Buns/rolls made with French bread dough
My sister loves dinner rolls/buns. So I figure I'd use it as a chance to really try out French folding. My previous attempts have been somewhat half-hearted. But this time, I thought I’d really do it right, focusing on stretching and trapping air.
For the formula:
Strong Canadian white flour 13.3% protein
75% hydration
0.5-0.6% instant yeast
2% table salt
French folded for 10 mins till smooth (funnily, wasn’t that sticky even at 75% hydration!), then lightly flour the top/counter and form into a ball. Put in floured bowl and rest for 1 hour, 1 fold and rest another 45 mins before shaping (65g balls) then give it a 30-40 min proof. Baked till internal temp reached 208F (around 22-25 mins at 450-500F).
As for steaming, 2-3 mins before putting the buns in the oven, I put in a (loaf) pan of boiling water (about a cup or cup and a half) on the top rack, which I removed about 8-9 mins into the baking stage (didn't mist oven because I lost my trusty spray bottle).
Et voila! It’s night and day compared to my previous breads (using same formula) that were rather dense probably due to my pathetic kneading skills :P Or, maybe I’ve been underbaking all this time? Plus, they snap-crackled and poped while cooling for something like 10 mins. I could hear them at 10 feet away!
Anyway, here are photos.
I'm really surprised what a difference the French fold method made for me with high hydration dough. Thanks to everyone here who have given links and hints on it. For the sake of curiosity, next I will try the exact formula and method with a poolish to see what difference it has on the fluffiness and aroma of the crumb.