a bit dense.


Nitpickiness about scoring and crumb structure aside, these loaves taste great!  Thanks to dmsnyder and TFL for the formula for a fantastic loaf!


Comments

thebreadfairy's picture
thebreadfairy

I had the same problem the first time I made this bread. I followed the timings rather than following the dough and it turned out to be a case of severe underproofing from a too short bulk ferment. The next time I made it, I let the dough double after the last folding of the bulk ferment and that made all the difference. The bread is delicious, as you have found out and worth doing again. Hope this helps.

Jessica

cpc's picture
cpc

Thanks for the tip!  I'll definitely try this again and next time I'll be sure to give the dough all the time it needs.

bakerking's picture
bakerking

I have tried this formula several times, I did two builds with mine. When watching the video clips of Gerard on MC's site the thing that really stood out to me besides how relaxed he seemed was how much flour he used. He was constantly grabbing handfuls of flour and throwing them on the board or the loaves he was working with. That was the sackest dough I have worked with, that is probably why he uses so much flour but I am so used to seeing people say to use as little flour as possible, to not let any unhydrated flour into your loaves etc. I was schocked to see him because it was so different. I was waiting to see if any of the more experienced bakers here said anything.

Steve

cpc's picture
cpc

I remember thinking just the same when watching those videos.  When I made this I was very conservative with dusting flour to avoid incorporating raw flour, but maybe that's not such a concern with this dough.  I still haven't tried this formula again, but maybe it'll be next weekend's project!

Cheers,

Paul