morning bread baking for perfect timing...
Ok - After being at this since the holidays - I have had several succeesful attempts at pain de campaign, and basic sourdough from BBA. The direction I am trying to pursue is using sourdough starters with more of a healthy grain combo - whole wheat or rye.
Is it possible to skip the refrigerator and let the dough ferment at room temperature for up to 24 hours? I also am interested in room temp fermenting for cinnamon rolls. Could I prepare a partially whole grain sourdough at say 3pm - let it bulk ferment at room temperature - occassional folds. Then in the morning shape, proof for under an hour and bake?
We love fresh bread and it would be especially luxurious to have it in the morning - using the leftovers for evening meals.
Any thoughts?
Sure you could bake and eat fresh sourdough bread in the morning, but I think you would be doing a disservice to the bread.
Bread, and sourdough especially, needs to be fully cooled before eating to allow the flavors to blend and the crumb to mature. That takes several hours. Breads with a high percentage of rye shouldn't even be eaten till the next day.
Maybe a better solution, as least for the palate, is to bake a nice sourdough, allow it to fully cool and develop its character, then turn on the oven the following morning and reheat it.
Unless, of course, you have time to bake early and completely cool the bread before breakfast.
Hi, Anna.
I agree with everything Lindy wrote, but have a couple other thoughts;
I think it was Hamelman who wrote something like "Bad bread should be eaten still warm." The implication being that all good bread should be completely cooled before slicing.
As Lindy said, most ryes and mixed grain breads benefit from 12 or more hours rest. The more complex the flavor, the more the flavor improves, in some cases over several days. Remember too that sourdough breads have much better keeping quality than straight breads. This does not mean that sourdough made with mostly white flour is not good imediately after cooling, but this means 2 hours out of the oven for a 1 lb boule, for example.
My solution would be to bake breads that are best after a 12 hour or longer rest. This would include the Pain Poilane-style Miche in BBA and most ryes made with a rye sour.
If you want a crisp crust in the morning, either make toast or re-heat the bread at 375F for 7-10 minutes (depending on the size of the loaf) in the morning. If you have cut the loaf the evening before, cover the cut surface with aluminum foil tightly before re-heating.
David
I'm in complete agreement with what David says. It takes time for sourdough breads to develop their flavor. I think waiting a couple of hours to try a loaf after it comes out of the oven is really difficult, but necessary! I try to tell myself that the "cooking time" really means time in the oven + time cooling. If you cut into a loaf too soon (while it is cooling), I think you disrupt the final cooking phase and end up compromising both the crumb and flavor.
Sourdoughs are not for impatient bakers!
--Pamela
This does make sense - that it is better to bake the bread in the late afternoon or evening - and not serve it until at least the next day.
Does the same go for morning breads - like cinnamon rolls, or cinnamon raisin bread?
Also - what about baguettes? It seems to me that they are so good when they are fresh...But I suppose we could simply reheat them for breakfast time.
Hi Anna.
Here are my personal answers to your "but what if ..." questions:
Cinnamon rolls: If not eaten right after baking, freeze them. They thaw well if re-heated right out of the freezer. 5-7 minutes at 350F.
Cinnamon raisin bread: Good the next day toasted. If keeping longer, you might want to freeze sliced or cut into pieces sized for one meal.
Baguettes: See Cinnamon rolls but heat at 375F 7-10 minutes (depending on their diameter).
David
I spent a few weeks in France with a French family at their country home on the coast of Normandy in the late 1980s. I noticed that they placed any leftover baguettes from dinner uncovered in the freezer--literally just threw them in there without any packaging. The next morning they would just pop them uncovered (again no packaging) in the oven until they warm through. When warmed, they would get split horizontally and be served with jam and butter. They always tasted very fresh and yummy.
On cinnamon rolls: these are easy to warm up in the oven. My husband's mom used to freeze batches of them, thaw a batch out by throwing on the counter overnight, and then just warm it up in the oven the next morning.
--Pamela