Submitted by jennyloh on March 20, 2010 - 1:39am

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

 

 

user icon

Better than passing, Jenny

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

Baking Stone vs Baking Sheets

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. 

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.