78 Percent, For Now!

I have been testing my own limit on dough hydration of late and have come to the conclusion that I shall stop at 78 percent and not to challenge myself any further unless I am feeling extremely bored over the weekend.

This bake has started out as another attempt of 1:2:3, which I failed miserably the last time I tried my hands on but I guess I have progressed a fair bit for the past month. Not only that I increased the amount of hydration, I was convinced that I could go further than that. But then, the harsh reality sunk in..

I could barely do the slap and fold as the dough, well, it was not looking like a dough at all. And then I reminded myself of all the previous bake, on how I persisted and be able to pull through. So, after a 3 hours of stretch and fold, the dough firmed up but I could not shape it. I tried to do the best I could in the big container and pour it over to a heavily floured brotform. By now, the dough wobbles like a giant jelly. After some cold retardation, I was faced with yet another challenge. This time, I got to really use my grey matter on how am I going to get the dough out as part of it was still stuck to the brotform.....so ok, I managed in the end, big time!

The look of the dough looked like a complete flop initially but when it finally rose up in the oven....I said a little prayer (yes, I will have some fresh bread for breakfast today), phew....

Exciting it was, traumatic at times but I think it is worthwhile. Though, I should really be back to the basic now and focus more on shaping and scoring.

A better look at the crumb shot.

Finally, that's a keeper....love the gloss : )

p/s: I think it looks ok for a rookie. Happy Baking everyone.

Best Regards,

FrugalBaker