Pain de Seigle
I made these today with a chef. This recipe was meant to go into a bread machine, which of course, the machine is me. I made this all by hand. I tried 2 things today. 1 was to cover the loaf with a claypot to bake, and another stay in the claypot to bake. Of course it turned out that the one that stayed in the claypot got a nicer crust - golden brown.
But somehow with this formula, the bread didn't rise too much, I might have overproof it - 1 1/2 hours. Went out for supper during that time, by the time I got back, the dough looks more than ready. The one with the claypot covered had a little more rise, as I baked it immediately after I return. Here it is:
The one that goes into the claypot, didn't rise much. Just a little jutting up from the top that I score.
Both were not as crispy as I like....I still do not have baking stone....sigh....I can't find it in China yet....can someone send me one?!.... But the inside is chewy, soft, and the taste is a little more salty - I don't know if this is because of the salt I added or the chef that was quite well fermented....weather was good over here in Shanghai...warming up...
The crumbs are well spread out, not a lot of holes. And the 2 loaves have slightly different taste, somehow the boule turns out to be less salty, why? perhaps I left it overnight in the fridge, it had absorb what ever is in the dough.
I guess I can say this is a pass?...
Jenny
www.foodforthoughts.jlohcook.com
Comments
Those look very nice and delicious, too! I'm impressed that you got a seigle bread to rise as much as it did. The crumb certainly looks open. It does not appear to have been over-proofed, from what the photos indicate.
While I like baking on a stone, a number of posters here do very well with baking their breads on baking sheets in an oven that has not been preheated. You might want to do a search for the phrase "cold oven" or something similar. I think Eric (ehanner) has posted some of his experiences with this technique.
Keep on baking. There will be ups and downs; just about every one of them will taste good, no matter how they look!
Paul
Paul - thanks for the encouragement. I've tried the baking sheets method, heating it up before I throw in my bread to bake, it certainly turn out slightly more crispy than a cold baking sheet. I guess without a baking stone, difficult for me to compare which is better method.
I'd be going to US, and researching to get a stone and perhaps some bannetons as well from there, carry it back all the way here.....:) (hopefully it won't break along the way). How heavy does pizza baking stone weigh anyway? Does anyone know if there's any place within Charlotte, NC, US that I can shop for some baking supplies?
After my purchase, I'd be able to tell you all then, whether there's any difference.