June 7, 2019 - 3:24am
My rendition of Chef Ralph Nieboer's sourdough baguettes
are nearing the final stages. This is pretty much a verbatim bake of the formula Chef Ralph posted, with these few minor changes. 1. 246 Grams of 100% hydration starter. ( I hate the discard even 40 Grams.) I adjusted the hydration on the fly. 2. I changed up the timing a bit as follows to accommodate my schedule and also have a more relaxed dough for the final shaping. This morning after 13hrs of cold bulk ferment, I pre-shaped my dough into eight, 241 Gram balls, then back into the cooler. At approximately 9:00 AM, I will form the baguettes and set to proof at room temperature for an 11:30 AM bake. Wish me luck!
My shaping is very weak. That silicone mat is not helping. None to very little flour the dough sticks, I add some more flour, and it slides around. Woo-ways me!
Have no fear... You'll get it...
It seems even God had to spend a little time trying out that shape. ?
They still look great. Please show us the crumb. I assume you've seen Hamelman's shaping videos, but if not, here's a link. Sourdough is stickier than yeasted doughs, so it's even harder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmxDKuGLWuE
The cumb is not to bad. Terrible photos today.