When I make a baguette, I seem to get a few really large holes at the top and then the rest of the bread is rather dense. How do I get a more even distribution of medium sized holes?
Middle of Baguette End of Baguette
The holes seem better right at the end of the baguette. In the oven, the bread rise a lot more in the middle of the bread compared to the end of the bread.
Here is the recipe and procedure I am using. It's based on Anis Bouabsa's baguettes.
80% Baguette
300g Bread Flour
240g Water
½ tsp yeast
1 ½ tsp salt
Autolyse for 15 minutes
Stretch and Fold (S&F) for 15 minutes
Rest for 20 minutes
S&Fs then rest for 20 minutes
S&Fs then rest for 20 minutes
S&Fs then into the fridge for about 20 hours
One S&F in the morning then back into the fridge
One S&F in the afternoon then back into the fridge
One S&F in the evening then pre-shape dough
Proof for one hour
Final shape
Proof for 45 minutes
Baked at 250c for the first 20 minutes then baked at 220c
Looks like overproofing. Are you watching the dough and testing it, or do you go strictly by time?
I go by time and I also test it as well. The dough springs black slowly just before it goes into the ovem
hello walker8476,
Mastering the handling skills required to use dough at this level of hydration together with overnight retard is no easy task.
Maybe you should ease your way into this by using dough at a lower hydration and gradually building up the water level in the formula?
The dough is collapsing near the end of the proofing stage, as it is very delicate, and not being handled carefully enough. So the gas colledcts in big holes and the dough bakes with a tight crumb. Note that long retardation will not necessarily prevent protease activity, and this has tremendous impact on dough quality late in the proof stages.
Such skill is acquired only through practice...and lots of it.
Best wishes
Andy
Does anyone know why the bread and the ends of the baguette is much better than the bread in the middle? In the above picture you can see that bread on the right which is taken from the end of the baguette has a better more even distribution of holes. That's what I'm after but right throughout the bread.
Below is a baguette I made where I proofed for 1 hour instead of 1 hour and 45 minutes and also handled the dough a lot more gently during shaping. You can see that again the ends are much better than the middle.
Middle Of Baguette Ends of Baguette
The dough at the end of the bread is exactly the same as the dough in the middle. ???
..because the central part of the loaf is the last part to be penetrated fully by heat. It is also the densest part of the loaf, so subject to most stress if the dough is super-hydrated, and overly-delicate.
Best wishes
Andy
ps. Reducing the hydration temporarily will allow you to develop the skills needed and still produce great results, including an open crumb.
Your question was answered, quite well, by Andy in the previous post. As Andy stated:
"...skill is acquired only through practice...and lots of it."
Bake, bake, bake and then bake some more,
Jeff
I'm aware that bread making requires skills. It also requires knowledge which can be attained by asking questions which is the whole point of this website.
I apologize if I failed to properly convey my answer in the previous post. You are making a bread that requires great handling skill and what you are seeing in your loaves is a result of handling.
Jeff
Yeah I agree. I'm trying to learn how to handle high hydration dough. But I followed Anis Bouabsa's baguettes recipe and doesn't seem to mention any special skills when handling the dough.