May 29, 2015 - 12:46pm
Question about Peter Reinhart's Sourdough
I have doubled the recipe for this bread to make 4 loaves. I didn't make any changes in quantities when I doubled but the dough seems wetter than usual. Right now the dough is in one piece in bowl for the 3-4 hr rise. Peter Reinhart says when this process is complete and when I divide into 4 pieces to put into bannetons I should degas the dough as little as possible. My question is - can I do any stretching and folding before I shape in to boules and put into the bannetons for final proofing or is it really necessary to handly gently. I don't want a floppy mess so I thought this might strengthen the dough?
Linda
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Which recipe of his are you making? Which book is it from? I use a modified version of his technique from Artisan Bread Everyday and you definitely do not want to degas the dough before shaping if that is from where the recipe you are using came from. You will destroy all the nice trapped gasses you worked so hard to produce and the crumb will be very tight and more dense.
Ian
Thank you so much Ian for replying. Yes, I was using Bread Bakers's Apprentice, Basic Sourdough Bread. I have the Artisan Bread Everyday book also but have only made sourdough pizza crust so far.
I realized after I thought about things and did more reading that I should not degas before shaping. The bread turned out pretty good - still room for improvement though. I wondered if there should have been any adjustment in water when doubling the recipe. It seemed wetter to me than the previous 3 times I made this bread without doubling. I have ordered proper bannetons and hope to receive them shortly. I did have a problem with the dough sticking to the cloth that I lined the bowls with and it did rip the dough a bit when I removed it. Upsetting!
Again, thank you for your reply.
Linda
Use rice flour in your new bannetons and you will never stick again.
If you need any further help please don't hesitate to ask.
Regards,
ian
Brown rice flour or combination of white and brown?
you can also mix half rice flour and half AP or bread flour. I've done it both ways and also used both brown and white rice flour alone. The results were consistent and no sticking. Let me add that when you first get your bannetons, spray them with water and flour them. Let them dry and flour them again when ready to bake.
Wendy
a tad faster with a large quantity of dough. As sourdough ferments, it feels wetter so use your feel instinct too if you feel it is getting wetter sooner than your previous experience with the same dough.
Thank you for your help. The bulk rise did seem to be faster.