The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Finally (this summer) baguettes I am happy with

kendalm's picture
kendalm

Finally (this summer) baguettes I am happy with

The last several weeks have been over proofed loaf after over proofed loaf. Dealing with just 2-3 degrees C above the usual has really made it difficult to find the right times and also placed some emphasis on watching the dough. Looks like we've got the timing down finally !

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

I've seen many of your baguettes I'd have been happy with. They all looked wonderful to me. 

Lovely as always! 

kendalm's picture
kendalm

Just the first time in a few weeks - its been a pain dealing with rise times.  With baguettes especially fluffy fast rises or over prodded saggy loaves are total bummers - today we got some spring and may be even a little under proofed but as far as I am concerned a tad under proofed is better than a tad over proofed.  Gonna add some crumb shots soon ... 

kendalm's picture
kendalm

A few things I have learned about crumb structure is that its very tricky to produce an open crumb that is also consistent in the way the bubbles form - since the last few weeks have had disappointing results, just wanted to point out that I find the slower you can force the yeast to produce co2 the better.  I usually do a 1.5 hour rise before hitting the refrigerator for over night retard and anytime the dough reaches roughly double volume or more before going into cold retard can expect an underwhelming crumb...that is one that is overly fluffy or foamy (if that makes any sense).  There seems to be a certain density factor that comes into play when going for something like we see in this pic.  Just for reference I find that the first rise should get your dough to about 1.5 the initial volume then hitting the refrigerator further slows down the activity so that by morning we see about double volume.  If I start a cold retard at double volume I often see about triple volume in the am and by that time the dough seems unrecoverable.  I have tried punch down etc but have never seen a decent crumb after this point.  Last night and today I made certain to really monitor the dough and found with a kitchen at 29c (as opposed to 25c usually) that the initial rise took only about 1 1\4 hours to get to 1.5 volume.  As a result the crumb structure to really worked well.  Of course the other factor here being tons of heat as soon as the loaves go in to bake is key but control over the character of the crumb also seems to depend heavily on inhibiting yeast activity to an extent.  Just adding some commentary just in case anyone is interested as of course this had taken literally hundreds of loaves to understand (maybe a thousand by now )  even knowing all this, any distraction can ruin your plans as 15 minutes here or there can screw it all up.  Oh yeah, tossed a canele crumb shot in too - hope ya like it - its delish ! 

kendalm's picture
kendalm

Since its very rare that I am happy with both crumb and ears please forgive if I take a moment to gloat here :) of course we all know that getting loaves to bloom is tricky and when dealing with thin loaves like baguette its all the more difficult so here's a nice close up for fun.  On a side note it seems you'll almost never get a nice burst on an over proof situation nor will the dough no bloom if its not expanding quickly and slashed well.  If and when all these factors fall into place and if you are watching the bake you should notice the tears very early as in 1.5 to minutes the dough surface will split and tear.  It it hasn't begun to tear say 3 minutes in you can forget about it, you will end up with stretched scores as opposed to blooms with defined grignes - every score line today could passed the grip test - that is the ability to pick up the loaf by pinching the gringe...just adding a little commentary and feeling extra happy and wanted to share thoughts and experiences - bommshanka ! 

jimbtv's picture
jimbtv

Great points on the subject and I too am struggling with the same issues. I keep playing with yeast, time, hydration, steam and temperature because I seem to have lost that sweet spot. This summer has been maddening but the education is fulfilling.

Many of my bake runs speak exactly to your point - nicely formed baguettes with very little grigne. Keep in mind that I am incorporating a poolish and a levain in my baguettes which adds even more drama to the equation.

Nice work on your baguettes!

 

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Great looking crumb and crust.  Can't get much better that's for sure.

Happy Baking.
Ian