The Fumbling Foodie

The Oven and I are Getting Along Just Fine

The smell of bread in the oven. That crackling sound it makes as the finished loaf starts to cool.

This is the first bread I've baked since moving into the new house. I've been away from bread-making too long.

Too Hot To Bake

Oh man, do I miss bread-making. With temperatures poking around 116F however, breadmaking is out of the question.

I'm Giving Up On This Recipe

I've lost track of the number of times I've made this pullman loaf and tried to get the crust more to my liking.

The recipe is from Charles Van Over's The Best Bread Ever. The crust is just too thick and tough for my liking. This time I did two things differently:

1. I pulled it from the oven at 190 degrees instead of 205.
2. As soon as the crust looked about right I tented it with foil.

The results were a little better but I have decided that I am to the point of diminishing returns with this recipe.

(The people reading this who know me really well are probably amazed. Normally, 'Perseverance' is my middle name, and I normally feel compelled to keep flogging something until I get the desired result. Oh well, so many breads, so little time, maybe.)

I've made pullman loaves from other recipies and the crust comes out fine, so it is something about this particular recipe or technique. I would dearly love to have a conversation with Van Over to find out what is going on.

Pain a l'Ancienne Part III

I think my third try at Pain a l'Ancienne turned out pretty well. I did three things different this time:

1. Slightly less hydration. I used slightly less water that it initially looked liked it needed. At the end of the mixing session however it was just right: the dough was clearing the sides of the bowl but sticking to the bottom.
2. Slightly shorter rise time. I went for 3 hours instead of 3.5 as I did with the previous two batches. The hole structure wasn't quite as nice, but unnoticable unless you compared side-by side photos. I think 3.5 hours may have been pushing it a litle two far.
3. Correct oven temperature. My oven control is off by about 25 degrees. If I want 475 I have to set it at 500. I forgot this on the previous attempt.

With the dough a little dryer my slashes turned out fine. I also noticed that the loaves rose better in the oven this time. Previously, with the dough so wet (like ciabatta) the stuff kinda just migrated down and I ended up with baguettes that were slightly flat. These are nicely shaped.

Too Much Hydration?

My slashes are still not turning out right.

This is REALLLY scrumptous bread. The flavor is roll-your-eyes good. The only problem is the slashes (well the crust is a little light but I forgot that my oven is off by 25 degrees). The dough is supposed to be a wet dough, I know, but I'm beginning to suspect that it's two wet. I make the slash and it just closes right back up.

I'm going to make it again in two weeks and I'll try it with a little less hydration and see what happens.

Going for Better Slashes

Another batch of Pain a l'Ancienne is in the fridge. I bought a 'Lame Bread Slashing Tool' from The Baker's catalog. Lets see if my slashes turn out better.

I LOVE this bread. it is so easy to make, so simple, and the flavor is scruptuous.

Sandwich Bread

I consider this to be my first successful attempt at a pullman loaf. It was a recipe off the Fleischmann's Yeast website.

I have been struggling to get a plain ol' pullman loaf to come out OK and now I've finally done it. Whith the knowledge I've gained, I think I can go back to my earlier recipe (which was very tasty but the crust was too tough) and probably get it right this time.

Pain a l'Ancienne Part II

This was the second time I have made Pain a l'Ancienne and this time I think I hit it right. After removing the dough from the refridgerator, I let it warm/rise for an additional 30 minutes, for a total of 3 1/2 hours.

And oven time, I've learned is critical to the characteristics of the crust. One batch was pulled from the oven just as the dough's internal temp hit 205. It had a very thin but crunchy crust - exactly the way I like it. The second batch was left in the oven until the dough's internal temp was about 210-213. The crust was noticably thicker. (maybe this is a clue to my crust problems with the pullman loaf.)

As you can see, the extra 30 minutes rise time allowed a beautiful whole structure to form.

Whole Wheat Bread

This is my first experience making whole wheat bread, made using King Aurther Flour's Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe, and it was very different.

The dough remained wet. It never got to that 'plastic' state like doughs made from white flour. Fortunately, the recipie's wording gave me the hint that would be the case: "knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple."

The second thing is that it didn't rise very much. It did rise the amount proscribed by the recipe, but my wife warned me that whole wheat doughs don't have same rise.

It all turned out well though. Upon first bite my wife was ready to marry me ll over again :-)

Pullman Loaf, Try Number 2

this was my second attempt to make a classic pullman loaf from Charles Van Over's book The Best Bread Ever.

The taste was excellent. It wasn't quite so dense this time and my wife enjoyed it. The crust was still way to thick and tough for me though.

One thing I notice about Van Over's recipe is that he spcifies the bread is done at an internal temperature of 205-210F, while The Bread Bakers Apprenticetends to use 190, so perhaps this is the reason for the thick tough crust. I'm going to try a couple of other pullman loaf recipes and see what happens.

My wife is after me to make some whole wheat so that's probably what I'll do next weekend.