March 22, 2010 - 3:25am
brotform use
Hello
I recently bought a couple of brotforms from Luckyclover. I have baked my sourdough in it a few times, but so far I have not been able to retain the shape of my boule or the loaf! I love to see the marks on my loaf, even though it kind of slides on the side, but I wish I could have the right shapes. I tried making it with less hydration this time and still the same result. I must mention that I cover the inside with rice and all purpose flour. Before, I used a plain glass bowl that I covered in similar way and the boules always came out just fine.
Any advice/tips will be appreciated.
Nim
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Nim,
Are you being gentle as you remove the loaf from your brotform? If your having trouble, consider using a sheet of parchment paper to cover/wrap the top of your brotform & 'catch' the loaf as you carefully roll it onto your stone or baking sheet. I assume that when you said "I have baked my sourdough in it a few times," that you really did not mean you were using your brotform in the oven. I'm not sure that's even possible with a natural cane product!
If you gently form your loaf, creating that 'gluten web' to give it some strenght to hold it's shape that may aslo help. If I'm not careful I sometimes handle the dough too much and don't get the holes or open crumb that I'm after . . . for me, it's still a challenge to get that balance right.
I've also found that I don't have to use a huge amount of flour in the brotform; it always seems to release the loaf without a problem and gives me a better/deeper pattern. Keeping your brotforms dry also really helps with the release. Good luck!
Scott (Phxdog)
Thanks, Scott. No, I did not "bake" them in the brotforms! Though I wish there was a brotform like proofing box that I could directly put in the oven! Would solve my problem immediately!
I would say that I try to be gentle; usually some of the dough will not release immediately and it results in my dough sliding off the brotform instead of falling vertically. I will try with a parchment next time, that soulds like something that might do the trick. will update maybe next week.
I suspect that Scott (Phxdog) had the right answer. Be sure you have developed the "skin" or web on the surface of the boule before you put the dough in the brotform. You need to stretch the surface so as to orient the strands of gluten to give strength to the surface. Shaping is the key to having the bread rise vertically as well as horizontally. It took me a long time to get this concept, even for loaves baked in pans.
Ford
but you CAN spray the Brotform with a light misting of oil...
I make a lot of No-knead breads and the relatively high hydration means that they tend to stick a bit to the cane. I almost always use seeds on my breads and I find that the seeds also spread better and more evenly when the Brotform is first misted with oil.
When not using seeds, I sprinkle a mixture of rice flour and APF on the misted Brotform and the dough seems to lift both the flour and the oil from the cane. I've been doing this for 8-9 months now and my Brotforms still smell sweet, with no 'rancid' odor. (My most-used one still smells of fennel seed, though...)
Cheers,
copyu