Still loafing
It's been a couple of years since I posted here at TFL, but I visit very often, reading up on all of the wonderful bakes, experiments, etc. I'm still baking a couple of loaves a week pretty regularly, and though I'm not very adventurous outside of a handful of formulas I like, it's something I look forward to every week. Here's my latest RWC SD formula and bake:
1000g AP Flour (KA)
100g Semolina Flour (Bob's)
100g WW Flour (KA)
250g Starter (100%)
803g Water
24g Salt
Autolyze w/starter for ~30 minutes
Pinch in salt, 30x S&F, proofer @ 75F, rest 30 minutes
30x S&F, rest 30 minutes
30x S&F, bulk proof 1.5-2 hours @75F
Pre-shape, rest, final shape, floured bannetons
Proof for 1-2 hour @ 75F, then 4 hours in fridge
Pre-heat oven to 475F
Bake covered for 20 minutes, then 25 uncovered
I didn't get a crumb shot, but when I sliced this bread for my morning toast, the crust shattered nicely, and the crumb was minimally open (which is about how I like it for versatility (toast, sandwiches, etc.)
One tweak I have made to my SD process which has made a huge difference is my starter management. I used to keep my starter in the fridge, and just take out a tablespoon or two of seed to start a levain for a bake. When I did this, I often struggled with my starter being a bit slugglish, and taking some time to get lively. My current process is to make about 10-20g more starter build for a batch than the formula calls for. While my dough is autolyzing, I take this leftover, mix it up at 1:1:1, and when it shows good activity (2 hours or so), I pop that into the fridge. This becomes the seed for my next batch. My experience is that my starter is much more lively when I use it to bake the next batch using this process.
As always, thanks to all of you for posting your baking experiences here. Whether they turn out how you expected or not, what you share here has helped me immensely to travel this point in my baking journey.
All the best!
Rich
A suggestion - post more often! These batards look wonderful, as is the photography. And I love semolina flour, so love to see it featured here.
alan
...Alan!
and my next bake will without a doubt include Semolina in some form! I would be great to see a crumb shot and how the Semolina affects the crumb?
I am also intrigued by your 2nd proofing and retarding process....I have a wine cooler and I now often let my loaves sit for 30 min or so to get some rise and then put them in my 5C wine cooler for 4 1/2 hours or so....
What you are describing is very similar to what Martin Field from the Illebrod bakery describes in his book Sourdough to let the dough rise and then when almost done to put in a cold fridge.
What made you choose the 4 hours rather than a longer proof just out of curiosity?
Great looking bread with a dark crust , blisters and cracks but not too dark! Kat
Kat, four hours was when the dough was ready to go, and it was either bake then (evening) or wait until morning (which would have been too long.) I think that maybe if my fridge was a bit colder (haven't measured it), then I could really shut down the fermentation activity so that it didn't overproof on a long retard. The flavor profile that I get with this proof timing is what I'm after, so I don't know that I'd gain much by going longer.
R
I agree with all of the above comments. These photos put a smile on my face. I imagine that munching on some of the bread itself would do even more. Fabulous looking bake.
A couple of questions. Are the three sets of thirty S&F the extent of your mixing? That seems adequate to develop the gluten based on your photos, but is there no initial mixing (you just jump straight into S&F after the autolyse)? I suspect that your moderately open crumb (rather than very open) stems in part from what occurs during thirty S&F.
My other question is whether those bannetons in the background were used for this bake. They are remarkably clear of any flour. I always leave flour in mine, as the old flour makes a good surface for the new dough.
Thanks again for posting.
Appreciate the comments, I'm pretty happy with these, too!
Other than the brief mix before the autolyze, yes, the S&F that I'm doing is the only mixing/kneading that's going on. I have chased open crumb with a variety of techniques and formulas, and have settled on this current process as the one that provides me the crumb I'm looking for.
Yes, I used those bannetons for my final proof. They are free of flour because I used dusted cotton tea towels as liners for the dough to proof in. I find that method works well to guarantee no sticking, AND (added benefit), the towels pull some moisture out of the surface of the dough, which seems to provide a more crackling crust when done baking (I don't have empirical evidence for this, but my anecdotal observation says it's true.) :)
R
Congrats on your loaves! They look fabulous. And I'm fully in line with your starter routine, I think after waking up from hibernation the poor beasties deserve at least one really good breakfast before being sent back into the cold ;-)
Happy baking
t.sparrow
Thank you. I think that having a starter that was active a week ago, rather than one that continually "ages" in the fridge has an impact on how quickly it gets vigorous again. Of course, you have to be really careful not to put all of the starter into your dough so you have something to propagate! :)
R
love the dark crust, very well done.
Leslie
Thank you!
Yes, post more! I am currently struggling with a sluggish starter, and will try your method with my next batch. I'll be baking a lot this week in preparation for Thanksgiving (in Canada) so I will have lots of loaves to trial with! (the appetizer baguette, the stuffing bread, the savory gravy sopping up bread, maybe a morning toast with leftover turkey bread too! :-)
I'd be interested to hear your experience. What I've seen so far is that using a seed starter that's only been in the fridge for a week since its last feeding, rather than pulling off a larger amount that stays there for several weeks, leads to better activity. Now, you could certainly look at this and say, duh, you should have been feeding your stored starter more often! I agree. :) The way I'm doing it now is just more efficient for me, as I work the starter maintenance into my "bread day".
Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday!
R