Bulk sourdough bread bowls

Mbreese

 My son is responsible for soup friday in about a month.  And i thought it would be awesome if we came with bread bowls for the soup.  This means i need to have about thirty bread bowls.   I could prepare a massive batch of dough or thought maybe i could prepare dough balls ahead of time and freeze. And then thaw when ready and let do the final rise, saving lots of work and actually stimulating my starter for weekes ahead of time

 

Any ideas on how to do this?   Can i freeze my dough after first rise and have it recover when it defrosts?    I know i buy a pizza dough ball like this from my italian grocer.   Thoughts?

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hitz333 2011 December 31

I would do the bulk ferment, shape, and then freeze right away. You can let it slowly do its final proof while it thaws. Of course, I don't have giant bowls, so preparing a huge batch would be out of the question for me, and I don't even know where I'd put as much starter as would be needed for that! So preparing a bit at a time would work great, and I'd probably even make extra for at home. ;)

 

I did make sourdough bread bowls once - quite a big hit with my husband, son and I!

farinam's picture
farinam 2011 December 31

Hello Mbreese,

Richard Bertinet says " The bowls freeze well for a few weeks.  Stack them with a sheet of greaseproof paper between each one.  Defrost for about one hour before warming them in the oven for 3 minutes at 180C."

Perhaps this would be better than trying to bake them all on the day.

Hope it goes well.

Farinam

Chow 2012 January 3

I agree with Farinam, baking and freezing is the way to go.

I would add that only half baking the loaves is how I would do it. Part baking is a standard practice - think of the freezer to oven bread rolls from the supermarket. In this case it could also be used to give you a heavier crust suitable for the bowl aspect of the roll. Try giving them a spray of salty water before the second bake, it should make the crust shiny as well.

 

I don't have much experiance in how long to bake before freezing. For the limited number of loaves we trailed it on in a cafe that was thinking of promoting its "fresh baked bread" I think we baked 700g loaves for about 20 minutes before freezing.

farinam's picture
farinam 2012 January 3

Hi Mbreese,

Bertinet uses 100g of dough per bowl and bakes at 200C for 20-25 minutes.  I'd imagine that you wouldn't want them too porous/absorbent or they might just dissolve before you got to eat the soup.

Farinam

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