Is my baking method OK?
Hello! New to this forum. Amateur home Baker from sunny Singapore! Would love to hear some critique on my technique.
1. I make a preferment with 25g flour and 25g water and a touch of yeast. Ferment at room temp for 12 hours.
2. Mix in 200g flour 135g water, 4g salt, 1g sugar, touch of yeast. Knead til smooth and elastic then place it in a plastic container and pop it into the fridge to retard for 3 to 5 days.
3. Bake day - preheat oven at 250c. take dough out from fridge (hardly risen). Shape, and let it warm up/rise for about an hour before I bake with steam.
Question- should I let it rise before I retard in fridge? In this case I would bake straight from the fridge.
Currently,I retard in fridge right after mixing and then let it warm up/ rise on bake day?
Attached is a picture of my last bake
Thanks!
Vincent
Vincent: There are thousands of answers to your questions! There is no right way - instead, there are a thousand right ways, and a million wrong ways.
Most important things to consider: Do you like the bread? Do your family/friends/customers like the bread? If people like the results, then you've done it right.
If you mean to ask "Yes, but is my process correct?", then ask yourself: Is it reliable (a similar result every time)? Is it forgiving (if you see a problem coming, you know a simple way to fix it)? Do you understand the purpose of every step? Is it easy enough (not too many steps, not too much difficulty, not too much time)?
(That last question is sort of a personal one. If you bake for fun and you have lots of time and you enjoy long complicated tasks, then it doesn't matter. If you need speed and efficiency because you're busy, or you need something light because your hands aren't strong, or any other requirements, ... someone else has surely solved such problems before you and I came along. ?)
Vincent, David's reply has a lot of wisdom in it. There isn't a perfect single answer. Many people will build the dough, work on developing structure in the dough and let it rise somewhat before it goes in the fridge. And then bake straight from the fridge the next day! I'll often let my dough rise about 1/3 to half more than the original dough size and then put it in the fridge overnight - anywhere between 12 and 18 hours. But it depends on how much starter I used as well, and also what flour I'm using, etc. So there are many variables. Find what works for you and find what works consistently. Once you have that down, the experiment by tweaking different elements of your ingredients and process. It's a great way to learn. When I saw your picture I thought "I could sure eat some of that!".. Well done.. frank!
Thanks guys, absolutely agree. I'd be keen to try to rise first then retard, as I think that may make scoring a bit easier (when the dough is cold)