Concerns and comments for and by professional bakers.
Hi All,
In other posts, I've made it clear that I consider internships to be a valuable part of our team building/hiring process, not to mention that it's a great way to "give back" to the industry. Lately, however our local schools have made some changes that seem to be somewhat bizarre and counter-productive.
What is generally considered an acceptable % of batch weight that doesn't make it into loaves? With preferments, levains, soakers, etc there is always some left behind. I imagine that there is a small bit of evaporation in play, too. Am I just a sloppy amateur? I try and calculate the batch total at about 2% over the loaf title. If the batch is eight 700g loaves, i usually shoot for 5.8kg total on paper to have enough dough for the loaves with maybe 25g left. Does this sound about right?
Came across an interesting item on a "sourdough" loaf label in the local supermarket.
They bake those tasteless loaves on site with addition of "sourdough flour". They taste midly sour, but nothing like well fermented sourdough. When I enquired what "sourdough flour" is they said it's just like any other bread mix in a 25 kg bag - mix with water and bake as per instructions. No additional yeast required. The process is the same as for all their other yested breads.
Did anyone come across it?
Hi all,
I am considering purchasing some deck ovens (Bakers Pride Y602) that will be used primarily for baking lean sourdough breads. These ovens seem much more reasonably priced than any imported steam-injected bread ovens and I think they will work well with a jerry-rigged steaming system (high pressure hot water spray wand).
Moderators - if this fits better elsewhere, please feel free to shift it.
One question I have: how good can these baguettes be?
France is the home of the baguette, that savory, crisp staple of a fabled gastronomy. But just try getting a fresh one in the evening, or on a holiday, or even in August, when many of the country's 33,000 bakeries are closed.
Jean-Louis Hecht thinks he has the answer.
