The Fresh Loaf

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What Bad Things Happen If You Fold Your Couche for Storage?

troglodyte's picture
troglodyte

What Bad Things Happen If You Fold Your Couche for Storage?

I have been working on baguettes and treated myself to a St. Germain Professional Baker's Couche. It is a typical baker's couche made from a heavy flax fabric. Nothin' to write home about. 

I tried it for the first time yesterday. I dusted it with bread flour and it worked fine. I lifted the folds on the couche and rolled the baguettes onto parchment sheets, no problems. The only question I have (right now) about the new couche is how to store it.

The instructions say, "roll to store between uses." That is not very convenient for me. I would prefer to fold it and put it back in the original zipper plastic bag. 

-> What terrible things happen if you fold your couche to store it, rather than rolling it according to the instructions?

 

MTloaf's picture
MTloaf

Depending on how heavy the linen is it could develop creases that don’t follow the hills and valleys of baguette folds. I don’t think I would seal it in a bag because it might get mold. You should give it a shake and hang it to dry after using. After it is seasoned it will require less flour to prevent sticking. HTH 

Don

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

Don is right,  if you store it in a bag too soon, it will develop mold.  If you can hang it near the oven door after using it, so it fully dries, then you can store it in a plastic bag, which is what I do. 

foodforthought's picture
foodforthought

Exactly what I do. After use, I head to the garden, shake out the couche and any towels I’ve used to cover dough during proofing. Then over the back of a chair outside in the summer or hang in the garage during wet weather. Then I fold and store in a ziplock as you are proposing. Been doing this for years.

Cautionary incident. I recently put away a pastry cloth in a ziplock immediately (without drying) after rolling out a few pie doughs. A few weeks later I went to make another pie and got that moldy bread penicillium smell from the vaguely green cloth. No matter. Had a spare clean one handy, but the utility of a well floured pastry cloth or couche seems to increase over many uses. So washing kind of takes you back to start all over. Avoid it if you can.

Good luck,

Phil

troglodyte's picture
troglodyte

By the time I got around to reading everyone's comments, I had shaken out the couche (outside, without drying), then folded it and put it back into its original package. I put the flat folded package in the freezer. Hopefully that will be okay until next time when I can dry it properly and figure out a better solution.

I am waiting for another chance to make baguettes. Hopefully this coming weekend. 

If the couche is already ruined, then it is ruined and no changing that. If I must, I can save up and buy another one.