Tartine Country Bread success
Howdy!
I got the book Friday and baked the country loaf Sunday. I had some trouble shaping it tightly for the bench rest - I guess it needed more S&Fs. Final shaping was fine. Bulk was about 4 hrs - dough started at 75F but got it up to 82F in an hour with oven light on. Can't say I love having dough in warm plastic, even if it's BPA free. Gave first loaf a head start proofing in the oven with light on for an hour, then both of them on the counter for a few hours. Flavor is mildly acidic, especially as compared with the Reinhart 4 day pain au levain I've been baking. I'm sorry, what I mean to say is flavor is astonishing, and this is the best bread I've ever baked.
I guess I'll poke around the forum for advice on getting them darker. They were at 210F after 20+25minutes so I didn't want to leave them longer. I do prefer a darker crust than this. I cut my parchment paper into a diamond - then transferred to DO.
did you bake these in some sort of vessel or on a stone?
Best way to get good color in a home oven(in my experience), is to hold as much steam/moitsure close to the loaf for as long as possible.
Dutch ovens, la cloche, and even a stainless bowl over the loaf do wonders for color. I know many people will give you steaming techniques for home ovens, however I am lazy, and find this too bothersome :P
At what temp did you bake the bread? If you hit 210F after ~45 minutes at 2 different temps, I'd speculate you baked at something like 500F then 450F.
I was also worried about overbaking but the last few loaves I've made I've left the loaves in the oven until I get the crust color that I want. There has been no adverse effect on the crumb.
I generally bake at 500+F (last few bakes at 515F, although I've baked a few at 550F) for about 12 minutes, then turn the oven down to 475F for the remainder of the bake (15 to 20 minutes depending on the crust color). I generally get an internal temp of 215F when the loaf is done (I've been making batards).
Cheers-
Dave
I preheated for 20 minutes on 500, then baked at 450 for the rest. Reheated the Dutch Oven for 10 minutes on 500, then turned it down to 450 for the bake. Dave, I'll try your temperatures for the next loaves, thanks!
Yes, I used a Dutch Oven, sorry, I used DO as an abbreviation. I'm used to preheating for 30 with No Kneads and then baking for 30 minutes with the lid on and 30 with it off, but Robertson's directions were for a 20 minute preheat, 20 minute bake with lid on and 20-25 with lid off. I thought I'd try it his way before experimenting based on my particular set up. Thanks!
get your starter ready so quickly? Bought on Friday, baked on Sunday. Usually it takes a week to get the starter going.
Great looking loaves. btw: Tartine bread changed their country bread master recipe in their book 3 in regards to cooking times and temps. You need to check in on the differences. I'm surprised no one has noticed here (at least that I can see).
Thanks for the heads up about the differences. I'll pop into a B&N and look at those pages. I'd love to get the new book but I don't see myself buying all those crazy grains.
I used the starter I've been using since this summer - it's usually 10g starter, 25g water and 40g ww. On Saturday morning I refreshed it with 10g starter, 25 water, 25g bf/ww. Saturday night I made the leaven with a tablespoon of starter, 200g water and 200g of bf/ww. Worked great.
I'd preheat and start bake at 500 myself and lower after 10 minutes or so into the bake. Also some of the dark color you want comes from the overnight retard bringing out more sugars to caramelize the crust which i think is how Tartine's loaf is traditionally baked. That is after you shape they go straight to the retarder for 8-12 hours before baking and are baked directly from the cold.
Looks great and you got amazing oven spring but it looks wheatier than the standard Tartine loaf. Did you increase the percentage of wheat?
Josh
That's interesting about the overnight retard affecting the color. I'll try that next time to see if I get a darker result. My dough was ready to proof mid-afternoon Sunday, so I would've had to retard for less than 8 or more than 12 hrs, or rearrange my entire life around my baking :)
Maybe this week I'll refresh Friday night, make the leaven Saturday morning, bulk ferment in the evening, retard overnight and bake Sunday morning.
Although I love the taste of this bread it's pretty annoying having to be near the kitchen every half hour for a 4+ hour period. I like Reinhart's ABED method of a few minutes of gentle kneading, short rest, a bit more gentle kneading followed by 3xS&Fs every 10 minutes before retarding for days.
Josh, it was definitely 900/100 bf/ww, and the levain was 100/100. Maybe it's cause I took the photo in a dark room.
Thanks so much for the advice!
I look forward to you future results
Josh
You got lovely oven spring there. I am very jealous. Mine keeps spreading. But it does taste amazing doesn't it?
Thanks, it really does. It's a real meal spoiler.
Great oven spring!
When making the Tartine country bread I usually preheat until oven reaches 500, then give it another 15 to 20 minutes before putting the loaf into the DO. Then the oven temp is reduced to 475 ( if I remember to do that, sometimes I don't). After 20 minutes I take the loaf out of the DO and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more at 475.
I usually bake one loaf the same day I mix the dough (after 4hours final rise) and the second loaf the following morning (overnight in refrigerator). The second has more intense and complex flavor.
The whole family, even the dog, loves this bread.
best,
jims
Ha! My dog hides every time I turn the oven on. I'll definitely try baking at a higher temperature next time, since everyone else here has experienced success that way. Thanks!
Eli
I baked a Tartine "whole wheat" loaf this morning after an overnight in refrigerator (the dough not me). That's 300g KA AP, 400g KA white whole wheat, and 300g Whole Foods organic whole wheat, which was what I had on hand yesterday. However, I forgot (senior moment) to turn the oven temp down from 500 to 475 when I put the loaf into the DO. This didn't seem to make any difference. After 20 minutes I took the loaf out of the DO and baked it at 450 for 20 minutes more. When it came of the oven out the dog was right there with tail wagging, staring at the loaf.
jims
These are beautiful Tartine country loaves! Nice job.
I forgot to mention ... beautiful loaves!!
-Dave
I really appreciate the advice and encouragement I've received here since I joined a few months ago. It made my learning curve much straighter, or uh shorter, or narrower or whatever you know what I mean. Happy baking!
Eli