Hamelman's baguettes with poolish
Hi all!
I am excitied to say that although I have lurked around here and posted on occasion, this is my first blog entry, and my first picture post!
Last night I decided to give the poolish baguettes from BREAD another try, and I am fairly happy with the way they turned out. They arent quite as nice as some of the ones I see on here, but I am fairly new to the bread baking at home thing, and I feel I am progressing pretty fast. Anyways, here goes:
The crust is nice and chewy, and the crumb is very light but not quite as open as last time I made these. I think it is becasue I ran out of my high protein organic flour from Oak Manor Farms and had to use my No Name all purpose unbleached I had sitting in the cupboard. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting a more open crumb with a weaker flour?
I can't believe how much a difference a half hour of proofing can make on the results. I baked the 2 on the right in the top pic after an hour of final proofing, and the 2 on the left half an hour later when the first 2 came out. I could tell right away they were taking on a lot more color and were more fragrant while baking, plus they turned a bit puffier and lighter feeling than the first 2.
I'm always open to constructive criticism...
Comments
I find that the most important factor in getting an open crumb with baguettes is shaping. If I can keep the outer skin tight while not disturbing the innerds, it comes out well.
Timing is important, too, of course, as you discovered, but for me, anyway, the last hurdle to an open crumb is good shaping technique.
It's a little difficult to make out the interior crumb in your pictures, but from what I can see you're on the right track. Pay heed to JMonkey's advice - shaping is critical to the end result. Too hard and you degas the baguette, too tentative and you won't get the surface tension you need for the loaf to rise rather than ooze sideways.
You might want to avoid high-protein flours for baguettes: Hamelman recommends not going above 12% if you're looking for a nice crispy crust (as opposed to a chewy one). KA's all-purpose flour is available at most supermarkets and has a protein level of 11.7% if I recall correctly. It's the flour Hamelman uses, by the way, when baking baguettes.
Good luck in your efforts!
Larry