Creme de la Crumb
Now this is the way I like my crumb to turn out ! Not going to bother posting any shaping pics because as it always seems to be the case that a nicely shaped loaf will suffer internally and vice versa ... Such is the quest right now to perfect both shape and crumb at the same time.
A few points to note - I've always added a pinch of soy flour to my recipe but this time I decided to go with the recommended dose which is max 0.25% (actually I did more like .2%) and wow what a difference this makes to the dough. If anyone is interested I will say that just this small amount of soy flour made the final dough much more elastic and subtle. It also seems as though had increased hydration. Next batch will do the same but lower hydration by a percentage point and see if we can get more control over shaping. As of now I have in cold ferment
795g t65
4g favs bean flour (.5%)
1+g soy flour (~.2%)
7g fresh yeast (.8%)
16g salt (2%)
568g water (71%)
3hr autolyse
8 minute pre mix
2 minute final mix
Objective - same crumb as above and something presentable. Will also do an 18hr cold ferment.
This dough is quite slack and tricky to control - normally without the soy its very predictable and with concentration can produce a nicely shaped loaf but this new formula changes everything - well see what happens in a few hours :)
Comments
experiment for sure. That crumb is is awful good! It is only a matter of time til you get the hydration right and outside starts to come around. I think most baguettes are made with T-55 instead of T-65 since it has a lower protein, requires less hydration and you get a thin, crackly crust instead of a thicker more crunchy crust. The fava and soy are helping to make the dough more elastic but T-55 may be your answer - with less hydration making scoring easier especially if retarded.
Well done and happy baking .
I've used both and actually I prefer t65 it has a higher ash content and tends to come out more creamy colored and tasty. Basically it has a bit more bran smashed up and the French mills completely pulverized the bran due to mill settings (as I understand). I've also heard that its becoming more popular in France to use t65 now.
Today's batch is kind of a disaster - I way overproofed getting caught up with some weekend work. I may post a pic as this was a long bulk and very yellow beautiful interior just not a lot of spring :(
Be very conservative ! One gram in say 800g will totally change the dough consistency. You also notice a very distinctive grassy aroma on the dough. If you notice that don't worry it does not come through to the final prodict and rather results in a nutty flavor. Since you have such amazing consistent results it would sure be interesting to see what a pinch of soy does to your masterpieces !
I just see soy flour in commercial bread packages listed as an ingredient. First time to see a home baker use it!
There's a regulation in France that states the rules of selling 'baguette' - you can only advertise your bread as such if you stick to certain guidelines and one of them is max 0.35% soy flour.
The general rule is you must use only flour water salt and yeast but the flour can be as flollows
Wheat flour with
Max 3% favs flour
Max .25% wheat malt
Max .35% soy flour
(Small amount not sure the figure) ascorbic acid
The flour I use contains the wheat malt and ascorbic acid and I add the other two ingredients. These additions are considered dough improvers. Usually commercial bread contains some of these like soy as well as a thousand othe chemicals. You will also almost never see wheat malt in American flour its almost always barley malt. The two have interestingly different flavor profiles - the wheat variety being much more of a creamy flavor and barley more sharp tangy malt flavor...