Sunday, August 29, 2004
Good morning! The farmers' market yesterday was a complete sell-out of bread by 10 am and a complete (every last item) well before the end of the market. It was difficult for me to judge how much bread to make Saturday morning because the weather forecast was for thunderstorms and rain rain rain.
Rain, thunderstorms, and hot, humid weather are not my favorite conditions for making crusty french breads. I've cried out loud when the dough falls as it's being placed into the oven. The two french breads I made turned out about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. They certainly didn't stay very crisp in 94% relative humidity. I did let customers know that they could recrisp the crusts in a warm oven.
I was not thrilled with my tomato-basil pesto biscotti -- too much olive oil, I've surmised. back to the drawing board.
And, as I promised, the importance of cooling.
When bread is forst put into a hot oven on a baking stone, it rises a bit as 1) the gas bubbles expand, and 2) the yeast gives a rapid growth spurt. I don't really believe that the rise due to rapid yeast growth is significant - I doubt it's a valid arguement, but it is well-publicized, so I better mention it. This rise is also called "oven-spring". And believe me, you better be prepared to compensate the newly forming crust for expanding to accomodate this volume increase. Usually, slashing of the dough is done to control the shape of the bread. I call it an episiotomy of the crust. The slashes keep the rest of the crust from cracking, tearing and developing fissures.
The more "proofed" the dough is when you place it into the oven, the shallower the slashes need to be. The converse - an underproofed dough - needs to be slashed much more and almost directly toward the center of the loaf. If I am rushing the bread, I often slash an inch or so into the dough and I make the cuts closer together. I still occassionally get some splitting of the crust near the bottom, but it took practice.
I love a loaf fresh out of the oven. I tear a piece off, dip it into a bowl of softened butter and pop it into my mouth. As a baker, I feel it is my duty to ensure good bread. Ha ha!
But, after I've torn off a piece of hot bread, I'd better eat the rest within the next couple of hours. It becomes stale and hardens much faster than a loaf that has been allowed to cool for 30-45 minutes. The reasons, I think, are 1) The gluten, a bread protein, has partially geletinized during the baking and that needs to "set" in order for the loaf to withstand slicing. and 2) the interior of the bread is probably above 195 degrees fahrenheit and it is under some pressure (because the crust formed about 1/3 way through baking). That means there is a fair amount of steam - water vapor that hasn't yet redistributed itself throughout the crumb. It is comparable to allowing a cut of meat to rest after cooking. And 3) It is incredibly cool to listen to the crackling of the crust when you remove it from the oven.
Next week, I plan to bake twice the number of loaves.
JoEllen
Rain, thunderstorms, and hot, humid weather are not my favorite conditions for making crusty french breads. I've cried out loud when the dough falls as it's being placed into the oven. The two french breads I made turned out about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. They certainly didn't stay very crisp in 94% relative humidity. I did let customers know that they could recrisp the crusts in a warm oven.
I was not thrilled with my tomato-basil pesto biscotti -- too much olive oil, I've surmised. back to the drawing board.
And, as I promised, the importance of cooling.
When bread is forst put into a hot oven on a baking stone, it rises a bit as 1) the gas bubbles expand, and 2) the yeast gives a rapid growth spurt. I don't really believe that the rise due to rapid yeast growth is significant - I doubt it's a valid arguement, but it is well-publicized, so I better mention it. This rise is also called "oven-spring". And believe me, you better be prepared to compensate the newly forming crust for expanding to accomodate this volume increase. Usually, slashing of the dough is done to control the shape of the bread. I call it an episiotomy of the crust. The slashes keep the rest of the crust from cracking, tearing and developing fissures.
The more "proofed" the dough is when you place it into the oven, the shallower the slashes need to be. The converse - an underproofed dough - needs to be slashed much more and almost directly toward the center of the loaf. If I am rushing the bread, I often slash an inch or so into the dough and I make the cuts closer together. I still occassionally get some splitting of the crust near the bottom, but it took practice.
I love a loaf fresh out of the oven. I tear a piece off, dip it into a bowl of softened butter and pop it into my mouth. As a baker, I feel it is my duty to ensure good bread. Ha ha!
But, after I've torn off a piece of hot bread, I'd better eat the rest within the next couple of hours. It becomes stale and hardens much faster than a loaf that has been allowed to cool for 30-45 minutes. The reasons, I think, are 1) The gluten, a bread protein, has partially geletinized during the baking and that needs to "set" in order for the loaf to withstand slicing. and 2) the interior of the bread is probably above 195 degrees fahrenheit and it is under some pressure (because the crust formed about 1/3 way through baking). That means there is a fair amount of steam - water vapor that hasn't yet redistributed itself throughout the crumb. It is comparable to allowing a cut of meat to rest after cooking. And 3) It is incredibly cool to listen to the crackling of the crust when you remove it from the oven.
Next week, I plan to bake twice the number of loaves.
JoEllen
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