Pale Baguettes (Using Anis Bouabsa's Recipe)
Hello,
I tried this old Anis Bouabsa recipe as written out by dmsnyder (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/8242/anis-boabsa039s-baguettes) and came out with this:
As you can see, it looks nothing like the wonderful baguettes on dmsnyder's thread (and others, such as here or here or here [I'm especially impressed by the last one because it was his FIRST ATTEMPT!]). The color was very pale, despite spritzing the oven with water immediately after placing the baguette in there. The deformed shape is more a testament to needing to hone my baguette-shaping skills.
Might any of you have insight on why it's so pale and even ashy looking?
The flavor was great, and I was happy with the crumb. The crust shattered upon slicing. Overall, the aesthetics just leave more to be desired.
hardest part! Taste and the crumb are the hard part. A few more tries and I'm sure you will have the outside nailed -even it some of the taste and crumb goes away:-) Baguettes are the bakers nightmare! even if so simple/
Happy Baking
I am glad the baguettes were, at least, good to eat! <whew!>
Here is my list of things that can cause a pale crust:
1. Under-baking (probably not your issue).
2. Baking at too cool a temperature. (double check your oven thermostat accuracy)
3. Over-proofing (This is because all the sugar in the dough got fermented so not enough is left for the Maillard reaction. However, if you got good oven spring and a nice crumb, this is unlikely.)
4. Insufficient steaming during the first part of the bake. (To my eye, that's the most likely major problem, with #2., above, secondary. Repeatedly opening the oven door to spritz your bread is not the best way to steam the oven. And each time you open the oven, the temperature drops - maybe 20-40 dF.
I'd encourage you to keep trying this formula, but choose another method of steaming your oven.
David
Hello Dulce,
(my first post)
Although I've tried a few different methods for oven steaming, here is what I have settled on:
(for the Bouabsa baguettes - oven at 480F)
A 500F resistant pan filled with lava rocks on the lowest shelf of the oven. I have a conventional electric oven.
Once the baguettes are placed into the oven, cover any oven door glass with a terry towel - to avoid an unhappy glass cracking event.
Then carefully pour between 1-2 cups of near boiling water into the pan with the lava rocks, remove the towel and shut the oven door quickly. Safety first - wear an oven mitt that comes at least as high as your wrist on the hand pouring the water.
Do not open the oven door again for perhaps 12-13 minutes, at which point rotate and spread out your baguettes across the stone or tile surface and finish baking.
Crack open the oven door for the final 1-2 minutes before removing the baguettes.
Again, this is what I have settled on, and with this method my baguettes come out looking like this
(I relish the darker side of crust). I credit the steaming technique which I use for a lot of the look here. Give it a try and see what you find. It might work for you too.
alan