Pain a l'ancienne baguettes
I had some apprehension after seeing that this is almost an 80 % hydration dough and being somewhat of a rookie, and not owning a mixer. I made the women and children leave, just in case, and went for it.
I used the recipe and technique exactly as in BBA with the exeption of mixing by hand, which I accomplished by mixing in the bowl with a big wooden spoon and a plastic bowl scraper. I mixed it for about 20 minutes adjusting the water until it felt like it was barely coming off the sides of the bowl.
The shaping was actually very easy using Reinharts great instruction and pictures, but the scoring was another story. I guess I'll get it down someday. I got some great color and oven spring, the holes were nice and big. The crust was hard and crunchy like I like it, and the taste was outstanding. Really a real easy dough to make. I can't wait to use it for pizza.
A nice baguette with a real
nice Beefmaster fresh from the garden.
Keith
Comments
were as good as it gets. Even your scoring was really good as it is extremely difficult to score well. Personally, I've given up on even trying but I also love this recipe and bake it once or twice a week.
for the kind words. This forum is such an inspiration. I wish I could quit my job and try all of these awesome recipes. As it is, I'm keeping the neighbors happy by doling out all of my leftover loaves.
Those breads look really wonderful!
I bake BBA's pain a l'ancienne every week. My family loves it and it is also a hot seller in the store I supply. I find it one of the easiest breads to make - once you got the knack of it.
I do variations exchanging 100 g of the bread flour with other flours, rye, wheat, spelt, oat, buckwheat, or cornmeal, and all look and taste great.
Scoring is difficult, you can use scissors or a lame, but it will always snag somewhat. But scoring is not really necessary, the bread is just fine without it.
Karin
Your pain a l'ancienne are beautiful but that tomato is just gorgeous. Where do you live that you have tomatoes already?? Lucky you.
I live near Austin, TX. We have a very early and short growing season. The heat and bugs are just awful for tomatoes.
Those are just gorgeous, and I agree the scoring looks pretty nice, too.
Anyone have an "ideal" flour for this recipe? I hear bread flour (13% protein) may result in a crust that might be a bit too "chewy" instead of fluffy/contton candy-ish. Others say AP with around 10-11% protein might result in a dough that's too weak and end up with flat breadsticks. But all that may be just a matter of personal preference.
In BBA it's all bread flour. I like adding other flours, using 665 g bread flour and 100 g of whole wheat, rye, spelt, oat, buckwheat flour, or even a 5-grain mix (that I soak before). All these variations taste very good.
Karin