Tartine again
I wanted to try the updated Tartine bread again from Jennifer Latham's IG post with the double fed levin and the delayed addition of the salt. The last time was a big improvement in my sourdough bread efforts so I wanted to confirm some things and get a better feel for it.
This bread is 10% WW and the rest is Wheat Montana AP. I started with a 75% fermentolyse of 30 minutes. The bassinage is done in stages as the dough tightens up with the squishes and folds and more water is added until the dough is quite extensible before the salt is added with more water. I think the final hydration was around 85% and it is quite supple but still fairly easy to handle.
I don't have a dedicated proofer so I use the mech room with the furnace and hot water heater in it as my warm spot. I can leave an overnight feeding in the cold kitchen where it doesn't move much and then place it on top of the water heater in the morning to kick it into overdrive. I feed it 1:1:1 and it doubles in three hours and then feed it again and it has doubled again and ready to use. I normally don't use the float test but the "fermentolyse" is a good test for it. In the past my levin would bob like an iceberg with most of it below the surface but this levain definitely floats high in the water.
I am getting more volume with this method but the problem is they no longer fit in my bread sacks.
I think the lateral fold before it goes into the basket is compressing the crumb so I am not getting the typical wildly open Tartine crumb but more of the lacy/honeycomb which I happen to like since it makes better toast and sammiches.
What is nice about this method is the soft crumb and the crust is really tasty and not like leather or hard to bite through..
I like to have other things to bake while the oven and stone is hot so this morning there was breakfast pizza.
Comments
I think you got the perfect balance of holes in your crumb! Closed enough for the average person but open enough for those of us who appreciate the effort it takes to get an open crumb. Well done!
I was inspired by your recent posts to add more whole grains to the levain to give it an extra boost and it's working for me.
how whole grain flour just gives such a boost to the levain? I’m not sure why I never paid much attention before as whatever I put in seemed to be good enough but then again, I was putting the levain in the fridge overnight before using it. I’ve stopped doing that and try to use it as soon as it peaks.
I've been enjoying this series of bakes very much. It has been quite inspiring and affirming to see that the method is still working reliably well.
I'm now thinking that even more whole grains whilst keeping this crumb could be very interesting! Think I'm just going through a phase of enjoying those kinds of breads more.
Glad you are enjoying them. I sure am enjoying eating them as they are some of the best loaves I have ever made. I go back on forth between adding more whole grains for the nutritional value and the guilty pleasures of white bread. I am thinking that the double fed levin and the bassinage in stages would work well with a higher percentage of whole grain.
Don
Light, airy, and as open as I'd ever want it to be. Nice.
–AG
Since I have gotten my shots. I have been dealing with vaccine envy as well. Both are a good thing.
Those loaves and your breakfast pizza (never thought to have a breakfast pizza before) are lovely Don, really well done. The effects of the lateral fold aren’t as apparent on these two loaves compared with your earlier try (first I think) so that’s good. Have you seen what Jennifer’s crumb looks like yet? Have you been able to find photos of it?
Benny
The pizza was inspired by Casey's a midwestern gas and convenience store. Half of my pizza dough balls end up with eggs on them. I dock it and pre-bake for 5 minutes with a layer of cheese (they probably use Velveeta) and then add the runny scrambled eggs bacon/ham/sauasage onion peppers and more cheese.
I would assume Jennifer's crumb looks more like the classic Tartine crumb. She puts it in a round basket that wouldn't compress it as much. The fact that I am stuffing it into an oval is probably why I am not getting the big holes but I am more than okay with that. Because it resembles the fabled honeycomb/lacy. I may reduce the total flour from 500gr or try a different basket to see if a more open crumb is possible.
Great job getting the lacy crumb that so many bakers strive for Don. I didn’t realize that Jennifer uses a boule banneton, you’re right that would certainly compress the dough less. As you said, reducing the weight of the dough would also open up your crumb even more if that was a goal for you.
Benny