Hi folks,
I am new to baking. I have been getting my feet wet with Ken Forkish and Jim Lahey's books and their various breads.
The kids really want less crust and more square bread! I guess they are used to the grocery store offerings!
How do I take the skills learnt with the above books and make them more familiar loaves?
Any books, links or ideas are appreciated.
Thanks!
PK
Is to make the bread in a loaf pan. You can also use AP flour where bread flour is called for. This will make the crumb more soft and less chewy. So look for flour which is 11-12% protein and not 13% +
As for a less crusty bread... perhaps don't steam the bread when baking.
Here is my recipe for three loaves of enriched white bread. In my opinion it makes great sandwiches.
White Bread (substitutions for heart healthy)
For the poolish
3 cup (12.8 oz.) King Arthur Bread Flour
1/4 tspn. dry active yeast
3 cup (24.9 oz.) chlorine-free water
Poolish hydration: 188%. Note: for half a cup of the bread flour you may substitute half a cup of whole-wheat flour to modify the taste and texture.
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in a little of the water, then add the rest of the water and flour and mix enough to wet all of the flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let ferment for 8 to 18 hours at room temperature. If desired, the poolish may be refrigerated after 4 hours of fermentation.
For the dough
All of the polish
2 1/8 cup (17.6 oz.) warm scalded milk (or skim )
1 tspn. dry active yeast
10 1/4 cup (43.6 oz.) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1/4 cup (2 oz.) melted butter (or corn oil )
1 1/2 Tbs. (1 oz.) salt
1/4 cup (2 oz.) of melted butter (or corn oil ) for greasing pans, brushing the dough, and for brushing the baked bread
water in a sprayer
Dough hydration: 69%.
Into the bowl containing the poolish, beat in the milk, the yeast, and about 6 cups of the flour, or as much as can be readily mixed by hand. Cover and let stand for half an hour or an hour (autolyse).
Mix in the 2 ounces melted butter, the salt, and as much of the rest of the flour as convenient. Scrape the dough on to a surface dusted with bread flour and thoroughly knead the dough, adding flour from the measured amount as necessary until the dough is smooth. For a more open structure, minimize the amount of flour. For a more dense structure, add additional flour. Allow the dough to rest for about ten minutes and then knead some more. This dough will be elastic and smooth. Place the dough into a greased bowl (about a teaspoon of corn oil) and cover to rise to double the volume, about an hour. Gently degas the dough by folding it on itself.
With melted butter, thoroughly brush three loaf pans (2 qt size, 9 5/8" x 5 1/2" x 2 3/4"). Divide the dough into three equal pieces (about 32 to 34 oz. each). Shape each piece to fit the bottom of each pan, puncturing the large bubbles. Place the loaves in the pans, seam side down. Brush the top of the loaves with melted butter. Cover the loaves with plastic wrap and let rise until the domes are about 2 inches above the tops of the pans. Bread benefits from retardation. (Place in the refrigerator when dough just reaches the top of the pan and remove next day and allow to come to room temperature.)
Preheat oven to 450°F with a pan of boiling water on the bottom shelf, with the middle shelf being reserved for the bread pans. A large broiler pan works well. When the dough has risen above the tops of the pans (about an hour), spray them with water, and immediately place them into the oven. Spray the loaves 2 additional times at 1 minute intervals to permit additional rising. After 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until the interior loaf temperature reaches 195°F, an additional 45 minutes (about one hour total). The loaves should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. Turn out on to a cooling rack, brush with melted butter, and cover with a damp paper towel until cooled. Bread may then be packaged and frozen.
Ford
http://www.breadwerx.com/make-sourdough-pan-bread-video/
Try Forkish's Overnight White or Overnight 40% Whole Wheat, only bake it in a bread pan. For really square bread bake it in a long Pullman pan with the lid on for the first part of the bake!
Thank you all!
That was very helpful!
Forkish and Lahey both use preheated dutch ovens - no need for something similar?
Just the standard bread pans will work?
I am afraid of using steam in the new fancy convection oven - afraid it will mess with all the electronics etc Any thoughts on that?
No, you can use a regular bread tin. See my blog here about making Country Blonde in a tin. You could probably get away with not steaming, or you can cover the bread tins with a large lid or roasting pan (as long as you have enough head room), but I wouldn't worry about using steam in your oven. Baking anything that has a lot of moisture in it is going to produce steam so I don't expect it will hurt the oven, as long as you don't pour the water directly onto the bottom of the oven.
Some simple tips would be...
1. Use a lidded 'sandwich' bread pan
2. 4 piece your dough in the pan
3. Add some hard fats to the dough for a softer crumb