October 31, 2015 - 2:56pm
Baking in quantity
Normally I bake four loaves at time and once in a while I'll bake six. I have a Thanksgiving request for several loaves of rye bread baked in loaf pans. I happen to have eight 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" pans that I could use. But it would be difficult if not impossible, to my way of thinking, to evenly bake all eight at once. (six pans can squeeze onto my stone).
A couple of thoughts come to mind. 1 - Make two batches a couple of hours apart and bake two batches. 2 - After kneading, take half the dough and refrigerate it for a short while to delay the rising.
I fear I'm overthinking this and that there is a simpler way. Any suggestions.
Mike
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You are quite correct in thinking that a very full oven is not the best way to go, as it is quite a mass of relatively cold dough going into that oven, far better to either make the one dough and split it with a bit of retardation for half or make two doughs, if they are identical with the same ingredients and finished at the same temperature they can be made the 40 minutes apart or you can mix the second dough with a little less yeast and it will take a bit longer to mature.
regards Derek
When I run into oven bottleneck situations I simply put the 'excess' loaves into the refrigerator while the other loaves bake. I will cut the full proofing time about 30 minutes because I don't want the loaves totally proofed or they will overproof in the refrigerator while waiting for their turn in the oven.
Refrigeration prior to baking usually results in nice oven spring too.
Good Luck and enjoy your meal.
Janet
Once you see how easy it is not avoid over proofing and the easier to handle cold dough you will never go back...
My refrigerator is primarily used by my wife and that doesn't leave much room for bread dough. So I proof on the counter and then go to the pre-heated oven. It'll be interesting to try something different.
Mike
If you really can't make space in your fridge to hold four loaf pans for an hour, you might consider using a cooler / ice chest. Admittedly, I've never done it for bread dough, but I've done this at times to hold other things when my fridge was too full.
Or mix two batches of dough separated by the length of time it will take to bake the first batch so that the proofing time will be the same for both batches.
Too bad you don't live in a cooler climate. In the fall and winter I use the top of my car in our garage to retard dough. We bakers have to find ways to practice our craft without upsetting the rest of the family :*)
I think the suggestion to use less yeast may work better in your situation. Lots of ways to experiment with as you can see.
Have Fun!
Ah Janet I use the car as a warm proover as its always warmer in there in AUS.
regards Derek
One thing to consider when baking in quantity is the yeast quantity. While baker's math would have you increase the yeast proportionally, some suggest that yeast not follow baker's math when making a lot of loaves. Here is a quote from King Arthur's website but the link is no longer available. FWIW, I always just use baker's math but most of my formulas use a minimum of yeast anyway so I have never had a problem. But if I followed some of the formulas out there I might think about it.
if the rye makes up more than 40% of the flour. Refrigeration does almost nothing to slow down rye and it's fermentation. so you could still end up over-proofing a split single batch of dough.
Mini
My last bread use about 1.37% yeast. (0.60 oz for four loaves) I've found that I don't need as much instant yeast. Of course it depends on the time of year and my schedule. If the kitchen is 80F I use less than when it's at 70F.
I did not know that about rye. Thanks for the advice, Mini.
BTW, I will probably make a sourdough version of rye. I'm just not sure which one yet.
Mike
you want in the dough compared to other flours?
that calls for 40% rye and 60% AP flour. The rye I use is fresh milled whole rye. I'm sure I've made it in the past but I cannot find any comments or notes. I seem to recall that a lot of rye equates to a dense bread. She also wants a light sandwich bread. I've done it before, I'll just have to remember how.
hydration up for the rye and it should come out. For the rye flour figure about 85% hydration and the wheat, use your favourite hydration for sandwich bread, the add up and check with a recipe. If part of the wheat is fine spelt wheat, say 10%, you may get a naturally flexible crumb without adding any vital wheat gluten (haven't used and don't want to use the stuff since the melamine scandal.) Some sourdough or vinegar would help the rye flour... and you can add yeast delayed... Or use a large build of rye sourdough adding yeast and wheat flours for a fast rise to bake.
40% rye will not be a light (as in fluffy) sandwich bread but it will make sandwiches.
I'll be using Deli Rye Bread from Bread by J. Hamelman. I made some this weekend and baked it in two 9" x 4 1/2" pans. The dough weighed about 27 ounces each going into the pans. These were baked at a lower heat (375° F), without steam, for 35 minutes. They turned out nice. BTW, this formula does use a touch of yeast.
The request is for four loaves and I do not have four pans of this size. I do have four 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" pans and my plan is to use 25 ounces of dough per pan. I believe this should work since the pans are only 1/2" shorter in length. I noticed that some companies make 9" x 5" and some make 9" x 4 1/2". Of course I know there are probably at least a dozen other sizes.
On a side note, I have also been requested to make at least four cinnamon raisin breads due on the same day. I have one day (the Tuesday just before Thanksgiving) and I'll be starting the rye the night before. I can bake up to five loaves in pans on my stone, six on a rack without it. The raisin bread will be a light whole wheat honey spelt bread I concocted that is soft, lightly sweet and nicely flavored that uses 30% white whole wheat and 15% spelt. I can add plumped raisins and cinnamon chips to convert it. It will be a busy day.
Mike