October 23, 2013 - 1:55pm
My first go at Batards
Today's bake & my first time shaping Batards. I always think my loaves look small compared to others. They are 500g / half-pound loaves.
I think my slashing is improving. The Lame helps. I still have work to do in this area.
Im really after honest opinions. I will post a picture of the crumb of this enriched direct dough that I have modified. I think it has a nice soft springy crumb & if I do say so myself a gorgeous flavour. The best formula yet & my family agree on that score.
My my problem and area for improvement is appearance
Kris.
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Hi, Kris!
Welcome to TFL!
Your bâtard looks nicely shaped. There is nothing wrong with the scoring, if what you wanted is what's called a "sausage cut." This encourages an upward expansion of the loaf during oven spring and a rounder cross section when it is sliced.
If you have not read the "Scoring Tutorial" here on TFL, you may find it helpful. See: Scoring Bread: An updated tutorial
Happy Baking!
David
Hi David,
thank you. 'upward spring' is exactly what I was after. I will definitely check out the tutorial. I think a lot of my problem is that, as I know it's a one cut deal I'm quite hesitant when scoring but wasn't on this occasion and it has come out better.
Although my bread aleays tastes nice which I suppose is the most important thing, I always worry that my loaves look a little small / flatter than other people's loaves on this site and wonded if I'm doing something wrong. Although, it is hard to compare say my pound-loaf to a loaf which I have no idea what size it is.
Sorry to waffle, but, thank you for the help I've gained loads of good tips whilst being on here thanks to your and other comments not only on my posts but the others that I read.
Warm Regards,
Kris
Hi Kris,
As dm snyder mentioned, the loaf look like they are formed well. scoring took me forever to get to where I was really happy with what I was getting.
How do you feel about the crumb of your loaf? Are you looking for more holes or are you happy with the denseness you are getting? If you are looking for more holes, how you much you handle the dough (knead) and proofing times as well as hydration can play a part in the final product. Another factor is flour types used in your recipe.
Over all, I'd say you're doing well. the loaves look nice and it looks like you had good oven spring.
Hi Tchism,
thanks for your comment and advice. It's good to get some feedback especially on things like oven spring etc.
ive definitely improvised on the slashing but it's one of those things once cut your cut. With practice I hope to get a lot better. This is my 5th bake since rediscovering baking and I'm hoping I'm where others where when they were at this stage.
i was quite happy with the crumb although any pointers would be welcome. It is a direct dough yeasted sandwich loaf with quite a lot of enrichment. It is a fast moving dough so I wasn't expecting too many holes in the loaf and was reasonably happy that it turned out like the cross-section in BBA.
that said at the weekend I take my first steps in to the the whole sourdough adventure and I will be hoping and praying for a crn like you see so many times on here.
Thank you so much
Kris