Two new flours, a soaker and a new year's resolution
It must have been a good year! T65, which passes for bread flour here, has usually maxed out at around 11% protein. A few months ago, I found a bag at 12% and felt as though I'd struck gold. Well, I must have hit the mother lode, because this new T65 organic flour clocks in at 13%! So I bought a 2.5-kilo bag of it and have been happy as a clam.
Another recent find was heritage/heirloom stone-ground T80. I believe that T80 would pass for "high extraction" flour in the States; at any rate, it's got 11% protein. It has a lovely color and perfume.
So, those are the two new flours.
Over the holidays, I found toasted multi-grain flakes, which I started to use for a soaker/scald, and it's been making the most lovely, moist and keepable crumb. So I think that's just going to be part of my mix from here on in.
There was the soaker.
Using Wendy's (LazyLoafer) basic white formula, I made up a dough of 50/50 T65 and T80, added about 80g of scald and a couple of handfuls of bag-end seeds.
The plan was to make up the dough in the evening, retard until after work the next day, then shape, proof and bake.
Does stone-ground flour move faster than roller-milled?
When I checked on the dough 12 hours later, it was already large and proofy, bordering on wobbly. (The advantage to being self-employed is that you can just decide you'll go in to the office an hour later than planned.) So, rather than let the dough over-ferment, I preshaped, rested and shaped the loaves, then put them in the fridge until later that day.
After work, took the loaves out of the fridge; they'd grown a bit. I gave them a gentle poke, decided they were feeling too dense and let them hang out at room temperature for about an hour or so. After which time they definitely were taking their time springing back after a wee poke. They weren't as jiggly as loaves I've baked before, but I thought maybe baking them slightly underproofed was better than the opposite.
Baked these together for about 22 minutes covered, 20 minutes topless and then another 10 minutes with the oven off and the door cracked open.
I think I wimped out; I wonder if the loaf wouldn't have a bit more loft if I'd let the proof at room temperature go another half hour? The scores barely opened, but the taste is great and the crumb is good.
So that's the new year's resolution: try to figure out when to bake.
Happy new year to all of you, and keep on baking!
Comments
and I'm a sucker for seeds.
Lovely bake, Carole.
Would you have proofed longer?
You bulk fermented in the fridge and planned to do so for about 24 hours. But 12 hours later it had grown a lot! So you shaped them and put them back in the fridge?
I was hoping for 18-20 hours of fridge time, then preshape, bench rest, shape and wait at room temperature until ready to bake. Instead, yes, I let the dough warm up a bit, preshaped, rested about half an hour or 45 minutes while I answered some emails and loaded the washing machine. Then I shaped, bagged and put them in the fridge.
After work, they were cold and therefore not very amenable to being poked, so I let them sit out for an hour and then preheated the oven.
Was that wrong? What could I have done differently? Your lights are, as always, most welcome!
Carole
If I had found my dough was moving faster then anticipated but didn't have time to shape and bake, I probably would have de-gassed the dough with a set of stretch and folds then out it back in the fridge. Come evening I would shape and final proof at room temperature then bake.
I don't like to do both bulk ferment and final proof in the fridge. One or the other.
But just another way. As it always is with bread baking there's rarely one correct way. Just another way to try. There are as many ideas as there are bakers. Perhaps next time drop the starter percentage.
A set of letter folds and then back in the fridge. I'll definitely be trying that one.
The other thing I did differently with this bake was mixing with the pincer method, rather than SLAFs, since the work space was already strewn with dinner fixings. Didn't work badly at all!
And then slowed. That's why it it had grown a lot over night but after shaping it slowed down. I would have been cautious at that stage to shape as it could over proof as it appeared to grow quickly. De-gassing with some stretch and folds then allows you to shape it, give it some room temperature time and keep an eye on it for final proofing. I do like to give the yeasts a party in warmer temperatures.
I like the pincer method after can autolyse then developing the dough with letter folds. I also like SLAF but I'm a neat worker and like to keep things inside the bowl LOL.
of wee beasties partying?. I'll make sure not to deprive them of that on the next bake.
Thanks again for the thoughts.
You must be so pleased with these. And how creative combining the T65 and T 80.... I bet they are delicious and toast beautifully as well.
nice work!!
hester
We had some tonight with ripe Camembert and lovely pears. Tasted great.
But I want a grigne like yours! Maybe the next batch I'll proof at room temperature until they go wobbly before scoring and baking.
This bag of t65 is amazing. I have another 1-kilo bag of 12% stuff, then I'll go back and get another 2.5 kilos of the 13%. I don't know if it's because the t80 was stone-ground, but the dough was softer than usual. Not gooey, just softer.
Thanks again for the kind words. Keep on baking!
Carole
four years to get those ears and I fully expect to only get 2 or 3 next time I do 4 loaves. I forgot to mention.... that in addition to letting the shaped loaves sit on the counter for 30 - 45 minutes, I also spritzed them a lot just b/f slashing and replacing the cloche lid.
Again........ you have a GREAT BAKE there.
hester
is the hardest thing to master in bread making ......so no worries. It comes with time and waiting..... like patience:-) If the cracks didn't open it probably wasn't under-proofed unless it was really, really under-proofed. If it were under proofed the dough should have exploded with too much bloom and spring. The poke test is the worst thong that ever happened to bread making! It doesn't work- especially on cold dough an hour out of the fridge. For white bread an 85% rise would be a better measure. I'm guessing if the dough was really poofy during bulk and more than doubled in volume it was probably over fermented before hitting the the shaped retard in the fridge and why it was slow to proof. Too pooped to pop is my best guess. If you cut the bulk ferment down to 50-80% rise in volume I think it would bloom and spring more later. I can't tell you how many breads I have made like these but it is way ore than I should have :-) Tastes really great and crumb isn't terrible is their calling card!
Sounds like you have found some good flour to experiment with in the new year. Happy Baking DW
It had indeed doubled in bulk, but without any wobliness or those big chewing-gum bubbles on the surface, so I thought I was safe to go ahead and preshape.
Should I be going for wobbly, jiggly dough or loaves?
Yeah, I think I'm going to bag the poke test. I'll try resting my whole hand on the top of the loaf; I can definitely feel that way when a loaf is too dense, so there must be a way of fine-tuning that. I'm bad at judging the percentage of rise, but I'll try the straight-sided container thing too.
Playing with flours is fun. I just picked up a bag of t110, which according to David Snyder, is like first-clear flour? We'll see what comes out of the oven.
Keep on baking, dab, and thanks!
Carole