December 9, 2012 - 7:10pm
Hand prepared french bread
Today I tried baking my first ever French bread loaf. I used a UTUBE descriptions. It seemed to go fine untill the second rising When I took the dough out of the bowl to knead and form the loafs it was very aticky so i added some flour whereupon it got I guess too dry so i assume I put in too much flour. No problem Ill do better next tie. However after forming the loaf I allowed it to rise for 2 hours. Upon uncovering it it had doubled in size but had gotten so plastic it would not hold its shape. I reformed it as best it could and baked it.Itcame out like a piece of flat bread but its crust was crisp and chewey and the inside was satisfactory but it was flat. Where did I go wrong:O)?
It sounds like you may have over-proofed it. You want to get it in the oven while it is still on the rise and just starting to crest. If you catch it on the way down then, yeah, often it deflates and you end up with a flatty.
Better luck next time!
-Floyd
I agree with Floyd. I usually go anywhere from 45-90 minutes for my rise after shaping. Yeast is a living thing and can't always be depended on to work like the recipe says.
-Joe