Todays bake 3 loaves of white. What! You can only see two?
Well as the first loaf was going into the oven this morning one of my sisters-in-law called in on her way home from night shift as a nurse. Now after a person has sat for a while absorbing the aroma of freshly baking bread, it would be considered cruel and inhuman punishment if I didn't give her a loaf to take home.
BTW Papakon, these are 62% hydration loaves.
[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/4112-1/new_Sunday+001.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/4114-1/new_Sunday+002.jpg[/img]
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Hi Bill,
My-sister-the-nurse will surely approve of providing bread to the deserving, and those look good to me!
May I ask what these loaves were shaped in? I've baked loaves shaped in a collander (round, natch) and presently have a loaf proofing in a tin (which doesn't look like it's rising, but we'll see what happens when I bake it ...).
I suspect I'm going to break down Real Soon Now and order one or more bannetons. I remember seeing you post about the bannetons you made, but not what size they were. I'm thinking around ~750g would be generally useful. Any suggestions?
Cheers,
Giles
Wonderful crusty looking loaves, Bill. Your SIL will be extra nice to you from now on! One of the plusses of sourdough cooking, no enemies!
I like the lengthwise slashing, I will have to do more of that, thanks for posting pics,
Teresa
Hi Giles, they were proofed in the long 1Kg bannetons, and the round bannetons are for 1Kg also. I find this a handy size because due to the shape you can also do 750g loaves in them too. I do my 750g rye loaves in the long ones.
Hi Teresa, the long slash down the side is not the prettiest slash there is, but I find that with these loaves it produces the best eating bread.
Ah, those look so great!
And good to see a really good bread with a lower hydration... sometimes I can get frustrated with not being able to handle 70% doughs. It's encouraging to see that it's not all in the hydration...
I wonder what kind of flour you use in your bannetons to prevent the dough from sticking? I'm not really happy with using rye for my white loaves... rye just goes better with wholemeal bread I think. I also have a LOT of flour sticking to the dough after the final proofing, not nice and clean like yours.
Sharing your bread with friends and family is another great joy of homebaking I think. And I'm sure your SIL would agree
Nina, I line my bannetons with a proofing cloth made from white pure cotton drill.
Drill is the sort of weave they use in material for overalls and work clothes. I have in the past used a variety of flour for the cloths but have settled on a fine ground fine sifted rye flour.
What you do initially is rub a lot of flour right into the weave of the cloth, and at first you will have quite a bit of the flour transfer to your loaves. The secret is to hang the cloths out in the sun after use untill they are [b][i]Completely and thoroughly dry[/i],[/b] shake off any excess flour and put them in a dry place. The next time you go to use them you will need less flour, and after about 4 times you need very little flour. Each time you go to use them check to make sure there is no contamination, your nose is the best judge of this. I only wash mine about every 8 weeks.
Hi Nina, I like the ridges on the bread, so I pack the ridges full of whole wheat or rye flour and never clean it out of the banneton. Each time I use the banneton I pack more flour into the ridges.I don't use a cloth on my banneton. I also make sure to let it dry out inbetween baking like Bill said, so it doesn't mold. I also use proofing cloths for my other baskets or bowls, and do not wash them either except once in a while, they get crusted with rye or wheat flour and the dough never gets stuck anymore. Also I dry them well after use. Bill is the one who encouraged me to use rye and wheat flour for dusting as I was using white and having glueing problems, stuck cloths and mottled looking bread. He is a goldmine of information!
TEresa
Thanks for the tips Bill and Teresa
I think I shall try not cleaning my bannetons as much. I gave up using teatowels as it turned into a horribly sticky mess, but maybe I should try finding a suitable proofing cloth that can be dedicated to proofing only.
[quote="Bill44"]
Hi Giles, they were proofed in the long 1Kg bannetons, and the round bannetons are for 1Kg also. I find this a handy size because due to the shape you can also do 750g loaves in them too. I do my 750g rye loaves in the long ones.
[/quote]
Thanks Bill!
Giles