Baguettes a l'Ancienne with Cold Retardation

for your nice compliment.

Don

Thanks for your input. It took me a few tries to get everything worked out but I am pleased with the results. The process that I described works well for me but anybody else trying it should tweak it as necessary to take into account the many variables like ingredients, environment, seasonal variation etc.

I am anxious to see your version.

Regards,

Don

Coming from an accomplished baker like you, it is quite a compliment. I am eyeing your exquisite pastries...

Don

and I am happy to share my experiment.

Don

Thanks for your kind words and for notifying me of your own experiment. You are right, we have the same principle but the difference is my ice cold overnight autolyse does not have any yeast or salt in it. I add the remaining 15% of the water, yeast and salt the next morning and then finish kneading the dough.

Don

and thanks for your comments. I owe my scoring to the use of the newly purchased lame from TMB.

ps. Since I live in DC I will have to drop by 'G Street Food' one of these days.

Don

and let me know how it turns out when you try it.

Don

and your Nippon Baguettes are fabulous too!

Don

I am glad you like the baguettes. For the baguette dough, after retardation in the frridge, I divide and preshape, bench rest for 1 hour, shape and proof on couche for 45 minutes and then bake.

Don

Without your generous sharing of the 2 original formulations, none of this would have been possible.

My guess that the lack of gluten degradation is due to several factors:

1- I only mix the flour and ice cold water lightly just to incorporate the water into the flour for the overnight cold autolyse so the gluten was not developed.

2- After autolyse, I use the mixer just to aid in the incorporation of the reserved water into the cold dough and not to knead the dough thoroughly.

3- I only partially bulk ferment the dough at room temperature with S&F before cold retarding it.

4- From the feel of the dough after fermentation which was silky smooth and the great oven spring that I got, I would say that the dough was slightly underproofed when I put it in the oven.

I did follow Bouabsa pre-shaping, shaping and proofing schedule (see my response to pdiff above).

Don

I wanted to tell you that you have 'Nice Buns' but I though that would be a little too forward!

Don

I enjoyed listening to his 'from rags to riches' story.

Don

Hi Ben,

Here is my step by step routine for baking baguettes:

1- Spray the walls of the pre-heated oven at 500 degrees (w/ baking stone on middle shelf and cast iron skillet lined w/ lava rocks on bottom shelf) with a water spritzer about a dozen shots. Be careful to cover the glass window with a bath towel because I shattered mine a couple of months ago.

2- Heat 2/3 cups water in the microwave for 2 mins.

3- Transfer proofed baguettes from couche to a peel lined with parchment paper and score the baguettes immediately.

4- Load the baguettes on baking stone and pour hot water on the lava rocks again with the glass window covered with the towel.

5- Fold the towel lengthwise and use it to cover the vent holes. Do not do this if you have a gas oven.

6- Turn oven down to 460 degrees and bake 10 mins with steam then remove the towel and cast iron pan and continue to bake at 440 degrees for another 10 mins.

7- Turn off the heat and leave the baguettes in for 5 mins with the oven door ajar.

Don

Hi David,

I find it is easier to start with the flat beater attachment at low speed to incorporate the residual water and yeast into the cold autolysed dough. It pulls the dough into long strands. After the water stops sloshing in the bowl but is still wet(about 2 mins), I switch to the dough hook and mix it at low speed intil all the water is incorporated and the dough is smooth but not separated from the side of the bowl (about 2 mins). I then add the salt and mix at medium speed and the dough seems to dry out and start to ball up and separate from the side of the bowl rather quickly (about 1 min.). So I would say it takes about 5 mins total.

Don

I have been away for a week for my annual wild mushroom hunt and did not have acces to phone or internet which is the reason for the late reply. There is really no secrets for achieving a good grigne. The technique has been posted many times before, the most comprehensive being the scoring tutorial by dmsnyder. I can only add a couple of tips gathered from my own experience:

1- Do not use too high hydration for the dough. I keep mine around 70%.

2- Do not oversteam. I use 2/3 cups boiling water poured on a preheated cast iron pan lined with lava rocks.

3- I draw a full scale line drawing of a loaf of bread with scoring lines on a piece of cardboard and place it next to my proofed loaves when I do the scoring as a guide in controlling my motion.

As for shaping, watch the videos available on YouTube. I used to be very gentle and careful not to degas too much during shaping but I found that you can do it normally and not be overly concerned about mishandling the dough. The gas will be regenerated during final proofing and during the first baking cycle with steam.

Don

I am glad you like the bread. The recipe is quite simple. It is essentially the original Gosselin Pain a l'Ancienne recipe posted by dmsnyder but instead of fermenting and baking on the same day, you partially ferment the dough and retard it in the refrigerator for 18-24 hours like the Bouabsa technique. The only thing I might add is that I use quite a bit less yeast. I only use 1/2 tsp instant yeast for 500 gms of flour.

Don

Hi Hanseata,

My mistake, I should have said "preheat oven to 490 degrees F". I have edited the post to reflect this. The idea is to bake on regular heat at 460 degrees F with steam and then finish off with convection bake without steam at 430 degrees F to achieve the thin crackly crust. I hope this helps.

Don

There is really nothing wrong with a thin crust as long as it is crackly and not soft. Personally, I find it desirable and the use of convection bake at the end really helps in achieving that.

Don