Pain au Levain with Whole Wheat Flour 6-2-14

I usually use medium rye for this bread. This time, I used Bob's Red Mill Dark Rye, which is whole grain.

David

David

Thanks!

A lot is in the scoring, but there is also good gluten development, shaping and proofing. And then there is a hot oven, baking stone and good oven steaming.

David

David

David

For bâtards, I use Hamelman's shaping techniques. See pp. 62-65 of Bread (2nd edition). But a lot of the shape is a reflection of the brotform. I use a coiled reed brotform with a cotton liner. They are big enough to hold a 1kg loaf. These are 850g each.

If I remember correctly, the ones I have are these: 10.5'' Oval kasskonnen Brotform and Liner Combo

Happy baking!

David

It's great to see you on TFL. You have been missed!

David

David

Hi, Leah. 

Thanks for the kind words.

How I get a "bold bake without burning?" 

Let's think about this systematically.

1. A hotter oven will result in a darker crust, if bake time is constant.

2. Increased bake time will result in a darker crust, but only if the oven is hot enough. The Maillard reaction which produces browning and yumminess is said to "begin" at 285dF, but it is inhibited by acid (Think sourdough bread) and by water (Think high hydration dough.). So, in my experience, to get a darker crust, as I prefer, the baking temperature needs to be over 450 dF. (Note that caramelization, which also contributes to browning, is a different chemical process.)

3. The trick is to get the degree of browning you want at the exact time that the interior of the loaf is also ideally cooked. I suppose the worst possible outcome would be a burned crust and a raw interior. Yuck! Let's call that outcome "awfulness."

Now avoidance of burning is just a matter of not baking too long at too high a temperature.

So, based on those principles, here are some "rules:"

1. In general, the bigger the loaf, the longer it has to bake. So, to prevent awfulness, you should bake a bigger loaf at a lower temperature than you would bake a smaller loaf. (But then you have to bake it longer to get the crust color you want.)

2. The thinner the loaf (Think baguettes.), the shorter the bake time. So, to keep browning constant, bake them at a higher temperature.  Baguettes and ficelles are one extreme, but this principle holds even for boules vs. bâtards of the same weight.

3. Wetter doughs need a longer bake, if you want the interior to be cooked and the crust to have any semblance of crispiness. So. you would bake them longer at a lower temperature than a lower-hydration loaf of the same size, so the crust doesn't burn. You might also want to let them dry out in a turned off oven for a while after they are fully baked.

4. Enriched doughs (with sugar, milk, eggs, fat, etc.) are a whole other discussion.

In the last analysis, there are lots of dough variables that require adjustments in time and temperature.  So, the above rules are a starting point. You have to approach any shortcomings with the principles in mind and make adjustments accordingly. 

For example, your bread looks beautiful, but the interior is gummy. Maybe you need to bake longer at a slightly lower temperature. (Actually, the causes of gumminess are many, especially with rye breads, but let's pretend ...)

For example, the classic French baguette is rather paler than I like and too long for my baking stone. They are typically scaled to 350g and baked at 450-60dF for 22-26 minutes. So, my baguettes are scaled to 250g. I bake them at 480dF for about 20 minutes, usually. I used to bake them at 460dF for 22 minutes but decided I preferred a darker crust. 

I hope this hasn't been TMI, but I want to assure you that the answer to your question is not "I'm magic." It's just understanding the baking process and applying that knowledge to get the outcome you want.

Happy baking!

David