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2/8/10 - 65% Hydration Baguettes

breadbakingbassplayer's picture
breadbakingbass...

2/8/10 - 65% Hydration Baguettes

Hey All,

Just wanted to share with you some baguettes that I made last night...  Nothing fancy, but I think they turned out pretty nice except for the slightly burnt bottom on a few of them...  These are 65% hydration using a firm 60% hydration sourdough starter and active dry yeast...  I think it's a variation on Eric Kaiser's Baguette Monge, but using American flours, and a firm sourdough starter instead of a liquid one...  It's probably closer to Dominique Saibron's baguettes that do use the firm sourdough starter... 

Also, the 2nd one from the right is the one I cut into.  It slid off my peel before I even opened the oven door.  I caught it before it hit the ground, but in doing so stretched it out, and ruined my slashes...  It tasted fine, but looks a little skinnier than the other 7...  Posting the recipe below.  Enjoy!

Tim

Ingredients:

Total Dough Weight: 2850g

Yield: 8 x 15" baguettes at 280g weight after bake

75% AP - 1140g (Whole Foods 365)

20% BF - 304g (KA Bread Flour)

5% Graham Flour - 76g (Bob's Red Mill)

20% Firm Sourdough Starter - 304g (straight from fridge fed day before)

65% Water - 988g

2% Kosher Salt - 30g

0.4% Active Dry Yeast - 6g (1 1/2 tsp)

Directions:

Day before:

Feed sourdough starter, or convert liquid starter to firm starter.  Leave on counter at room temp for 4 hrs, refrigerate until ready to use.

Bake day:

1.  Measure out all ingredients.

2.  Place water and sourdough starter cut in pieces in large mixing bowl.  Then, add all dry ingredients at once, mix with wooden spoon until all is combined in a shaggy dough, knead in bowl with wet hands for about 5 minutes, cover and autolyse for 30 minutes.

3.  After autolyse, knead dough 50 strokes in bowl with wet hands, cover and let rest for 30 mins.

4.  Turn dough in bowl, cover and let rest for 30 mins.

5.  Turn dough in bowl, cover and let rest for 1 hr.

6.  After rest, dough should have doubled in size.  To test, poke dough with a floured finger.  If impression remains, dough is ready.

7.  Divide into 8 pieces approx 356g, preshape and cover with cloth and plastic, let rest for 15 minutes.

8.  Final shape baguettes, place 1st 4 in (lightly floured) linen couche on a tray, place in plastic bag, and retard in refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Shape remaning 4, and proof for 30-45 minutes in linen couche.  Also place these 4 in large plastic bag so they don't dry out.  Arrange 2 baking stones in the oven along with a steam pan, and preheat to 500F with convection.

9.  When oven reaches 500F and 1st set of baguettes are proofed, carefully turn baguettes onto wooden peel, slash 5 times, place in oven.  When all baguettes are in, pour 3/4 cup of water into steam pan (use oven mitts), close door and bake for 8 minutes at 480F with convection, rotate and bake at 450F with convection for another 12-15 minutes or until internal temp reaches 210F.  Take out 2nd set of baguettes from fridge while these are baking.

10.  When first set of baguettes are out of the oven, preheat oven to 500F with convection.  When oven reaches temp, bake the 2nd set.

11.  Cool for 1 hr before eating.

Notes: I preheated my oven to 550F with convection...  This probably caused a few of them that were started on the bottom stone to have slighly burnt bottoms...  Also, my firm sourdough starter was started with organic rye flour, and then at some point converted to AP or bread flour.  Now it has some graham flour in it...  I feed it every few days with either 50g AP, and 30g water, or 100g AP and 60g water, leave it on the counter for 4 hours, feed it again, and return it to the fridge.  I usually use it 1-3 days after the last feeding...

Also, I have been seeing a few thread suggesting that you can bake breads in cold oven without preheating it to 50F to 100F above your desired bake temp...  I just have to say that that is bull-crap! at least for making baguettes, which need that initial high heat from the oven/baking stone to get the full oven spring, and rich carmelized crust...

 Submitted to Yeastspotting on 2/9/10

Comments

Salaheldin's picture
Salaheldin

can you please state what are the ingredients of the starter?

breadbakingbassplayer's picture
breadbakingbass...

Thanks!  You can just use any firm sourdough starter as long as it is active, or you can convert a liquid starter to firm...  Mine is kept at 60% hydration.  Again, it was started with organic rye flour, and then at some point converted to AP or bread flour.  Now it has some graham flour in it...  I feed it every few days with either 50g AP, and 30g water, or 100g AP and 60g water, leave it on the counter for 4 hours, feed it again, and return it to the fridge.  I usually use it 1-3 days after the last feeding...

So now, the starter has AP flour, graham flour, and water.  You should check out how to start a sourdough starter on this site...

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/lessons/sourdough

breadbakingbassplayer's picture
breadbakingbass...

Yay!  Thanks Susan!

http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2010/02/12/yeastspotting-2-12-10/

They are even on the mosaic picture..  Cool!

Tim