August 10, 2019 - 1:58pm
Save the Bannetons!
Hello!
I've been baking bread for under a year now using the methods described in "Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast". This past week I deviated from my "go-to" recipe (the overnight 40% whole wheat bread) and decided to substitute barley malt flour for the white flour. When trying to remove the proofed dough from the bannetons the following morning, the dough firmly stuck to them and was extremely difficult to remove. The remaining dough has now hardened and I don't know how to get if off. Are the bannetons destined for the great trash heap in the sky? Can they be saved? If so, how? I'm not worried about throwing them out as they are fairly inexpensive, but I would like to save them if possible (and I have two backups I can use).
Thanks!
Chris
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Hey Chris! “and decided to substitute barley malt flour for the white flour” If the Barley malt was diastatic that would cause a disaster! Diastatic malt has too much enzymes to be used in large quantities.
Hardened dough in bannetons. Unless anther baker has a better idea, I would wet the cane in order to soften the dough. Then scrape it out and dry bannetons extremely well.
I’d wait a while and see if someone else comes up with a better idea, though.
Danny
I have no idea how to help you with the banneton's, but they are way cheaper than they used to be because I think baking bread has caught on a bit. Check with Amazon (or other places. I would say, "Don't buy from Amazon", but 1. they are cheaper and 2 my son just started working for them as a computer engineer so that would be a bit perverse.)
The most common way is just to let the banneton dry out well and "bang out" the bits, tappling the banneton upside down hitting the edge firmly on the edge of the sink or work surface while holding one edge.
If the dough bits are still stuck, try using a dry stiff brush to loosen. Going back and forth between misting and drying the banneton should crack and loosen up chunks too. Several ways to dry the banneton may include drying in a warm oven or setting open banneton in the refrigerator. Sooner or later you will want to heat up the banneton to destroy any residual enzymes the dough has left on the cane. Although it hasn't been proven, enzymes could possibly interfere with future bakes.
Thank you all for the quick replies!
I went ahead and soaked the bannetons in some warm water in the kitchen sink. This seemed to help as it softened up the dough enough for me to scrape it out. The bannetons are currently still air-drying outside in the warm California sun.
With regards to whether the barley malt was diastatic or not -- I really have no idea. I used Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground Barley Flour and didn't see it mentioned anywhere on the packaging.
@Danny: you mentioned that using diastatic barley malt would cause a disaster -- could you please elaborate? As I mentioned earlier, I've been baking for under a year, and none of the recipes in Ken Forkish's book utilized diastatic barely malt flour, so I'm curious what would happen.
Thanks, again, for everyone's help with this :)
Chris
Chris when I read your description, Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground Barley Flour, it is not malted barley (sprouted grain). Malted barley is grain that has been sprouted, dried, and then ground. Sprouted grain (also known as malted grain) has the capability of having very high amounts of enzymes. If too much of these enzymes are added to the dough it will become gummy, producing bad bread.
This is not the case with the flour you described.
Update, you said, “and decided to substitute barley malt flour for the white flour.” in your first post. Did you use Malted Barley or Barley Flour?
So much to learn! LOL! Apparently, I used barley flour, not malted barley. I thought they were the same thing. Thanks for the clarification!
Btw, I baked two loaves of the "Overnight 40% Whole Wheat" bread today, to which I added two teaspoons of Alnatura Brotgewürz (a German bread seasoning consisting of finely ground anise, fennel, caraway, and coriander). The seasoning imparts a lovely aroma and taste to the bread which reminds me of Germany, and which family and friends absolutely love. I highly recommend it!
Chris
love that stuff! :)
Tip: Cold water clean up and soaking makes for easier clean up of dough. Hot water will often set gluten into a tough mass, plugging sinks and gum up brushes and sponges instead of falling apart..
Thanks for the tip! I've been using warm water, which explains everything! LOL!