Can someone please help and explain where I might be going wrong :-
I am just parbaking the baguettes (I freeze them individually when they are cold, wrapped in cling wrap)
My dough has proofed enough (ambient temp 20°C for 1.5hours)
I have steam injected at the initial stages
Temperature of oven is 230°C,
Baking on stone. (Stone temp is 235°C)
I’m scoring at 45° and at approx 1cm deep, overlapping by a third.
I don’t know why I get these ballooning !!!
- audieg's Blog
- Log in or register to post comments
Of par baking when the fully cooked ones freeze and and reheat like they just came out of the oven. My first thought was inadequate steam but they may have been removed from the oven at the wrong time for the bloom to burst. The other guesses are that they were rolled too much when they were shaped or the scores weren’t deep enough.
Don
I can't tell if the picture shows the parbaked or finish baked loaves. These loaves show so much expansion that I'd suggest proofing them longer to reduce the forces forcing the loaves to expand. you could try shallower scores, too.
Non-uniformity along the length may indicate something uneven about the shaping technique. Still, you've got very well expanded baguettes, and that's a great basis for perfecting them.
TomP
Thanks for your input - yes, they were par baked (8 min). I have a 50% chance of getting the bake right with the opening of the ears properly achieved, yet, the other times I get this. It is cooler these days and maybe I need to proof them a bit longer ? Maybe the scoring should be shorter ?
They look tasty in spite of the tumours.
by about 5 minutes into the bake and the rest of the time is browning. You will get more oven spring with a slightly under proofed baguette. You may need to develop more tension during the final shaping or create more steam. Baguettes have a tendency to magnify small mistakes and imperfections.
Had a similar discussion with TFL folks a few months back but can’t find the link. Anyway this discussion led me to rethink my scoring flops—in fact my entire bag production process. I think the results are yielding better bags. Here’s what I changed:
Setting the stage: No changes here, but you should know my sourdough/poolish dough is always retarded at 36-37° at least overnight.
Pre-shape: Instead of balls of dough, I now preshape into more of a proto-baguette a stubby jelly roll that I handle gently but finish by developing a stretched out skin. Went from 30 minute counter rest to 20 minutes.
Shape: No real changes here but focus on rolling firmly in the middle but more gently at the ends.
Proof: Went from 45 minutes @80° F to 25 minutes. I’m now convinced that overproofing may have been the biggest contributor to smooth-skinned bags.
Preheat: No changes here but preheat oven and stone at 500° for at least 30 minutes+. Drop oven temp to 460° just before loading.
Scoring: Spritz bags and score. Have switched from double-edge razor held between thumb and pointer finger to using a lame made from a wooden coffee stirrer inserted into a curved razor. Same razors I’ve always used but I swear I’m getting more consistent results. Inexplicable! I think I’m also getting deeper scores. Confounding really.
Load: As soon as I load the bags onto the stone I inject steam, wait 30 seconds then turn off the oven completely and wait 6-7 minutes. This was going around the baking blogs, YouTube, etc. a few years ago and I am convinced it works for crusty lean loaves.
Finish: Oven back on set to 460°. Inject steam. After 7 minutes or so, rotate bags 180 degrees. At least 7 more minutes.
Bonne chance,
Phil