Second try at Hamelman's Baguettes with Poolish and first time bake of Rustic Bread
I apologise already..I don't really seem to be able to create such nice and well thought out entries as some of the fellow bakers here. They always end up having to be wedged into my life and suffer from such rough treatment.
So, here are pictures from my second try at the baguettes. I feel they were slightly more succesful than the first ones but still just so far from GOOD....they tasted nice, but they also just haven't tasted the way I remember baguettes tasting in Paris.
I shaped and retarded them overnight......I let them rise a bit more in the morning and then onto a pre-heated baking stone they went, for just a bit longer than Hamelman calls for.It is weird but I feel like I seem more comfortable with higher hydration doughs......the baguette dough and the rustic bread dough feel more unfamiliar in my hands that for example the miche doughs I have tried. I don't know why that may be...rye doughs are pretty moist but otherwise nothing like wheat.
Anyways, pictures here......if anybody has any constructive criticism please share!
Then the Rustic Bread! The taste is amazing-it is so deep and juicy from that little bit of whole wheat and rye flour. This bread I retarded in bulk and then folded, shaped and let proof for about another 1.5 hours. The shaping seemed to me to be very tight-scoring was a disatser for some reason. I just don't seem to be able to get an even, deep cut.......that led to a blowout on the top or possibly I did not let it proof enough once it came out of the fridge.
There are two crumb shots-one from the very side of the bread and one from the middle of the loaf...you can see the difference. I obviously have tons of room for improvement on this one,too, but I do have to reiterate that the taste was surprising in its nuttiness and epth. Very enjoyable!
Any comments greatly appreciated!
Am now working on the Horst Bandel Pumpernickel and very excited about it!
Christina
Comments
You're doing just fine, Christine. Your blog is great and your photos are certainly clear, well organized, and spaced nicely (something I always have a problem with).
I've no experience making baguettes and I'm certain yours are a heck of a lot better than what I'll be able to turn out. I did use the Hamelman baguette with poolish dough for rolls for Easter; my personal opinion is that when one is accustomed to eating a good sourdough, a yeasted bread using only wheat flour tastes on the bland side.
On the other hand, your rustic bread looks scrumptious and I like your description of the taste. That crumb is lovely - I've had that change in crumb structure too and wish it were possible to get inside the bread to better judge the fermentation in the middle.
The one problem I might have with the challenge is that if the bread doesn't turn out well, I want to keep on baking the same recipe until I get it right. This challenge could have a life of its own at the rate I'm going (slow).
Good baking!
Thanks for your kind words,Lindy! I agree ,too, about the sourdough aficionado's plight! Which is one of the reasons that I was so impressed by the rustic bread....but then again, if it weren't for the challenge I probably would have tried to convert the recipe into a SD one...or not make it at all ;p
I will try my hand at another baguette recipe I have in my german bread book- I remember having good results with it eons ago-hydration is at over 75% and made with milk instead of water. We shall see....if those don't turn out then I will shelve baguettes for a while-if I eat all white bread I will turn to the Hamelman Ciabatta-that really did it for me! So mindblowingly delicious!
Good bakign to you,too and it has been fun doing this challenge!
Am glad I am a part of it
CHristina
I substituted First Clear for Bread flour, added a small amount of water more to get the elastic feel, I thought the dough was supposed to be.
Is the crumb supposed to be this tight ?
This is the first bread, that I have made using just the four ingredients: Flour, Water, Salt and Yeast. Usually I add something else to get a 'better' taste, even if not called for in the author's formula. Well, with the smallest amount of butter on the first piece I tried, I was blown away how good those four foodstuffs when put together and cooked correctly could taste. In its own, it had a very nice taste too.
No clue what the crumb is supposed to be like.....mine tasted great with the more closed crumb.
Pdiff seems to think it should be more open.....................
That's the crumb description JH gives Pain Rustique in the book (p 111).
I think your substitution of first clear resulted in the denser crumb.
Here's an interesting discussion of first clear.
I've got a bag in my refrigerator; just haven't gotten around to using it yet.
I think the crumb is what ever you want it to be. Many people think of the artisan bread having a really open crumb, but it doesn't have to be. In the links I posted, I was actually having trouble with it being too open -- makes it dang messy spreading the peanut butter and jelly on that! :-) In a baguette, I like a more open crumb, but in a sandwich bread, I want it tighter like you have here. In any case, your bread looks tasty!
I look at all the wonderful baguettes you folks make and wonder will I ever make the crusty, wonderful crumb looking loaves like those ? I think that's why I've not tried to make one yet.....LOL That's next up.
Good points about the crumb, its the whole (pun intended) result that counts. I have made ciabatta where I've gotten big holes, this type bread and some others like the Pumpernickels I love to make should not be.
It's all learning and sharing with each other.
I'm not sure you'll get that "Paris" taste if they were sourdough. That could be very specific to the region. No harm in trying, though! :-)
I've had issues with crumb and shaping and learned a lot from a discussion over at Forno Bravo. In my case, it is/was learning to handle higher hydration doughs and just plain old shaping technique. The discussions can be found here (crumb) and here (shaping). I would guess handling/shaping was an issue with the crumb shots, Christina, as the ends look gorgeous (!), but the middle is a bit tight. Proofing could be the deal too, especially if the center of the loaf was cooler than the ends. Then, again, I'm no expert here.
Dmsnyder's scoring tutorial is one of the best I've found (and I've looked at and watched a lot! :-) It is amazing how much you can control or change the outcome simply by the type and manner of the score.
Looking forward to your next try ...
That's a great point-the ends having been warmer than the center after the reatrdation and coming bacl up to room temp. My forray into this realm of bread bakign is all very new and retardation is just so charmingly convenient that I have been using it, without really having the hang of it just yet. Thanks so much for that suggestion!
I have read the scoring tutorial-I think I just need oodles more practice!Strangely enough I feel I do better/have a better senes of the wetter doughs than these last two at 66-69%(maybe I am just deluded or had some beginners luck ;p)
Thanks for the support.
C