Small batard with an ear, sort of . . .
I have been struggling for months with batards, scoring and getting proper bloom. Well, I have had success two bakes in a row now as a result in two new procedures. I would like to do a shout out to alphonso for the video he posted a while back. Thanks alan, your video has been most helpful to me!
The two small changes were to put the loaf into the fridge for the last 10 minutes of proofing and dipping my lame in water prior to scoring. Ear on the first bake at 200 grams and a half ear on this one at 370 grams. I will call this loaf VanGogh as it only has a half an ear.
Great oven explosion on this bake. the fully proofed loaf was about as long as the baked one, but only about 2 inches in diameter, so I am super happy with the bloom! This batch of dough was 350 g total flour @ 75% hydration. I used 25 g durham semolina and the rest strong bread flour, 50 grams liquid levain and 5 g salt. I will note that I had fed my levain three days in a row. It sure made a difference in oven spring, ah explosion. Very satisfying.
Here is a crumb shot:
I find the addition of a little semolina adds some real snap to the crust and a nice subtle flavour add in a lean loaf.
Well is the May holiday long weekend here in Canada. Naturally here in my mountain town it is 4C with steady rain expected to turn to snow as the temperature drops. This is normal. It is also a great day to bake some stuff! With the terrible fires in the north east of my province, I pray that some of this rain gets to Fort McMurray and area! I great this rain with great relief as the area had been tinder dry and this takes the wildfire risk down to low. There are still nearly 90,000 people from the fire area. Prayers!
Happy baking! Ski
Comments
Something we never ever have in Gilbert:-) Hope the rain really puts the fires all the way out - 90,000 burned out is a major catastrophe. Great spring with this one for sure.
Well done and happy baking Ski
Well it is 90,000 displaced. Many will go back to homes and with 2,50+ structures lost many will have no homes to go back to. Those that do go back will come home to houses that smell like someone had a campfire in the basement. This is a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions in my country!
Happy baking! Ski
Re. scoring: It looks to me like you need to cut with the blade at a shallower angle, if you want an ear to lift up. And don't score too deep. That may be counter-intuitive, but too deep a slash is a common cause of ear loss.
Happy baking!
David
Getting a proper score and ear has been a challenge. I am getting closer and thought I had used a shallow angle. I will try a shallower angle next bake. This is a work in progress and is finally making progress. I am finding though, that a vigorous starter can make up for many sins!
Happy baking! Ski
Vincent has some good looks and great bloom here. If you are happy with your batard shaping (and why not!), no need to read further. I model mine on those of KA's Martin Philips (minute 6:30), and it has worked like a charm for me. You may want to give a peek.
Thanks for the mention, I expect to see residuals start trickling in any day now :o) .
alan
Thanks for the link. I have watched that video before, but not for a while now. It is always nice to get a refresher.
Happy baking! Ski
Always a monster spring. I am working on my scoring too. I'm gonna try your procedure and score at a shallower angle and see what happens.
We were experiencing El Niño for the past 3 months. In the southern part of our country, a large fire bunt a large area of a famous mountain for days; it was believed that the absence of rain and high temps played a major part. I hope the fire there will stop too. It is getting cooler here too, 27C and starting to rain. We are shivering in the cold of 21C so I can't imagine how 4C or even negative temps feel. El Niño is finally coming to an end but we must prepare for La Niña on late June or early July.
Parlez-vous français ?
Qui je parle un peu de francais. El Nino was the cause of our fire as well with abnormally dry conditions and above normal temperatures. We are also anticipating La Nina. Dealing with the cold temperatures is the right clothing. Base layer underwear, insulating layers and waterproof, windproof outer layers. I can deal with cold, but begin to suffer when temperatures get hot, say +29-30C.
Happy baking! Ski
Very nice Ski.
Im still working on my scoring, but i can definitely say that scoring at a shallow angle will do the trick for your ears. I usually bake my loaves straight out of the fridge which ive found makes scoring much easier and i get better spring. That's just from my limited experience :)
Great job, you crumb looks very good!
Happy baking :)