Anis Bouabsa baguettes don't rise in oven
Hello,
I'm using the recipe that David deduced from Jane's descriptions, but I'm having trouble getting the loaves to rise properly. 500 g KA AP, 375g water, 1/4 tsp Red Star instant yeast, 10 g Morton's Kosher. I've tried this recipe two times with poor results. Some of my concerns:
After rising for 21 hours or so, the dough much, if at all. The dough is still very stick
y, but, with the aid of a floured surface and floured hands, I think I am forming them decently. The dough is very soft and does not give much resistance to stretching. The formed baguettes flatten and spread out wide, they won't maintain a cylindrical shape by themselves—I am using an improvised couche (parchment paper and rolled up kitchen towels).
In the oven, the baguettes will rise a little bit, but not much, and it leaves me disappointed and with a flat dense bread. :(
Could someone give me some guidance? It's greatly appreciated
Loren
Hi, Loren.
From your description, I think you may have encountered several problems: The dough may be too wet. The gluten may not be adequately developed. You may be not forming the loaves gently enough. You may be over-proofing.
My suggestions are:
1. Try making the baguettes with a little less water - say 365 gms of water for 500 gms of flour.
2. The dough should be pretty tacky, but not really sticky. Try adding a couple of stretch and fold on the board at 45 min. intervals after the stretch and fold in the bowl x3.
3. Try to form the loaves with minimal pressure on them so you don't squish the nice bubbles.
4. Make sure your couche is giving the loaves good support while they are proofing.
5. Be sure you aren't over-proofing.
6. Make sure you pre-heat your oven thoroughly (with a stone, if you have one) and steam the oven well after loading the loaves.
Hope this helps.
David
Thanks for your comments David! I forgot to add that the loaves took an unusually long time to bake (at 450)—I could bake them 40 minutes and the loaves were still not too brown. Never have had this happen with other loaves. Does this mean there's too much water in the dough?
Probably during the mixing/folding stage the gluten wasn't sufficiently developed. This makes the dough 'not resistant to stretching' as you say, but also less apt to rise in the oven and gain color. Not only does the gluten strength need to be developed with the mix or folding, you also need to form a tight skin during the preshape/shaping, or it's going to blob out and won't get color.
-Mark
How hot is your oven when you bake. I cant imaging 45 minutes to bake.
I preheat my oven to 550. then drop the temp to 475 after loading. Only take about 20 minutes to bake to a deep rich brown.
I agree, you need to preheat your oven and bake at a higher temperature.
Also if you have a temperature probe, make sure that the temperature is accurate.
Yeah, your yeast might be depleting their food source, or you might just have bad yeast.
SndBrian