Brown Bag Bread

Brown Bag Bread

It is funny how some experiments start.  We had some friends over and I showed them how to make my 24 Hour Sourdough Bread (recipe included at the end).  While describing the process I mentioned that this bread is baked in a Dutch Oven.  They said that they did not own a Dutch Oven or anything like it.  That got me thinking (yes I know, a dangerous situation) as to how this bread could be adapted to not use a Dutch Oven but to still get similar results. 

Warning: I may be over simplifying or making some wrong conclusions as I set up the basis for my experiment.  Proceed at your own risk.  : )

There seems to be two major techniques for baking Artisan Bread at home:

• Create steam in the oven and bake on a stone, or

• Use a covered container to trap the steam coming off the baking bread.

The main idea for using a covered container, like a Dutch Oven, is to hold the steam in so as to get a nice crust, also serves as a baking stone.  Note: Not everyone who use a Dutch Oven pre-heat it.  There are many here on The Fresh Loaf who start with a cold Dutch Oven.

Since many people have written up different methods to create steam in a home oven (use the search box to find these), I will only address an alternate to a Dutch Oven.

I came up with the idea of letting the dough rise in a Brown Paper Bag, then closed it up to hold in the steam, and then just bake the bread in the bag.  The experiment presented here is just using regular large grocery bags (12” Length, 7” Width, 17” Tall).  I really like the size of the loaf that they make (almost 5 pounds) and maybe some time I will try different size bags.  Because of the size of the bags I used I had to double the amount of dough from my 24 Hour Sourdough recipe (2,224 grams).

Note: Paper in an oven.  We use parchment paper to bake on all the time.  Paper starts to burn at 450°F.  The burning that I see is just color change not bursting into flames and did notice some color change while baking in grocery bags.

Problems I see with baking in a bag:

• How to keep the dough from sticking to the bag?

• How to seal the bag so that the steam is trapped inside during baking?

• Is it necessary to bake the bread on a baking stone?

First Batch

I made a double batch of my 24 Hour Sourdough Bread (2224 grams).  I followed the steps as written in Instruction Steps 1 thru 6.

Step 7: Then my first approach for the sticking issue was to Pam the inside of the bag, then throw in a hand full of flour, and shake the bag so that the inside of the bag gets coated to prevent sticking.  I then shaped my dough into a log, placed it into the bag, temporarily sealing the bag with a clip and then (Step 8) let it raise overnight in the bag.  In the morning, (Step 9), preheated the oven to 450°F,  I took the clip off, scored the dough, folded over the top of the bag twice and Stapled it closed to seal the bag.  I then placed the bag on a baking stone in a 450°F oven.  I followed the same baking times that I use when using a Dutch Oven (30 minutes with the cover on and 15 minutes with the cover off), after 30 minutes I cut the top of the bag off with scissors (Note: be careful of the escaping steam) and then let the bread bake for another 15 minutes.  At the end of the normal baking time I noticed that the bread was not as dark as it usually is so I let it bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.  I then removed the bread from the oven (Step 10) and tried to take the bread out of the bag.  The bottom of the bread stuck to the bag in a few places and I had to tear the bag (not a big loss).

Here are pictures showing various steps of the first batch.

Shaped dough placed in bag. Note stain on bag from the Pam.  I trimmed off some of the top of the bag so that when the top is folded over and stapled the total height of the bag was such that it would not touch the heating element in the oven

Bag closed for overnight rise on the counter.

Bread scored and ready for baking.  Because you are reaching down into the bag to score the dough your scoring options might be limited, this is how I did it.

Bag sealed (stapled) and ready for the oven.

Side view of bag ready for oven.  I should have been more careful with the folding and smoothing of the bag.  But it turned out nice anyway.

Start of bake.  Note:  Bag is not touching the heating element in the oven.

Top of bag removed for last 15 minutes of baking.

Cooling.

Bottom view.  There is some paper stuck on the right side.

Results of first test:

• The bread took longer to bake than in a Dutch Oven.

• The dough stuck to the bag.

• The loaf turned out well (very similar to using a Dutch Oven).

Second Batch

As I was not happy with everything in the first experiment, I thought that I would try a few things differently.

This time to address the sticking issue:

• I cut a piece of parchment paper and lined the bottom of a new grocery bag with it.  I then cut strips of parchment paper and stapled them to cover the inside sides of the bag.

This time to address the sealing of the bag issue:

• Instead of folding the top of the bag that the bread will be baked in to seal in the steam, I trimmed it to be about 6” tall.

• I took a second bag, cut it up the side a bit, and slid it down over the main bag holding the dough to trap in the steam.  The cut up the side made flaps that I tucked under the bag holding the dough.  The second bag that I used as a cover could be used the next time.

Miscellaneous issue:

• Not everyone has a baking stone so I tried baking this bread on just a regular cold cookie sheet.

Here are pictures showing various steps of the first batch.

Raised dough in parchment lined bag.

After scoring.  Note: Bag was not as tall so it was easier to reach in and score the dough.

Next to 2nd bag that will act as a cover.                               

2nd bag in place before folding under flaps of cover.

Start of bake, bag on cookie sheet in oven.                          

Final 15 minutes with cover removed.

Bread cooled and ready to slice.                                           

Sliced bread.

Results of second test:

• It was easier to score the bread this time as the bag that held the dough was not as tall.

• The bread baked just as well as on a stone (just took a bit longer – 10 to 15 minutes longer than the Dutch Oven).

• The bread stuck to the bag at the bottom where the sides met with the bottom layer of parchment paper.  Note: next time let the sides be longer to overlap the bottom.

Conclusions:

• Baking in a bag seems to work well as an alternate to a Dutch Oven.

• Bags are much cheaper (free) than a Dutch Oven.

Now to take advantage of this large Bread Baking Community.  Here are some questions:

• What other techniques might I try to keep the dough from sticking to the bag?

• What other techniques might I try to seal the bag?

• Are there and special considerations when baking larger loafs?

------------ Recipe that I used for the above Experiment ------------

24 Hour Sourdough (Mutant Variant of 1, 2, 3 Sourdough) Experiment

Note:  This first started as a single bake but then turned into a longer experiment.

I wanted to make some sourdough bread but I did not have enough starter to make the amount of dough that I wanted to, using the 1, 2, 3 Sourdough recipe.  So I did what everyone here would have done, I cheated.  I only had 100g of starter (instead of 200g, it should be close enough).    So this is really 1, 4, 6 Sourdough.

Mis En Place: Everything in its place (Utensils, Bowl, scale, measuring cups, ingredients)

Recipe:

Instructions:

Off-Roading – Things to do when you want to try something a little different:

Add – Diced Apples with Cinnamon, Dried Fruit (Apricots, Cherries, Raisins), Nuts (Pecans, Walnuts, Hazel nuts), Seeds (Poppy, Sunflower), Olives, Garlic, Onions, jalapeños, Cheese

Different Shapes:

• English Muffins

• Rolls