January 1, 2010 - 8:48am
Pretty loaves
If I do say so myself. The first bake of the new year got off to a good start.
We are going to my brother's for dinner tonight and I made these to take with us. I used "my" standard French bread formula but wanted a more dramatic presentation than my normal small rolls.
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Almost too pretty to cut into. Nice job
Great job! Love the crust! How big are these two? Al
Each loaf had 15 ounces of dough. It is 67% hydration and I used half the flour and water to make an biga which I ferment overnight.
The bread went over well at our dinner. Everyone ate lots of it.
Mix together 9 ounces flour, 6 ounces cool water and 1/16 teaspoon of instant yeast. Knead for 2-3 minutes and put back into the mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit 8-10 hours at 68-70 degrees.
Dump that dough out on the counter and put 6 ounces of warm water in the bowl. Cut up the old dough into 8-10 pieces and add it back to the water and slosh it around a little with your spoon. Add 9 ounces of flour, a teaspoon of instant yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
Knead until smooth and elastic or until you get tired. Put dough in the now oiled bowl, cover and let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 68-70 degrees. I take it out and fold it once, whenever I remember. I have neglected this step and it didn't seem to make much difference.
Divide and shape however you want. Let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Bake at 450 degrees with some steam.
This amount of dough also makes six very nice rolls, just right for two people to share one for dinner.