The Fresh Loaf

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Best Looking Loaf Yet

BakersRoom's picture
BakersRoom

Best Looking Loaf Yet

Hello everyone,

Lately, I've been working on my croissant game, so I've been slacking on bread.  But, I watched Kristin from Full Proof Baking's method, and thought the lamination step was genius, as was the way she was carefully coil folding the bread.  So I tried a loaf, and as of now, it looks the best I've ever gotten a loaf of this hydration, which is 80%.  

I'll have pictures after work, but I highly recommend this method.  I thought the "full proof" part was just a play on the phrase "fool proof", but, when you get the gluten in the proper state, it seems it can take a lot more proofing.  

ifs201's picture
ifs201

I have wanted to try coil folding, but it always seems like it would be hard to do with a larger quantity of dough. In her video the dough amount looks pretty small. Have you had success coil folding with dough for 2 large loaves? 

BobbyFourFingers's picture
BobbyFourFingers

Contrary to what others recommend, I divide before bulk fermentation instead of after, usually working with 800g doughs each. It makes the process easier and to my mind causes less disruption to the final structure of the dough.

As for size, I have seen (usually burly) men fold very large ropes of hard candy while still warm. If this is possible, surely coil folding a kilo of dough is possible too. It might not be easy, hence the burly men, but it is certainly possible. 

jey13's picture
jey13

My personal experience: I was following a double loaf recipe, doing stretch-and-folds and not getting very good results (For whatever reason, I was over proofing and under proofing a lot). I switched to making a single loaf in a glass casserole dish (with cover) and using coil folds. I *love* them! I can't really say why they worked for me over stretch and folds, but my results have been way better. You obviously don't need to use a covered casserole—you can just take out the dough, do the coil folds, then return it to its container. But the flat, glass casserole makes coil folding easy to do in situ. You do need to add a few drops of water to the bottom of the dish each time, as being wide and shallow, it can get dry and you want to keep the dough moist. 

The dish I'm using is a pyrex that comes with a very nice plastic cover. I actually got two for making up two loaves. Obviously, if I do make two loaves, I'll need more room to set out these dishes then I would if all the dough was in one, 6-quart bucket. And I'll have to wash two containers rather than one. But I think it's worth it. Coil folds finally allowed me to know that my dough was ready—not under proofed or over proofed. Since switching over to it, my dough has not been sticky, its been bubbly, and it's consistently shaped up as it ought. 

Suggestion: Why not cut your recipe in half, make one loaf, and give the coil folds a try? See if you like them and the results? If you do, then you can decide how you want to approach making two loaves. 

 

ifs201's picture
ifs201

I'm convinced! Going to make 2 stout and chocolate loaves tomorrow and I'll divide before shaping. Good thing I have a lot of Pyrex! I'll let you know how it goes.

Benito's picture
Benito

Boy all this talk about coil folds has me thinking that I’ll give it a try tomorrow too.