The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

hi i have a few questions so i'll just throw them all in here... thanks!

rolls's picture
rolls

hi i have a few questions so i'll just throw them all in here... thanks!

okay, so i just popped a couple of  pain sur poolish boules in the oven. i say boules but by the time they got to the oven, they in no way resembled boules! i had them proofed in a make-shift banneton overnight. when inverting them on to my black grill tray, they stuck to the cloth and came out flat. i still scored (i have a new small sharp serrated knife i am trying out), into hottest oven with steam. i think they still got decent oven spring considering (i just had a peek) but they are still flat compared to the perfect round ball shape i am after. i will try and make sense with my questions:

OVEN SPRING:

  • best way to achieve this? i thought i'd try underproofing, how do i judge this?
  • how does scoring affect this? the reason i ask is because i scored each boule differently and one got better oven spring. with this one i slanted the knife towards that edge while scoring and the opposite with the other side (so right side of loaf, knife slanted towards right direction and vice versa).
  • steam? i guess steam has an affect here. i liberally sprayed loaves with water  before going in and threw in some hot tap water into a pan that had been preheating in oven.

i have a small oven with fan if that helps. im trying to get nice balls of bread so i can try those soup bowls and this nice recipe i came across in lowfat cookbook where she removes the inside of the loaf toasts everything fills the boule with a cheesey spinach/herb dip and uses the toasted crumb chunks for dipping. i can post the recipe if anyone's interested. anyway, im sure i have heaps more questions but can;t remember them at the moment so i'll have to bother you all with them another time.

thanks heaps for any feedback, advice, tips. happy baking!

 

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I'm no expert at all this but when I use bannetons, I invert onto pan-sprayed parchment paper. That way I can pick up the loaf with my peel and successfully get it off the peel and into the oven.

Scoring promotes oven spring; if you get a lot of oven spring and you don't score then I think the loaf will either rip at the sides or you will get a big hole between the crust and the bread.

Either steam or use a cloche. Both promote oven spring, but you do either one or the other. The cloche gives me more spring.

Hope this helps, --Pamela

rolls's picture
rolls

thanks ive been thinking i wanna buy a deep aluminium foil roasting pan to cover loaves while baking i saw susan's magic bowl method and since im accident prone i was thinking the foil's much lighter when dealing with a hot oven!

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

First thing I thought was overproofed.  I think it was proofed too long before going into the oven.   Try shortening it. 

Underproofed:  Your dough should firmly resist your finger when you lightly touch it. 

rolls's picture
rolls

thanks mini oven so i shouldn't proof shaped loaves overnight?

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

Hi, rolls.

You certainly can proof shaped loaves overnight, if you slow down ("retard") the proofing process by leaving the loaves in the refrigerator. This will, in fact, improve the flavor of many breads. It will increase the sourness of sourdoughs.

If you proof the loaves before refrigerating them, you can bake them after they warm up for an hour. Some folks have succeeded in baking the retarded loaves right out of the fridge. If you refrigerate the loaves right after shaping, they usually need about 4 hours at room temperature to warm up and proof before they are ready to bake.

David

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

10-12 hours?

 

rolls's picture
rolls

maybe a little longer