Still converting boule and batard formulae to baguettes. This time it is Jefrey Hamelman's Pain au Levain with mixed SD starters. I'd made this once before, when I first started doing batards and had just then recently created a rye starter. And now its number came up to make some baguettes - and one batard (just for old time's sake).
A recent discussion by EKMEK / David entitled Too Much Steam? drew me into the conversation. David's concern was about his baguettes being too wet, and from there the discussion grew. And so I dedicate this blog entry to that conversation.
I don't recall where I found the formula, so I have no point to refer back to, except for my own crib sheet. It calls for the creation of a 125% bread flour liquid levain as also an 82% stiff rye levain. Being the upstart that I am, instead of beginning from scratch with stiff starters the way he outlines them, I converted my mixed flour 75% starter to the 125% liquid levain and my 100% rye starter to the 82%, each in a single build. The rye took the better part of 12 hours and the liquid took less than 3 hours.
Overall this is a low hydration dough for me, coming in at ~70%. After a sticky initial mix, the dough tightened up considerably but never fought back. Another in my "compendium" of 2 Hamelman formulae where the dough is a cinch to work with and almost wants to shape itself.
One difference to my standard shaping schedule is that the dough completed its bulk rise at midnight, and I didn't feel as though I wanted to wait unto 2 AM to start the divide, etc. process. I usually retard for anywhere from 1-3 hours before the divide and shape phase. Instead I waited until ~ 6 AM this morning, completed shaping and back into the refrigerator by 6:30 AM, all couched up and back to another 6-7 hour retard. This provides further evidence, as I've stated before, that once retarded, the bulk dough can meet your schedule instead of the other way around.
Back to EKMEK: discussion centered around steaming, timing, and also whether baking on a too hot deck tile will burn or scorch the bottom. So here are the particulars for you David:
- preheat to 480dF for 45 minutes
- at ~30 minutes put in a pan with Sylvia's Steaming Towel
- at ~45 minutes score the dough straight from the refrigerator, load them into the oven, and then 2 cups of water on 480dF lava rocks.
- turn oven down to 465dF, the desried baking temperature
- 12 minutes later, release the steam, rotate the dough in the oven.
- 15 minutes later, remove the three baguettes
- 6-8 minutes later remove the batard.
Every time that I open the oven door, I reset my oven back to 465dF to make sure that it re-fires again. Opening that door will cause a lot of heat to immediately escape. Can't have that!
3 x 300g baguettes and 1 x 600g batard.
And these are the results. You can do this David, it just takes practice and more practice.
![](/files/u59134/PauL%20w%20Mixed%20SD%20starters1.JPG)
![](/files/u59134/PauL%20w%20Mixed%20SD%20starters3.JPG)
![](/files/u59134/PauL%20w%20Mixed%20SD%20starters6.JPG)
![](/files/u59134/PauL%20w%20Mixed%20SD%20starters5.JPG)
And to underscore my point that the preheated deck tile does not scorch the bread (at least in my oven):
![](/files/u59134/PauL%20w%20Mixed%20SD%20starters4.JPG)
And finally got around to slicing one open
![](/files/u59134/PauL%20w%20Mixed%20SD%20starters7.JPG)
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