Adapting Reinhart's Epoxy for Dutch Oven Baking?
Hi all - a novice bread baker looking for some advice re: hydration and Dutch oven baking. I've recently started baking from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads and have been pretty happy with the results - but I'd like to bake at least some of my loaves in a Dutch oven and I'm wondering if other people have tried this.
Most of my experience baking in a Dutch oven has been with the Lahey no-knead bread, so much higher hydration. The one time I tried it with a Reinhart recipe (the Many-Seeded Bread), I proofed the dough on a towel, in a boule shape, which ended up being slightly larger than the Dutch oven - and so it got squashed as I tried to put it in the pot. Luckily it ended up tasting fine, but it had some funny little wrinkles on the sides.
Have other people tried baking these "epoxy" breads in a Dutch oven? Do you change the hydration, or proof in the pot (then put it in the oven cold)? I had a bad experience with the latter (the bread ended up cemented into the pot), but perhaps I missed a step there. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!
I use the dutch oven all the time. Personally, I like to use parchment paper. Either I line a container with parchment paper and then slash and use the paper as a sling to put in the dutch over. Or I proof in a banneton and then turn out onto parchment paper and use it as a sling to put in the dutch oven. Prevents it from sticking and also reduces any chance of deflation.
you can bake any bread in a pot with a lid Chinese sand clay pot, turkey roaster etc - the bread doesn't care. Or you can bake on a stone with a SS mixing bowl or any pot overturned on top. Just make sure the dough fits comfortably.
Happy baking
Thank you both for responding! The problem I was having with the slightly stiffer Reinhart dough is that during proofing (on a flat towel) the dough took a "shape" that ended up being too big for the pot - but it sounds like the easiest solution is to look out for a smaller bowl that I can use to contain it.
I guess another question in the back of my mind is - would increasing the hydration of the dough allow for more holey-ness? Or is that working too much against the whole grain composition of the dough?
needs support as it proofs so it doesn't spread out, Rice floured baskets,bennetons and brotforms are good for that. Generally speaking the higher the % whole grains the higher the hydration needed because the whole grains really soak up the water plus the high hydration will open the crumb.
For 15% whole grains I use 71% hydration
30% WG I use 73% water
50% WG I use 75% water with more water on up to
100 % WG I use 100% hydration. I generally try to get as much mater in the mix as the flour will take during autolyse and when developing the gluten. Each flour of different grains is different. Spelt being a weak gluten flour so the water is reduced.but I have done 100% whole spelt at 1005 hydration but the bread spread a bit before it sprang.
Here was this weeks bake for 100% Whole Wheat at 100% hydration that explains some of this
Double Levain 100 % Whole Wheat Half Sprouted At 100 % Hydration
Happy Baking
Thank you for the information and the link. The double levain looks amazing, and 100% whole wheat is what I've been experimenting with. Do you make the yeast water with commercial yeast?
to make YW. Like SD it is a naturally captured yeast off the skins of fruits but unlike SD has no sour component so tit makes for the perfect way to replace commercial yest in recipes where sour is not wanted or needed like cinnamon rolls and other sweet breads It also tends to neutralize the sour in SD breads a notch for those that don't like sour bread. Here is a post on how to make it
YW Primer
Happy YW Baking
Wow! Thank you. The late morning snackies hit really hard when I saw the photo of the babka. YW sounds very useful; I'll have to pick up some organic raisins/apple on my next grocery run.
I use a modified version of the Reinhart epoxy method, I make the biga a few days ahead of time, and make the soaker ( the part with salt no yeast ) on the morning of the bake with warm water, so it shaves time in allowing the biga to come to room temp ) . In general, adding more water will get more holey-ness, but will also cause it to sag a bit more during proofing. I have made a few attempts just using the Reinhart recipe and allowing the dough to do its final proof in a cold dutch oven, that I have sprayed with a non stick pan, and it comes out fine.
Thanks, Barry! I will try both of these methods. Do you add the extra water to the soaker, or when you mix everything together for the final dough?
caitirilt, sorry for any confusion, a few different thoughts going on. Reinhart's epoxy method says mix flour and yeast and water ( Part A ) then refrigerate for up a few days, and at the same time, in another bowl, mix flour water and salt ( Part B ) and refrigerate it ( IIRC, you don't refrigerate part B if the baking day is within 12 hours ). Then on baking day, you take both A and B out of the fridge, mix the two and add some yeast and salt and do the final proof, then bake. My method is not to make Part B when I make Part A. Instead, I make Part A and put in fridge. On the morning of baking, I take out Part A out of fridge, and then make up Part B using the normal recipe, but substitute much warmer water, since I will be mixing it with the still pretty cold Part A and I want the dough to come up to room temp pretty quickly. Once that is done, I add the extra yeast and salt called for in the recipe and knead. If the dough you are making is too high a hydration for your mixer, when I make Part B, I hold back a little water - say 10 or 20%, once I have a window pane, I add the reserved water. I am not trying to change the final hydration, just trying to work with the mixer. Now that I have a DLX mixer, I don't hold back any water because it handles high hydration very well. When I use a Bosch Compact, I often hold back a little water if the hydration is in the high 80's to 90%. If you are saying you want a higher hydration than called for in the recipe, I would add it to Part B on the baking day, though if your mixer doesn't knead it because it is too wet, you can always add it after you have combined A and B and already have a window pane.
Thanks for the clarification - that's a smart trick to bring the dough to room temp, I will definitely be using it. I mix by hand, so I might try adding more water to see what happens to the dough when I have time to bake this weekend...
caitirilt, higher hydrations are actually easier to mix by hand, so put your extra water at the outset. Post some photos to show how it comes out.
Thanks, Barry! I will give it a try this weekend and report back :)