Champlain experiment
During the Champlain community bake I abandoned Trevor's premix method as it degraded my UK flours too much and I ended with soup...
Thinking a bit more about temperatures I thought what would happen if I were to do the 'premix' method but keep the dough 'cooler' rather than into fridge and then get to room temp. I used the 304g amount of water for 70% hydration as in his formula.
After mix I put dough at 8PM in my wine cooler at 10C overnight and mixed at 7AM with leaven from the night before. Dough was really soft but much more the consistency as seen in his video but a bit softer. I then did 2 X 30 min interval coil folds and then basically left the dough in the proofer at 80F....till 3.5 hours later.
Pre-shape, 20 min bench rest and then at 10C in the wine cooler....for 2 hours...
I really tried not to look at the clock but to get a feel for what the dough looks and feels like when it should be ready...then I ran out of time and had to bake as I had to go out for the rest of the afternoon...and dough looked kind of ready...
So...here are the photos...I think it would have been a better crumb, if I would have had time to let it go for a bit longer...and needed a bit more time!
The pre-mix is something that I will try again now...it really makes the dough softer and opens up that crumb!!!!!
"We know that already!!!!!" you may tell me off.... but I never could get it working in my kitchen with my flours and this is really exciting. I just need to keep the pre-mix a tad colder in the wine cooler and it seems to work. Just need to get that 2nd proof right...That really is my kryptonite!!!! Kat
Comments
You would not have liked it with a longer proof. Perfect just as it is. Very nice indeed. There is theat coil fold again:-)
Happy baking NACL - Salt - perfect handle for a bread baker!
now called 'the sleeping ferret' fold! Thank you but I am battling with the timing of 2nd proof and should have waited but then I end up with those no ears loaves!
Well, someone in the house said they deserved a tummy rub and they did get one!
as good as any ferret any day. When she was younger she would spring into the air and grab Mallard Ducks in mid flight as they left the safety of the pool! Now she is lucky to be able to spring up on the couch for a peanut butter stuffed pretzel nubbin.
nothing wrong with that crumb, its gorgeous!
Funny isn’t it how going back to Champlain (in my case Tartine style country champlain) seems to work now, so we must a learnt a lot somewhere along the way. Awesome isn’t it!!
Leslie
when you are a child as you really don't notice it until you've outgrown your trousers!
It feels a bit like this with breadmaking and unless you go back to the 'beginnings' it is easy to loose track and be grateful for all the
things learnt so far! What a lovely journey it is with lovely company! :D
p.s. I was wondering about baking the Tartine style country......
in 66 years and have complete sets of size 36-42 waist pants ready to be applied to any size over that time and still not wear any of of them out?
when nicely-developed dough turns into soup with time... I'm glad you've found the way that works out for you.
The crumb is already perfectly open, it'd be greedy to want any more than that :) The custardy-soft crumb is to die for. Nice job!
I find it amazing the difference the temperature has made for the pre-mix! I only tried it again as there was a lady on IG from UK using similar flours and the pre-mix worked...That got me thinking again and trying to slow down activities at colder temp but not as cold as in fridge.... Good to never give up! Kat
Never tried Champlain because I am afraid of wet dough and I don't have enough resources too. I think it is perfect as it is. Gorgeous!
and I think actually a great dough to start with to experiment with stiffer dough and open crumb, which is why Dan and I chose it for our first community bake.
What resources to you think you need to do it? I can highly recommend it and have a go?
There will be lots of bakers here who also are happy to help and baked it on the community bake. Kat
I don't have a scale and an oven so I cannot replicate the recipe exactly. I always use intuition in my bakes.
Wow Kat! Those loaves are stunning, you must be pleased. Look at those ears, well done, you're really nailing the scoring!
I think you're onto something with keeping the premix a bit cooler. I try to keep my premixes as cold as possible for a long as possible too.
Happy baking
Ru
those temperatures are driving me potty and about the bend! I tend to go for 10C in the wine cooler as a bit colder that room temp but not as cold as fridge and then not too hard to get back to warmer temp for bulk proofing. I use my Brod & Taylor as otherwise in the winter very tricky...
That creates a whole new perspective now on many of my bakes as I can start to use to bake as LOWER hydration (which I kind of experimented with anyway due to UK flour) but create extensibility with the pre-mix! Baking certainly keeps the mind flexible my Yoga teacher would say! Kat
Beautiful! Just perfect!
and I am experimenting with different approaches...after the success with the pre-mix in the wine cooler I might try a cold bulk next...I've read some interesting things about people bulking overnight at 55F on this forum and might try that.....Kat