March 21, 2015 - 4:25pm
couche vs baguette pan
I hate using the couche. I wonder if there would be any significant difference in the resulting baguette or ciabatta if I used a baguette pan such as Chicago Metallic non stick or USA aluminized steel instead of the couche method,
Anyone care to weigh in? My Current couch in cotton linen not flax linen.
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Linen is made from flax. I make my baguettes in pans, but I'm a baguette novice. There are many baguette aficionados on this list who will know better than I. But the couche should be linen (flax).
hester
I guess mine is cotton canvas then. I know it's cotton.
Nope, canvas is made from hemp and from which it derives its name; cannabis.
Its the dumbing down of the language. Duck comes from the Dutch word for linen. Technically you can't have either cotton duck or cotton canvas. They are linen and hemp, respectively.
I haven't a clue what you would call a canvas or duck like fabric woven from cotton. It appears that outside the textile industry folks call a heavy cotton fabric canvas or duck without regard to the words' origins. So call that couche whatever you like. As it happens, I use a medium weight duck/linen for my couche, pedantic, perfectionist person that i am.
cheers,
gary
then I haven't a clue what I have other then a heavy cotton cloth.
I am not an expert, but I do have a SFBI couche and a perforated baguette pan. With the baguette pan, you get small bumps on the bottom of the loaf - like a ping pong paddle, only smaller. Some may find that objectionable, others might not care. What do you hate about the couche? For me it is pretty easy to load the loaf onto a peel from the couche, and I have not had a problem with sticking. This should be the link to the SFBI couche, though the site was down when I posted it https://www.sfbi.com/baking-supplies/linen-canvas-couche
seems to me it would be easier to proof in the pan then load into the oven. couche is just one more move to make if it's not particularly adding anything to th result.
the only thing I'd miss is direct contact with the bake stone, but it'd still be mighty hot.
There may be other advantages to a linen couche, but two are that it is inherently non-stick, so that you don't need to flour it, and that it is very absorbent, so it slightly dries out the surface of the loaves, making them easier to score well. Before I got my linen couche, I used cotton canvas. There is no comparison. I have no experience with baguette pans. Wait, I might have used one for a couple bakes in about 1974.
Do you use a transfer peel? That makes working with a couche much more pleasant.
David
I didn't use a transfer peel as this was my first couple times at baguettes and I don't have one in my kit. Perhaps I'll try the flax linen. I'm trying to shorten the trip without just taking the hiway.
I use perforated baguette pans for my very highly hydrated pain a l'ancienne. I prefer them because they help with the shape.
The couche I use mostly for smaller breads or rolls.
Karin