Baguettes, Oui
I’ve been baking bread ever since I stumbled upon my grandfather’s recipe for buttermilk bread. His bread was a basic loaf but it sparked my love for all things fermentable. My love grew into brewing my own beer and baking bread was put on hold. I graduated college in 2010 and finances have become tighter since leaving school. It is more financially responsible to spend the money on baking bread than brewing suds. Although I desperately miss the smells that come with brewing a batch of homebrew, the smell of freshly baked bread has been a welcome substitute.
Last weekend I made a pate fermentee with the intention of baking baguettes. I made sure to take a portion of the dough and wrapped it tight for storage in the freezer. Thursday of this week I was struck with the urge to bake once again and withdrew the pre-ferment from the freezer to the refrigerator. I mixed up the dough on Friday and went through the motions of fermentation. The dough was shaped and then prepared to spend the night in the refrigerator. I wanted to develop a nice flavor profile so I retarded the dough over night and baked them today.
I will be sure to keep this blog current with my baking adventures; will soon be moving into sourdough.
Happy baking,
-Matthew
Comments
Matthew, your crusts are beautiful! I bet the baguettes were delicious.
I love fermentation, too; I really want to start making cheese, but I've been making yogurts. Homebrewing is really interesting too, but technically, I can't make beer because I'm a minor-but it still fascinates me.
I still want to see how your 3-day baguettes turned out!
-emily
Unfortunately the baguettes did not last long enough to be photographed. However, I can describe the results as best as someone can describe taste and texture through text.
A little side note, this holiday my cousin bought me a pan specifically made for baking baguettes. The rack has perforations, which allow heat, and airflow from below; this helps develop a great crust. I highly recommend picking one up, they are available on the King Arthur website.
I awoke early the day after retarding my baguettes in the refrigerator and removed them for baking. I allowed them to come to temperature for a couple hours while I finished the bagels I had made the night before. When it came time to bake, I transferred the baguettes to my rack and scored the dough. However, the loaves slightly deflated upon scoring, luckily I had good oven spring.
The baguettes had the traditional baguette shape with a crisp, crunchy, crust. The interior lacked the open airy crumb due to a lower hydration level than anticipated but they tasted wonderful. I was more satisfied with the batch I had made previously and will try to perfect the ever elusive baguette.
-Matthew