February 11, 2014 - 12:14pm
Multi-Grain Loaf
I divided a Multi-Grain loaf and baked the first one and froze the other late last year. This is the frozen loaf. I defrosted it and then did a series of stretch-and-folds, adding water along the way as the dough was dry. I have had a tendency to add more flour than I should when the dough feels too wet (I am working on this and getting better, but I made this bread and froze it before I learned my lesson....). The loaf tasted good as my husband gave it the thumbs up, particularly for crustiness, but I was disappointed with the oven spring and the crumb. Always learning! Phyllis
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Love this boldy baked crust and bloom Bet it tastes great!
Happy Baking
Thanks, dabrownman. It did taste good. I am going to bake another Tartine loaf soon and try for better crumb! Phyllis
Looks like a winner on the outside...any crumb photos?
Love that multi-grain!
John
John: I added water during the stretch and folds as the dough was dry, so you can see the uneven crumb, but it did taste OK! Phyllis
Well, it looks very good. You will just have to be firm with yourself and not add the extra flour! Your slashes are lovely. The thing is, we get better at knowing where we have gone wrong and so hopefully each loaf will get a bit closer to what we are aiming for. My last loaf, for instance, I knew was under proofed before I baked it. So why did I bake it? I should have sat on my hands and left well alone. I knew I would get a tighter crumb and I did, although the spring was good. But, I should have listened to myself. So the next time you feel yourself reaching for the flour and your head is staying stop, go with your head! Perhaps you could try proofing a little longer too and see if that helps? Your bread always looks lovely, I would be proud to turn out a loaf looking like yours. And they are always very tasty of course, so the only person who feels unsatisfied with what comes out of the oven is ourselves, because we are hopeless perfectionists!
Once you've started baking regularly, the learning never stops. For example, when I was baking in England over the holidays, I learned some very good lessons on how to care and feed my starter much more effectively. My English family and friends really enjoyed all the baking, and it was fun for me. Now that I am back home in California, I am applying the lessons learned on starters. I had a bit of crisis this morning with my whole wheat starter and have applied a drastic fix, so we'll see if it works. I believe I have a problem with over-proofing rather than under-proofing because I want the bread to fit my schedule rather than vice versa, and, as you know, that doesn't work! Thanks for your encouragement and support. I am going to work on my second Tartine loaf, and I will not reach for the flour, no matter what! Phyllis