I've been making thin couronnes lately, because I can give the loaf a real stretch like baguette, but still have it fit on my oven stone (heck, fit the oven itself). I haven't had much luck with getting a good grigne, tho... until today! I just had to share a picture. I hope I can do this again!
I reduced my initial oven temperature to 475F to avoid setting the crust too fast, added water for steam some time before the loaf to avoid a steam flash, and worked on my slashing with the safety-razor-blade-on-a-coffee-stirring-stick trick, but it wasn't quite right, and my slashes would never get that lip pulling up and browning to a crisp.
Today, I proofed the loaf under a tea towel, but with a metal bowl full of hot water set in the ring of dough. I'm not sure that's what really made the difference, altho I did notice that the skin near the bowl was drier, which may have helped the loaf to expand outwards and pull on the slash... maybe?
Delicious looking crust. I wonder how the crumb looks like. Have a pic? Al
Of course, here is a shot of the crumb:
Meant to post that as a reply, still learning my way around the comment system.
tis beautious!
Thank you :-)
While not the holy grail of home baking, getting good gringes runs a close second (at least to me). My own experience, both at home and in a bakery, is that a slight 'skin' helps create a better cut. Keep at it!
Thank you :-)
I've found that I have two issues:
Not sure what to do about either of them, but I'll keep experimenting.
In my experience, slashes not opening either mean I didn't cut deeply enough or that there was insufficient steam to keep the crust from forming before the grignes could open.
When the skin puckers (which used to occur frequently before I started proofing seam side up in linen couches), either a 'skin' hasn't developed or else I have shaping or proofing issues that become evident during scoring.
Keep working at it - especially since you've tasted success!
Practice makes perfect, and the results are literally my daily bread, so I don't mind the work. :-)
I did the last rise in the oven, with a bowl of hot water to provide some gentle heat, and get a much better texture (lots and lots of little bubbles, like memory foam) before I shaped the loaf for the proof. I was able to get a nice tight skin with very little deflation, and the proof almost doubled in size again.
I proofed seam side up, a simple blunt log, and on a wood block not parchment paper. When I rolled it gently onto paper after proofing, I had a nice skin! I dusted it with flour for contrast, and it slashed perfectly, almost no puckering and certainly no resticking. I kept it simple, and slashed straight down the middle, but at a shallow angle to the skin to get a grigne.
It just about exploded in the oven, I could see the loaf ballooning and the slash yawning wider and wider, like a time-lapse movie. :-)
Here's the result:
We'll cut into it tomorrow for breakfast, and we'll see what the crumb is like then.
Looking good! I like the open crumb I'm seeing.
This has been a real step forward for me. Having a slash that doesn't re-close means the loaf can spring up fully, and I get a lighter, chewier crumb that just bakes better.
Thanks for the nudge on proofing :-)
...really makes all the difference in a lot of breads. Happy baking!