A friend and his wife cannot consume a 700 g loaf within a few days, and he requested a smaller loaf. I am thinking of doing my usual 1000 g of flour (i.e., a typical recipe from Tartine or FWSY), splitting the dough into two portions, and then splitting one of the halves in two. The regular size dough will go into my Dutch oven, and the two smaller loaves will go onto a baking stone.
Here are my questions:
(a) With the smaller loaves, will the baking temperature remain the same?
(b) With the smaller loaves, will the baking time be reduced?
(c) Is there anything else I should anticipate that will make the process for the smaller loaves different from my usual experience with larger loaves?
Thanks.
I think you should keep the temp the same, but reduce the baking time. Given how small they'll be, they'll dry out quickly so I'd try to get as much steam in the oven you can as well.. other than that I think it's all the same. Maybe someone else can chime in if I'm missing something.. let us know..
The smaller the loaf, the hotter the oven and shorter the bake time. (But your friend should really freeze the extra bread.)