Figuring out bigger crumb holes
Sort of straight dough, but with 4% over-fermented sponge which I make up ahead of time and keep in the freezer, so I guess it's really sponge and dough.
This post has been edited, dabrownman in the comments below made me realize something was wrong in the formula presentation. My apologies for any confusion that the flawed formula may have caused. As a result of this edit, some comments may now be out of context.
total | final | sponge | ||||||
formula | dough | |||||||
% | g | % | g | % | g | |||
Baker's Flour, 11.8% protein | 4% | 30 | 100% | 30 | ||||
Pastry Flour, 9% protein | 96% | 720 | 100% | 720 | ||||
malt, low diastatic | 2% | 15 | 2.08% | 15 | ||||
Instant dry yeast | 0.775% | 5.81 | 0.775% | 5.58 | 0.775% | 0.232 | ||
cool water | 55% | 412.5 | 49.79% | 358.5 | 180% | 54 | ||
~~~hydration rest~~~ | ||||||||
cool water | 15% | 112.5 | 15.63% | 112.5 | ||||
salt | 2% | 15 | 2.08% | 15 |
Sponge instructions are located in a comment of mine below dabrownmans.
Final dough: Mix pastry flour, AB mauri low-diastatic malt, instant dry yeast. Add water, mix briefly until just combined and let rest for 20 minutes. After the time has elapsed, mix again.
Add salt, sponge, and water, and mix well until gluten is well developed. Warning: Increasing the hydration after autolyze makes for difficult mixing.
Let it bulk ferment to double. I then refrigerated it overnight (not planned, but unexpected circumstances demanded it), punched it down once. In the morning, weighed, divided into 3 equal weight portions, let it warm a little, shaped, and let it proof to 1.5 gas:dough ratio, scored, and baked in a dry oven at 450°F for 20 minutes.
Not real happy with the crust, not as crispy as I'd like, but this flour seemed the secret of a bread I'd been trying to duplicate for years. It has a nice soft, melt in your mouth crumb, like a restaurant from the 1980s in Bird Rock (San Diego) used to have in their baguettes, The French Pastry Shop.
Update: reheated the batards this evening in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes, and the crust was divine, nice and crispy without being tough.