Just upgraded from my 20 year old KitchenAid from Costo, and decided to break it in with something straightforward: no sourdough starter or enrichments. Just a straight up lean loaf.
First the formula. "Classic Country-Style Hearth Loaf" from Bread Alone. Forgive the ounces, as I was using their formula:
| Oz | Baker's % | |
| KA bread flour | 31.00 | 100.0% |
| Water | 24.00 | 77.4% |
| Yeast | 0.25 | 0.8% |
| Salt | 0.70 | 2.3% |
Mixed the flour and water together with the dough hook, then left it for a 30 minute autolyse.
Then back into the bowl with the roller and started kneading. Added the yeast and kneaded for about 5 minutes before adding the salt, and kneading for another 10.
I checked the windowpane every 5 minutes after that. It was good but not perfect, so I ended up letting it go for 25 minutes total. It still wasn't what I expected, but it hadn't changed in 15 minutes, and when I took it out, it felt elastic and happy so I went on to bulk ferment.
Following the method in Bread Alone, I let it bulk ferment at 77F until doubled, about 90 minutes. Punched down and did a few stretch-and-folds, then a second proof until doubled, about 60 minutes.
Divided, shaped, and into bannetons. After 40 minutes I did a poke test, which left a dent that slowly sprang back, so I thought they were ready.
I only have one Dutch oven, so I did that and a stone with a bowl over it for a cloche. I turned them out of the baskets (the one on the stone stuck a little, which is why it's misshapen), slashed them, and then onto the stone and into the Le Creuset with the oven at 450F.
After 20 minutes I reduced the heat to 400F and removed the bowl and lid.
Pro tip: when you lift the cloche/bowl off, be extremely careful of all the steam you trapped inside because it will burn the absolute bejesus out of your hand even with a potholder, and make you very, very angry. Ask me how I know.
I have a habit of over-proofing loaves after shaping, so I was hoping to catch these on the rise.
I certainly got a huge oven spring, but I did not get a nice ear, nice crust, nor nice crumb.
The crumb looks under-proved to me, and possibly under-developed gluten.
I mean, they're delicious, of course. And I made bread, which is pretty great. But I've been making bread for many years and my results are consistently inconsistent, and I'm pretty frustrated. I thought I did everything right this time, and still got a mediocre result.
It would be easy to blame the new mixer, but this is a very familiar result for me, so I think it's in my process. I'm open to suggestions, as ever.