Deload-week bake

So, to manage my bipolar disorder and taking advantage of it to the fullest, I always plan a monthly deload-week, in which I go survival-only mode; which means no workout, no over-the-top baking, no practicing flute, and be very discipline about getting 8 hours night sleep.

But man gotta eat! As much as a pleasure it is for me to tell my rice-eating colleagues that I no longer eat rice and making them practically hating me for no reason (eww rice, eww😆), I reeeaally need to practice baguettes at the moment. I'm so carried away by Cariah Marey's new found ability on enriched dough fermentation, to a point where my baguette-making skill has degraded from the lack of practice.

This batch was 65% hydration, 100% bread flour (my starter got a bit proteolytic at the moment), 20% PFF, 50% hydration stiff levain. I used electric water sprayer for source of steam (I ordered custom-made cloche like setup, but either I haven't figured the setup yet or water-spraying works better in my case). Usually I would use oat flour as safety net, but I felt like going back to basic for awhile.

The dough was mixed until windowpane, did brief autolyse, two couples of coil folds, and that's all. I had to do 2 stages levain, because despite Cariah Marey's osmotolerance, she got weaker in low osmotic pressure environment. I did 2 stages levain to get yeast:LAB ratio in check.

She is 3:3:3:2 fine-bran : powdered skim milk : butter : water at the moment. I might need to maintain second starter which I'd revert back to bran and confectioner's sugar starter, just for practicing baguettes.

I had a catastrophic babka trial batch, but about to bounce back! 😆 I wasn't my rational self, and later realised 6-components buns are over-the-top (lol), so I simplified them to 3 components. I'm starting the levain again tonight!

Jay