The Fresh Loaf

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Reinhart's Artisan Bread Every Day Classic French Bread Question

rsherr's picture
rsherr

Reinhart's Artisan Bread Every Day Classic French Bread Question

In Peter Reinhart's new book, Artisan Breads Every day, he gives a time of baking for the Classic French Bread of "Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate and bake another 15 to 25 minutes "   I don't understand where these times come from.  At 12 minutes my loaves are at 200 degrees and done. Same with his Pain a L'Ancienne bread.  The breads are wonderful but how could his baking times be so far off?  My oven temps are the same as he recommends.

Richard

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Are you using a convection oven by chance?  If not, do you have a couple of oven thermometers inside your oven to confirm its accuracy?

I don't have his latest book, but I do bake the ancienne baguettes quite often and mine are never done in 12 minutes.   I have a relatively new natural gas stove with an oven that evenly heats at the programmed temp.

Chausiubao's picture
Chausiubao

Don't follow bake times. Just bake it until its done. I look for color, and a hollow sound when i knock the bottom crusts. If I get enough color and a nice sound, its done.

JoeV's picture
JoeV

Most of my breads are 22-28 oz. loaves, and are baked at 400F for 30 minutes. My baguettes are done in about 15-18 minutes at 450F on a baking sheet (I make smaller sized baguettes). I also look for that golden brown color to tell me tha I'm getting close. My pocket thermometer then confirms if it's done or needs a couple more minutes. I stopped trusting ANYONE'S baking time, because my bread usually came out waaaaaay overdone. There is no replacement for knowing your own oven and how it bakes. I have a gas oven in my kitchen that is right on the money, and have an electric oven in the basement that runs about 25-50 degrees HOT. It's really fickle, so I watch it closely and check internal temps on every batch I bake in it. I think many artisan bake times are overkill, and the breads look burned, not properly cooked, and lose their good flavor. They remind me of a well done steak...a waste of time and money. (Sorry if anyone likes tasteless meat)

rsherr's picture
rsherr

Mine is a Maytag electric oven.  It has convection but I don't use it when baking bread.  I'm not worried about it's being done. 200 degrees is done. Just curious why his baking times are so much longer.

ItalianBaker's picture
ItalianBaker

Wow. That's really fast! I'm using his BBA recipes and mine take at least 18 minutes. 

Paddyscake's picture
Paddyscake

Really? Electric oven..I can't imagine any bread done in 12 minutes. Are you shaping your loaves at the weight he suggests? Have you checked your oven for accuracy?

Any breads I have baked from that book...the baking times have been right on the mark.

Betty

rsherr's picture
rsherr

Yes, I'm weighing the dough to get the exact weights and following his directions for the oven. Heat it to 550.  Put in the bread and drop the temp to 450.  I am baking the bread on a thick baking stone but I think he does too.  I was surprised as well because previously I had never heated the oven above 400 to 450.  Amazing what another 100 degrees to start off will do.  But that's in his recipe.

Richard

jeffesonm's picture
jeffesonm

Mine always seem to bake much faster than he writes in his books too... not quite 12 minutes, more like 14-18 depending on size.

rsherr's picture
rsherr

Interesting that the pizza recipe in his book cooks in my oven in exactly the same time as it's supposed to in his recipe: 8 minutes

JoeV's picture
JoeV

that every oven is just a little (and some are a lot) different in thier bake temperature, just like us good folks who use them. Get to know your oven and if possible, have the oven adjusted by a technician if it is operating too hot or too cool.

andrew_cookbooker's picture
andrew_cookbooker

Just to chime in, I'm electric too, and my bread is always done early using Peter's recipes. It doesn't seem to happen when I'm baking other things though, like quick breads and pastries. However, as others have said, it's best to get a sense of what 'done' looks and feels like and go from there. I also check with an instant read thermometer...

madruby's picture
madruby

Hi,

I just bought P.R. Artisan Bread Everyday and baked the template dough ie lean French bread. After I stretched and folded 4 times as indicated, I put it in the fridge for the cold fermentation. The dough doubled in size after 1.5 days. 2 hrs before baking, I pulled the dough out of the fridge, used half of the dough and shaped it into a boule for the 2nd rise on the counter. After the first 60 min, the dough barely rose though. I decided not to take the plastic off as instructed and left it on the counter for the last 60 min rise. Baked it and the bread JUST came out of the oven. The crust’s color is BEAUTIFUL, but bcuz it just came out of the oven, I can’t cut the bread to taste it yet (am supposed to wait an hour) - will follow up later on the taste.

I am puzzled that the counter rise barely afforded any rise and I am worried that the dough will not have any holes, taste, or it will be very dense and heavy. Was the dough supposed to rise again on the counter during the 2, sixty minutes proof? What did I do wrong? I measured the ingredients according to the recipe, using a scale (but I cut everything in half cuz I did not want to make such a big batch – first trial and going on a diet soon!). Any idea or thoughts???

Tks MT Ruby

madruby's picture
madruby

Me again...reporting on that taste.

For a beginner making bread for the first time in her life...the bread was wonderful, close to perfection!  The taste was divine.  After 30 min on a rack to cool, my impatience and curiosity got the best of me so I decided to slice my bread.  The crust was not as crunchy and crispy as it was when I just brought the bread out of the oven.  The crumb was very moist, tender, tasty and flavorful.  I splurge some butter on the warm bread and my hubby and I thought the whole thing to be divine.

There weren't big, irregular holes like I saw on other pictures and other people's breads so that is why I said "almost perfect" (but then again, are you supposed to have to big and iregular holes???).  The crumb's texture was almost the white sandwhich loaf type.  If one expected the "pain croute" type of bread, mine was not it.  The look was very, very artisanal and had a beautiful golden brown, but the taste was just as identical to an enriched white bread loaf.

I am definitely going to do it again til I get this bread the way it's supposed to be...meanwhile, if anyone can explain why I did not obtain any counter rise (ie proofing for 2 hrs was not sensational - see posting just above this one), I would very much appreciate.

 

MT Ruby