The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Two for the road -- a batard and a boule

Skibum's picture
Skibum

Two for the road -- a batard and a boule

I made a couple of adjustments with this bake.  For the batard, I reduced the proofing time to 35 minutes and voila, the lame worked like it was supposed to and for the first time I have the grigne I have been trying for.

I reduced proofing time on the boule to 50 minutes and once again got a clean score with the lame.  The boule contains 10% whole wheat, 15% organic rye which were autolysed in an equal weight of water overnight, oil and honey.  I baked the boule in a hot DO as I wanted to try and get it right today after a poor effort yesterday.

I had an adventure mixing this batch!  somewhere along the line I read of autolysing the flour in equal weight of water and adding the balance of the flour after auto, in the mixing stage.  So I tried this, then forgot to add the additional flour to BOTH batches of dough and was wondering how I was going to get these soupy masses together.  Then I found my notes and DOH, after 40 minutes of futile mixing added the additional flour and everything came together well.  So for both loaves, 4 S&F's with 10 minutes rest as per PR, followed by a 21/2 hour bulk ferment on the counter with S&F's at 30, 60 and 90 minutes, one hour to develop on the counter, then into the fridge for an 18 hour retard. I rested the dough on the counter for an hour ,started the oven early, then pre-shaped, rested for 10, shaped and proofed.

My shaping has improved a great deal after watching Richard Bertinet's video an making bread from his book "Dough."  I found the entire video useful and in particular the detail he goes into on shaping:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOjSp5_YiF0

I'm not brave enough to try the slap and fold yet i'm afraid!  This video is a must watch if you haven't seen it.

And now the crumb:

Plenty of bread for my upcoming road trip!

Happy baking TFLers!  Brian

Comments

pmccool's picture
pmccool

At least when the two are breads this pretty.  I especially like the bold bake on the boule.

Paul

Skibum's picture
Skibum

Well, these are the 'prettiest' loafs I have ever baked!  I guess all the stars aligned and the baking gods smiled on this one.  It is most gratifying to produce a loaf that is both tasty and attractive.

I owe TheFreshLoaf and all of the amazing bakers on this site a great debt of gratitude!

Best regards, Brian

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

ski.  You are quickly figuring out this recipe.  Well done!  More open crumb on the batard and darker crusts too -all good things.

 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

ears ! :) Lovely loaves. Have a great trip and take pics so you can share. c

Skibum's picture
Skibum

. . . down to a half loaf of boule so may have to come home in a couple of days and bake more.  I brought my mother starter with me so I could feed it, but forgot the digital scale, eyeballed it and everything bubbled up nicely!  So yes, I am a committed SD bread baker!  I thought I would share some photos of my BC road trip with my TFL friends.

Lunch and a couple of cold ones at the Eagle eye restaurant at the top of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in beautiful Golden, British Columbia.  Indian paintbrush is the red flower foreground::

The lobster, grilled cheese sandwich is coming . . .

The "Meadows In the Sky," a short, easily accessible hike at the top of Mt. Revelstoke in that national park:

The rugged Selkirk mountains south of lovely Revelstoke, B.C. where I write this from the Lamplighter Campground, which now that I have found is top of list for a return visit:

I just remembered -- I forgot to eat my last cinnamon bun with my coffee and am already on to the wine.  Ahhhh, holidays!

Happy baking folks!

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I camped at Revelstoke on my bike trip last year !!  We set up in this lovely meadow and I walked along the water...it was SO pretty !  Your pics are great. You are quite devoted to take your starter along:) I make mine thick and leave it closed up in the fridge for months....can't have it on the bike you know !  It loves it when I come home and so far after 4 years all is still bubbly. You will have to try it your next trip. Thanks for the pics. c