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Author Topic: French Boule advice?  (Read 4499 times)

Offline nateo

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French Boule advice?
« on: March 16, 2012, 04:11:54 pm »
Hey guys,
I tried my hand at that other use for yeast: bread. Here's the recipe I used:
http://www.randyclemens.com/2010/02/05/french-country-boule-recipe/

The flavor was pretty good, but the crust was lighter than I wanted. The bread was denser than I was hoping, but the crust texture was good.

Any advice? I was planning on baking it hotter next time, to help with the color, but I'm not sure what happened to make it not-so-fluffy on the inside.
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.

Offline euge

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Re: French Boule advice?
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2012, 06:50:58 pm »
Most likely your dough wasn't wet enough and you didn't bake it long or hot enough.

The dough should be very difficult to handle without flour. A good 30-40 minutes at 450-500. Don't worry you won't burn it.

Good luck. Making decent bread is at least as hard as homebrewing.
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Offline nateo

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Re: French Boule advice?
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2012, 08:55:49 pm »
The recipe told me to preheat the oven at 475* for an hour, then lower to 425* when I put the bread in. Next time I'll try leaving it at 475*.

I'm pretty encouraged. It turned out about as well as my first homebrew: not amazing, but better than most of what you can buy.
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.

Offline nateo

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Re: French Boule advice?
« Reply #3 on: April 01, 2012, 09:34:45 am »
Round 2 of bread baking, I used Jim Lahey's "no knead bread" recipe:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

I think it uses the same concept of a pate fermentee, but all of the bread ferments, instead of a portion. It turned out much better than the first one. I still need to work on getting the oven hot enough though. I built a brick oven in the backyard, but my fire wasn't big enough, and it cooled off too quickly.
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.

Offline denny

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Re: French Boule advice?
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2012, 09:59:45 am »
The thing that has improved my bread more than anything (except repeated trials) is the book "The Bread Bakers Apprentice".  Highly recommended.
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Offline kmccaf

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Re: French Boule advice?
« Reply #5 on: April 01, 2012, 11:11:18 am »
Round 2 of bread baking, I used Jim Lahey's "no knead bread" recipe:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

I think it uses the same concept of a pate fermentee, but all of the bread ferments, instead of a portion. It turned out much better than the first one. I still need to work on getting the oven hot enough though. I built a brick oven in the backyard, but my fire wasn't big enough, and it cooled off too quickly.

Hey Nateo, did you use a dutch oven for baking the bread? I use the Jim Lahey "no knead" method all the time, and it makes a perfect crust with a very light fluffy interior. I've never used a brick oven in the back yard, so forgive me if that was a stupid question. It does seem to me that a brick oven would essentially be the same thing as using dutch oven in the house stove. Nonetheless, it makes a world of difference in my bread.

-Kyle
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Offline nateo

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Re: French Boule advice?
« Reply #6 on: April 01, 2012, 11:25:24 am »
Hey Nateo, did you use a dutch oven for baking the bread? I use the Jim Lahey "no knead" method all the time, and it makes a perfect crust with a very light fluffy interior. I've never used a brick oven in the back yard, so forgive me if that was a stupid question. It does seem to me that a brick oven would essentially be the same thing as using dutch oven in the house stove. Nonetheless, it makes a world of difference in my bread.

I started the bread in the dutch oven, inside the brick oven, then took it out toward the end to try to get color on the crust. We have a small oven and it doesn't keep its heat very well. So our house gets really hot but our oven doesn't, which is why I built another oven outside.
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.

narvin

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Re: French Boule advice?
« Reply #7 on: April 01, 2012, 03:28:31 pm »
I find that my flour, which I don't use as often as I should, dries out in the winter time.  A recipe that suggests 64% hydration needs more water than it normally would.  This could contribute to the denseness.

If you aren't getting a good crust on the outside, you might need more moisture in the oven.  A cast iron pan in the oven with water added right as you begin baking helps.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2012, 03:36:20 pm by narvin »