Bread weight, start first combine to oven.

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Grenage on 16 Feb 2017 at 09:08

I am curious as to whether or not others allow a percentage of wastage when calculating the end size of a loaf, or is it assumed that there is no wastage at all?

For example, if I am to make three 825g panettone, would one assume an initial mix total of 2,475g - and then divide the result as equally as possible?  I was contemplating adding 1% to the initial mix, which would be 833g a piece, and allow for 25g wastage in containers/weighing etc.

I appreciate that this is probably a bit of a mental question.

Interesting thought experiment, but unless you have some strong reason--i.e., a competition with very strict finished weight criteria, like precisely 250g baguettes--I don't know why you would plan for waste.

If you did have some strong reason for finished weight, I would probably prefer to keep standard weights--825 is easy to look at and keep in your head while your hands are covered in flour--and simply use the remaining dough for rolls, a smaller loaf, or an imperfect loaf for taste testing (assuming your competition loaves are on display awaiting the judges).

Even if you weigh your panettone loaves exactly to 825 grams, after cooling they will always weigh less than when loaded into the oven. Water evaporates during the baking and cooling processes, which results in bake-out loss. The amount of bake-out loss varies greatly with oven temperature, absorption, baking time, etc..

Bob

Thanks guys, I guess I won't worry about it too much!  I'll just stick to the figures and minimise the wastage, as always.

I just wondering  , why would  you end up with  dough   , and how do you  lose some    along the way ?    

I have no idea how I seem to end up with such discrepancies; I mixed 2.5kg of panettone at the weekend, and when I weighed before splitting, I had only 2.36kg.

 

It must simply be residue left on the counter after the two kneads.

will  keep that in check ,  as will dusting the minimum of flour  onto the kneading surface . As time goes by  you will get the knack of it . Plus   it makes washing up and wiping down  an easier task .   And for the sake of  your mental health , don't get so  hung up on weights and measures , it can  kill the enjoyment of  baking  .

I must try a  panettone some time , 40 years and I've still to make one .

 

I generally don't bake anything to a strict specification, but I do know that at another site for baking pizza I visit occasionally, they have a dough recipe calculator that has a variable for what is essentially a percentage expected to lose to sticking to the bowl, so it's not unheard of to be sure.