Experimental baguettes, Pain de Campagne, and Jamaican sandwich bread
Experimentation with baguettes never seems to end. Today I decided to try a one day sponge instead of my usual poolish. In addition, I let the rest of the flour and water (that not being occupied fermenting in the sponge) have a one and one half hour autolyse. I then did a double bulk ferment, the first in the fridge for two hours, the second at room temperature for another hour after folding the dough.
Last week I let the dough ferment in the fridge out of necessity (the wife wanted me to take her somewhere, I forget where now), and the bread was great. I decided to try a more structured approach to determine the optimum fermentation. It seems to lack the dark crust I prefer, so next time I will scorch it. I didn't turn the oven on soon enough, and it's always fritzy anyway when it comes to temps. Ah, well, two are gone already, so all in all a definite step forward on the journey to a perfect personal recipe.
Next I made two loaves of white bread for family sandwiches and suchlike. I usually use one of two recipes. The first comes from Julia Child's Baking with Master Chefs. The other is a Jamaican hard do. I chose that for today's bake. I added a little powdered milk and vegetable oil to the basic recipe to give it that little extra oomph.
Finally, my favorite sourdough. Pain de campagne. Made in a Dutch oven. Perfection.
*Edit: As I thought, the picture loading problem was my own weariness. It has been rectified (both the sleepiness and the inability to understand how to load pictures), and I have attached a few photos of the breads.
-Matt