October 20, 2009 - 5:05am
Can I go directly from fridge to oven?
I have two loaves proofing in my fridge right now. I've heard that I can go directly from fridge to oven.
Questions: How would I do that. I normally bake a 2.5 pound loaf (78% hydration) en Cloche for 45 minutes at 425, 20 covered and 25 uncovered.
Do I modify the time? Do I modify the temp?
Any insights and suggestions would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Thane
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Is your cloche made of stone? I would think that the drastic change in temperature would cause it to crack. If you have a LeCreuset cast iron enamel pot then it may be fine.
I've tried baking baguettes straight out of the fridge but I wasn't able to get the color that I wanted.
so I use an enamel-covered steel roasting pan, like your mom or grandmother cooked in. They are very economical, work wonderfully, and I have had great results cooking room temperature bread with them.
Hmm... Did you have to change the baking time or temp?
I kept the same temperature and cooked the bread longer. However the dough started to burn at the slash marks on my baguettes. Perhaps a lower baking temperature would help.
I take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit while the oven is pre-heating. Then I use the same temperature and the same time as I would for a roon-temperature dough, give or take 5 minutes. Covering the loaf (like you would with a cloche) seems to bring the interior temperature up very quickly, so it doesn't take any significant extra time to bake.
brad
I'd let the dough warm up some if it's going directly into a hot oven.
However, I think it would be a good experiment to put the cold dough in a cold oven, cover with your enamel "cloche" and preheat the oven with the dough right there. That seems like it might have a good chance of working. If you give it a try, please report back.
I have tried to put room temp dough in a cold oven and let them heat together. It was a disaster (for me). Since I don't grease the hot pans when I dump the bread in, I didn't grease the cold pan. BAD idea. I ended up with beautiful loaves that were cemented to the bottom of the pan. Had to tear off the usable part of the bread (that was pretty, let me tell you), and then soak out the burned-on crust with water for 24 hours. No fun there.
So nice to have found a community where you can feel free to ask questions and where you get awesome tips.
I very much appreciate it, and I'll let you know how it turned out.