February 13, 2011 - 3:30pm
The proofing towel cover
I am ecstatic to have discovered another way to cover my dough during the proofing stages. I read in an OLD bread book to give a linen towel a good dusting of flour and place it over the bowl. I WORKS!! Yippie! I've had some disappointment with the dampened towel peeling my dough's crown away. Plastic did until I oiled it. But now to find that a good dusting of flour allowed my towel to remove itself promptly, well it's just takes the cake!
That's all folks.
ML
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Hi ML
That makes sense, it is the same material that is used as a couche for proofing baguettes etc. Apparently a mixture of ordinary and rice flour is good to prevent sticking, but I haven't tried it personally.
R
i use a mixture of wheat bran and white or whole wheat flour. i find that sometimes too much rice flour can leave your loaf looking a little grey. it shouldnt really matter, thats just my perfectionism.
What's with all this in and out of the bowl? Unless it's a wet messy dough, (80 % water or more) after kneading, I give one spray of water to the inside of a large empty bowl then cover the dough with the bowl. Then when the next stretch and fold or degas happens lift off the bowl, do your thing, and recover with said bowl. I find this easier and don't have to worry about tearing the dough as it traveles in and out of the bowl. Sure in a commerical bakery they're mixing large batches and don't have the table/bench space to do it this way, Yet baking at home we can use different tactics to achieve the same results,
Jim
Hey Jim,
I had to reread my post, I guess I need to make clear that my concern is at the final proof, inside a loaf pan, is when I am concerned with any tearing of the dough from the covering. Otherwise, yeah, what the heck??
Sure am enjoying this baking bread thing. Sort of makes me feel rather productive!
ML