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"Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" Zoe Francois (2008–2009)


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I don't know what to call it but we just baked a loaf with a half cup of rolled rye and about 2 Tbs., of fennel seeds to the basic recipe of 2 lbs., of flour with the addition of 1/2 cup more water and 2 Tbs., honey. The taste and aroma are wonderful.

Jmahl

Photo of loaf from same batch -- gallery_38003_5626_670403.jpg

Tasty.

Jmahl

This sounds and looks great! I have to get some rolled rye to throw in my next batch.

Zoë

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(snipped for brevity)

Hi Pam, When you go to make the pizza try to get it nice and thin and bake it at 550 degrees, putting your pizza stone on the bottom rack. If the stone is on the bottom the crust will get nice and crisp and the toppings will not burn!

Enjoy! Zoe

:shock: After two tasty pizzas two nights ago, one of which was embarrassingly dark on top, I put the stone on the bottom rack as you suggest above. Fantastic results, Zoë! :cool: I baked the bare crusts on the stone for about two minutes at 550, flipped them over and put my toppings on the baked side. Back onto the stone for about 7 minutes and we were in pizza heaven with pizzas that looked as good as they tasted. I used the European Peasant dough for my crusts; the dough was mixed early this morning and I will try to leave it alone for a couple days before baking a boule or a baguette.

Great. When you parbaked the pizza crust did you dock the dough? I'm just curious if it tried to puff up like a giant pita because it had no toppings?

I've been baking a lot of baguettes lately. The crumb is nearly perfect when baked in a thin baguette, plus you get all that wonderful crust!

Zoë

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(snipped)

:shock:  After two tasty pizzas two nights ago, one of which was embarrassingly dark on top, I put the stone on the bottom rack as you suggest above.  Fantastic results, Zoë!  :cool: I baked the bare crusts on the stone for about two minutes at 550, flipped them over and put my toppings on the baked side.  Back onto the stone for about 7 minutes and we were in pizza heaven with pizzas that looked as good as they tasted.  I used the European Peasant dough for my crusts; the dough was mixed early this morning and I will try to leave it alone for a couple days before baking a boule or a baguette.

Great. When you parbaked the pizza crust did you dock the dough? I'm just curious if it tried to puff up like a giant pita because it had no toppings?

I've been baking a lot of baguettes lately. The crumb is nearly perfect when baked in a thin baguette, plus you get all that wonderful crust!

Zoë

I did dock the dough and it still puffed more than I expected it to. That's not a deal-breaker. A stab at the big bubbles with a knife took care of that.

More pizza tonight — the best yet. The local pizza place (an excellent one) just lost a good customer. :sad: I love being able to control the size and the ability to make one for my husband and one for me. I'm eager to get my granddaughter involved in making her own leetle one.

-Bubbles

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Last night I made the master recipe, except I halved it. Then today, I had a meal for four and I baked off the first pound loaf and it was great. I think the "crumb" was good too :) It was crispy on the inside and soft but firm on the inside. I was nervous doing the hot water trick that I actually spilled about a quarter of it on the oven door. Then after the door was closed, I realized I still had a quarter cup left so I opened up the oven to pour it in. As you can imagine, this was terrible because not only did I not put all the water in, but I let the steam escape. Well, tasting the bread you wouldn't have known what a klutz I was.

What kind of sucks is I weighed out a 1 lb portion. It's obvious that the remainder amount will be nowhere near a pound though it should be. Master recipe is supposed to make 4 lbs and I halved it. :(

I recently lost my digital camera so sorry for the lack of pictures.

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I did dock the dough and it still puffed more than I expected it to.  That's not a deal-breaker.  A stab at the big bubbles with a knife took care of that.

More pizza tonight — the best yet.  The local pizza place (an excellent one) just lost a good customer.  :sad: I love being able to control the size and the ability to make one for my husband and one for me.  I'm eager to get my granddaughter involved in making her own leetle one.

-Bubbles

Hi Bubbles,

This dough really wants to puff if it isn't weighed down with the toppings! You will really have to dock it well. This also works on the grill in the summer, when you don't want to crank your oven up to 550 degrees.

Zoë

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Last night I made the master recipe, except I halved it. Then today, I had a meal for four and I baked off the first pound loaf and it was great. I think the "crumb" was good too :) It was crispy on the inside and soft but firm on the inside. I was nervous doing the hot water trick that I actually spilled about a quarter of it on the oven door. Then after the door was closed, I realized I still had a quarter cup left so I opened up the oven to pour it in. As you can imagine, this was terrible because not only did I not put all the water in, but I let the steam escape. Well, tasting the bread you wouldn't have known what a klutz I was.

What kind of sucks is I weighed out a 1 lb portion. It's obvious that the remainder amount will be nowhere near a pound though it should be. Master recipe is supposed to make 4 lbs and I halved it. :(

I recently lost my digital camera so sorry for the lack of pictures.

Hi sygyzy,

I'm so glad you enjoyed the bread! If you find the water/steam too cumbersome you can add ice cubes instead. Some people do this with great success.

As for the 1# loaf listed in the book as the weight of the loaf. You are absolutely correct, it is clearly less than that. When we came up with that number it was meant to be an approximate weight. Some of the doughs will equal 4 1# loaves and others will be slightly more or less. Unfortunately this is not clear enough in the book. We have been surprised (pleasantly) by the number of home bakers who do use a scale, but it was written with the assumption that most would be eyeballing it.

Thank you for bringing this up and I will make a note of it on the errata sheet at our websites.

Zoë

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A few days ago I made the master recipe and baked off my first loaf yesterday. It was awesome! The crust was wonderful and the taste was out of this world. I would post pictures, but my husband and I forgot ourselves and devoured the warm loaf with a tray of yummy cheeses. :wub:

Can't wait to bake off the remaining loaves! Will definitely be putting my order in for the book.

The Wright Table

Becoming a better home cook, one meal at a time.

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A few days ago I made the master recipe and baked off my first loaf yesterday. It was awesome! The crust was wonderful and the taste was out of this world. I would post pictures, but my husband and I forgot ourselves and devoured the warm loaf with a tray of yummy cheeses.  :wub:

Can't wait to bake off the remaining loaves! Will definitely be putting my order in for the book.

Hi Sadie,

Thanks for trying the recipe. It is a good sign when you eat the bread before the picture.

As you go through the book you should read the errata sheet. It is on the top of my websites:

www.zoebakes.com

www.artisanbreadinfive.com

Thanks and I hope eventually to see some pictures!

Zoë

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I did dock the dough and it still puffed more than I expected it to.  That's not a deal-breaker.   A stab at the big bubbles with a knife took care of that.

More pizza tonight — the best yet.  The local pizza place (an excellent one) just lost a good customer.   :sad: I love being able to control the size and the ability to make one for my husband and one for me.  I'm eager to get my granddaughter involved in making her own leetle one.

-Bubbles

Hi Bubbles,

This dough really wants to puff if it isn't weighed down with the toppings! You will really have to dock it well. This also works on the grill in the summer, when you don't want to crank your oven up to 550 degrees.

Zoë

Thanks, Zoë,

I am seeing the puffing isn't a problem because I'm putting the toppings on the flipped-over crust, so any bubbles (I poke the big ones with a knife or fork) get flattened. Darnit, Zoë, this is really great stuff. Fortunately I'm out of pepperoni and mozzarella so I won't be making pizza for a while, I think. Restraint has never been one of my virtues. :wink: I so like being able to control the amount of cheese - He Who Shall Remain Nameless will tolerate only a very little bit of cheese on his pizza.

Bubbles

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I baked off the remainder of my first batch for dinner tonight. Buttered it up and spread some June Taylor organic strawberry preserves on top. Simply delicious.

I made a second batch of the dough but this time I used the full recipe. Hopefully it'll last us the rest of the week.

Here's today's question - Has anyone found any good solutions for the rising/storage buckets? Zoe says that she has a dedicated dorm fridge in the basement (garage?). Unfortunately for me, and most others, this is not an option. I want to get the King Arthur bucket but it's too tall for my fridge. The biggest size I can accommodate is 7 inches. The Kitchen Aid stand mixer bowl fits exactly under it. I want something that can hold enough for the master recipe, which Zoe says is 6 quarts.

The other thing that confuses me is it's impossible to tell if a lid is airtight or not. All the pictures on the book's website/blog seem like they are airtight to me. I can't be the only one with this problem.

Any help would be appreciated.

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I baked off the remainder of my first batch for dinner tonight. Buttered it up and spread some June Taylor organic strawberry preserves on top. Simply delicious.

I made a second batch of the dough but this time I used the full recipe. Hopefully it'll last us the rest of the week.

Here's today's question - Has anyone found any good solutions for the rising/storage buckets? Zoe says that she has a dedicated dorm fridge in the basement (garage?). Unfortunately for me, and most others, this is not an option.  I want to get the King Arthur bucket but it's too tall for my fridge. The biggest size I can accommodate is 7 inches. The Kitchen Aid stand mixer bowl fits exactly under it. I want something that can hold enough for the master recipe, which Zoe says is 6 quarts.

The other thing that confuses me is it's impossible to tell if a lid is airtight or not. All the pictures on the book's website/blog seem like they are airtight to me. I can't be the only one with this problem.

Any help would be appreciated.

Hi. I'm sure others will weigh in on this but I just wanted to reassure you about the airtight vs non-airtight. If the container seems to be trapping the gas, then just leave it ajar.

The rectangular boxes that you see on the website let plenty of air circulate and are no more than 7" tall but hold 6qts. They may be a good solution and are available at most stores like target and walmart.

Most of the others pictured trap gas in them and so I just put the lid on without closing it tightly.

Some people have found a container through tupperware that actually has a valve on top to allow air in and out. I saw a set that was similar at Costco. They were all different sizes but most were no more than 7".

Good luck. Zoë

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Here's today's question - Has anyone found any good solutions for the rising/storage buckets?

(snipped for brevity)

The other thing that confuses me is it's impossible to tell if a lid is airtight or not. All the pictures on the book's website/blog seem like they are airtight to me. I can't be the only one with this problem.

Any help would be appreciated.

Good morning, Sygyzy

I am using a big Tupperware bowl from their "Crystal Wave" line - info on its bottom says plus/minus 4 liters. That line of products has a small hole with a fliptop cover for venting. It is 10" diameter and 4-1/2" high. After mixing, the dough fills it. I'm going to check out the local thrift shops and secondhand stores for something larger.

-Bubbles

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I've been using this container that I got last year from King Arthur. It was working perfectly..... until Sunday.

So here's what happened. I have been using Pillsbury's unbleached ap flour. 2 lbs to 3 cups of water. Last Sunday I used King Arthur ap 2 lbs to 3 1/4 cups of water. We heard a loud pop coming from the kitchen but assumed our young cat had knocked something off a shelf (again). Some time later I went into the kitchen and discovered that the dough had blown the top off the container and was now spilling over and blobbing down the sides. It looked rather sinister, actually.

So what happened? A measly quarter cup of water created a monster? I am confused.

By the way, the dough smells as delicious as usual. Does anyone else find them selves popping little fingerfuls of dough into their mouth, or should I seek counseling?

pat

I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance

Were it not for making a living, which is rather a nouciance.

-- Ogden Nash

http://bluestembooks.com/

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Thanks for your help everyone. Next time I am in LA, I'll check out the Container Store and Target. Right now, I'll just use saran wrap on top of my mixing bowls. I suspect the metal won't really have any affect on taste, right?

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HELP! I don't know what happened. I made the full master recipe and before I got home my roommate portioned out a grapefruit sized piece. When I returned, she commented that it was very wet and gloopy. I looked and it definitely was. I am convinced I didn't add enough flour. I got distracted a few times when I was measuring the 6 cups of flour and I must have been off by 1/2 to 1 cup.

What can I do to save it? Can I add flour now or is it too late? I have a loaf baking right now but I expect it to come out terrible.

Can the dough be salvaged? Can I make something else out of it?

:(

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HELP! I don't know what happened. I made the full master recipe and before I got home my roommate portioned out a grapefruit sized piece. When I returned, she commented that it was very wet and gloopy. I looked and it definitely was. I am convinced I didn't add enough flour. I got distracted a few times when I was measuring the 6 cups of flour and I must have been off by 1/2 to 1 cup.

What can I do to save it? Can I add flour now or is it too late? I have a loaf baking right now but I expect it to come out terrible.

Can the dough be salvaged? Can I make something else out of it?

:(

One of two things happened, I would guess ...

1) You measured the right amount of flour, but didn't develop the gluten enough

2) You didn't add enough flour

If it were me, I would add the remainder of the mixture to a stand mixer bowl, add about a 1/4 cup of flour at a time (using the dough hook) until the dough passes the "windowpane test" (Google that term and you'll find out what I mean). and place back in the fridge and use as normal.

You could just start over -- you'd only be out maybe $1.50 in raw ingredients.

It might be an interesting project to try and save it though. As much as people think that bread dough is a mystery, it is pretty forgiving.

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So here's what happened.  I have been using Pillsbury's unbleached ap flour.  2 lbs to 3 cups of water.  Last Sunday I used King Arthur ap  2 lbs to 3 1/4 cups of water.  We heard a loud pop coming from the kitchen but assumed our young cat had knocked something off a shelf (again).  Some time later I went into the kitchen and discovered that the dough had blown the top off the container and was now spilling over and blobbing down the sides.  It looked rather sinister, actually.

So what happened?  A measly quarter cup of water created a monster?  I am confused.

Hmmm ....

You didn't mention what kind/type of yeast you were using. Do you buy the one use, single packets of active dry yeast or do you buy in bulk and measure out the yeast? It is possible that you may have gotten a really active strain of yeast. I'll assume that the ambient temperature you are bulk fermenting the dough in has remained the same between flours.

Also, did you add the full amount of salt? Besides flavor, it also helps to regulate the growth of the yeast. I know you mentioned you tasted the raw dough ... too little salt would allow the yeast to grow very rapidly.

Finally ...

2 lbs flour = 908 grams

3 1/4 cups water = 3.25 cups x 236 g/cup = 767 grams

Hydration = 767 / 908 (x 100) = 84.5% hydration for All Purpose flour

That seems too high to me ... Zoe, what are your thoughts?

Sorry if my response seems a little disjointed; I'm trying to solve the problem through multiple angles. Basically, just switching flours and adding a 1/4 cup more water shouldn't have caused the top to pop off. Something else must be going on.

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Hmmm ....

You didn't mention what kind/type of yeast you were using. Do you buy the one use, single packets of active dry yeast or do you buy in bulk and measure out the yeast? It is possible that you may have gotten a really active strain of yeast. I'll assume that the ambient temperature you are bulk fermenting the dough in has remained the same between flours.

Also, did you add the full amount of salt? Besides flavor, it also helps to regulate the growth of the yeast. I know you mentioned you tasted the raw dough ... too little salt would allow the yeast to grow very rapidly.

Hi tino27,

Thanks for addressing this. I used the same bulk yeast that I have been buying from our local coop since the beginning. I've also been using the same amount of salt each time: 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of Kosher salt. I should also add that the kitchen didn't seem to be any warmer than usual.

pat

(Edited because of a dumb grammatical error, which was the only dumb grammatical error that I managed to catch.)

Edited by Pat W (log)

I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance

Were it not for making a living, which is rather a nouciance.

-- Ogden Nash

http://bluestembooks.com/

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Thanks for your help everyone. Next time I am in LA, I'll check out the Container Store and Target. Right now, I'll just use saran wrap on top of my mixing bowls. I suspect the metal won't really have any affect on taste, right?

Sygyzy,

I scored a 6-quart bowl at the local thrift store today for $2. Batch #2 of European Peasant Bread is in the fridge now.

-Bubbles

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HELP! I don't know what happened. I made the full master recipe and before I got home my roommate portioned out a grapefruit sized piece. When I returned, she commented that it was very wet and gloopy. I looked and it definitely was. I am convinced I didn't add enough flour. I got distracted a few times when I was measuring the 6 cups of flour and I must have been off by 1/2 to 1 cup.

What can I do to save it? Can I add flour now or is it too late? I have a loaf baking right now but I expect it to come out terrible.

Can the dough be salvaged? Can I make something else out of it?

:(

One of two things happened, I would guess ...

1) You measured the right amount of flour, but didn't develop the gluten enough

2) You didn't add enough flour

If it were me, I would add the remainder of the mixture to a stand mixer bowl, add about a 1/4 cup of flour at a time (using the dough hook) until the dough passes the "windowpane test" (Google that term and you'll find out what I mean). and place back in the fridge and use as normal.

You could just start over -- you'd only be out maybe $1.50 in raw ingredients.

It might be an interesting project to try and save it though. As much as people think that bread dough is a mystery, it is pretty forgiving.

I tossed in a few heaping spoonfuls of flour and worked the dough with the hook for a few minutes. I hope tomorrow's bread will turn out better.

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HELP! I don't know what happened. I made the full master recipe and before I got home my roommate portioned out a grapefruit sized piece. When I returned, she commented that it was very wet and gloopy. I looked and it definitely was. I am convinced I didn't add enough flour. I got distracted a few times when I was measuring the 6 cups of flour and I must have been off by 1/2 to 1 cup.

What can I do to save it? Can I add flour now or is it too late? I have a loaf baking right now but I expect it to come out terrible.

Can the dough be salvaged? Can I make something else out of it?

:(

One of two things happened, I would guess ...

1) You measured the right amount of flour, but didn't develop the gluten enough

2) You didn't add enough flour

If it were me, I would add the remainder of the mixture to a stand mixer bowl, add about a 1/4 cup of flour at a time (using the dough hook) until the dough passes the "windowpane test" (Google that term and you'll find out what I mean). and place back in the fridge and use as normal.

You could just start over -- you'd only be out maybe $1.50 in raw ingredients.

It might be an interesting project to try and save it though. As much as people think that bread dough is a mystery, it is pretty forgiving.

I tossed in a few heaping spoonfuls of flour and worked the dough with the hook for a few minutes. I hope tomorrow's bread will turn out better.

Hi Sygyzy,

In this note you said you measured out the 6 cups of flour, and it is supposed to be 6 1/2 cups. It will be challenging to get that extra flour in at this point so you may want to put it in a stand mixer as Tino suggested. It is fine to add the extra flour at any point, but you'll need to let it rise again so that the gas will develop in the dough. If you use it without this second rise it will be very dense.

Good luck and let us know how it goes. Zoë

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So here's what happened.  I have been using Pillsbury's unbleached ap flour.  2 lbs to 3 cups of water.  Last Sunday I used King Arthur ap  2 lbs to 3 1/4 cups of water.  We heard a loud pop coming from the kitchen but assumed our young cat had knocked something off a shelf (again).  Some time later I went into the kitchen and discovered that the dough had blown the top off the container and was now spilling over and blobbing down the sides.  It looked rather sinister, actually.

So what happened?  A measly quarter cup of water created a monster?  I am confused.

Hmmm ....

You didn't mention what kind/type of yeast you were using. Do you buy the one use, single packets of active dry yeast or do you buy in bulk and measure out the yeast? It is possible that you may have gotten a really active strain of yeast. I'll assume that the ambient temperature you are bulk fermenting the dough in has remained the same between flours.

Also, did you add the full amount of salt? Besides flavor, it also helps to regulate the growth of the yeast. I know you mentioned you tasted the raw dough ... too little salt would allow the yeast to grow very rapidly.

Finally ...

2 lbs flour = 908 grams

3 1/4 cups water = 3.25 cups x 236 g/cup = 767 grams

Hydration = 767 / 908 (x 100) = 84.5% hydration for All Purpose flour

That seems too high to me ... Zoe, what are your thoughts?

Sorry if my response seems a little disjointed; I'm trying to solve the problem through multiple angles. Basically, just switching flours and adding a 1/4 cup more water shouldn't have caused the top to pop off. Something else must be going on.

Hi. This is the hydration I use for KA AP flour in ounces, but my hydration is coming out differently than yours Tino? I converted it to metric and all of your numbers add up correctly.

2#=32oz

3 1/4 cup=26oz

hydration = 26/32 (x100) = 81.25 for KA AP flour

Pat, I wonder if using a higher protein flour would give the dough more stretch and allow it to rise higher than you previously got with the lower protein AP?

This is a mystery!

Zoë

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2 lbs flour = 908 grams

3 1/4 cups water = 3.25 cups x 236 g/cup = 767 grams

Hydration = 767 / 908 (x 100) = 84.5% hydration for All Purpose flour

That seems too high to me ... Zoe, what are your thoughts?

Sorry if my response seems a little disjointed; I'm trying to solve the problem through multiple angles. Basically, just switching flours and adding a 1/4 cup more water shouldn't have caused the top to pop off. Something else must be going on.

Hi. This is the hydration I use for KA AP flour in ounces, but my hydration is coming out differently than yours Tino? I converted it to metric and all of your numbers add up correctly.

2#=32oz

3 1/4 cup=26oz

hydration = 26/32 (x100) = 81.25 for KA AP flour

Pat, I wonder if using a higher protein flour would give the dough more stretch and allow it to rise higher than you previously got with the lower protein AP?

This is a mystery!

Zoë

Zoe --

The mystery here is the difference between ounces and fluid ounces. A fluid ounce is a measurement of volume. 1 fl oz of water and 1 fl oz of oil will not weigh the same amount. An ounce measurement is a weight. 1 ounce of water weighs the same as 1 ounce of oil.

There are 8 fluid ounces in one cup of anything. There are 8.33 ounces in one cup of water. The problem is that the two are not exactly interchangeable.

So, while yes, there are 26 fluid ounces in 3 1/4 cups of water, a fluid ounce of water weighs 29.57 g / fl oz.

29.57 g / fl oz. x 26 fl oz. = 768 g

I think that's where the discrepancy came in.

Tino

Edited by tino27 (log)

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2 lbs flour = 908 grams

3 1/4 cups water = 3.25 cups x 236 g/cup = 767 grams

Hydration = 767 / 908 (x 100) = 84.5% hydration for All Purpose flour

That seems too high to me ... Zoe, what are your thoughts?

Sorry if my response seems a little disjointed; I'm trying to solve the problem through multiple angles. Basically, just switching flours and adding a 1/4 cup more water shouldn't have caused the top to pop off. Something else must be going on.

Hi. This is the hydration I use for KA AP flour in ounces, but my hydration is coming out differently than yours Tino? I converted it to metric and all of your numbers add up correctly.

2#=32oz

3 1/4 cup=26oz

hydration = 26/32 (x100) = 81.25 for KA AP flour

Pat, I wonder if using a higher protein flour would give the dough more stretch and allow it to rise higher than you previously got with the lower protein AP?

This is a mystery!

Zoë

Zoe --

The mystery here is the difference between ounces and fluid ounces. A fluid ounce is a measurement of volume. 1 fl oz of water and 1 fl oz of oil will not weigh the same amount. An ounce measurement is a weight. 1 ounce of water weighs the same as 1 ounce of oil.

There are 8 fluid ounces in one cup of anything. There are 8.33 ounces in one cup of water. The problem is that the two are not exactly interchangeable.

So, while yes, there are 26 fluid ounces in 3 1/4 cups of water, a fluid ounce of water weighs 29.57 g / fl oz.

29.57 g / fl oz. x 26 fl oz. = 768 g

I think that's where the discrepancy came in.

Tino

I admit my scale is old and not as accurate as some, but I was weighing both the flour and the water. I was coming in at 25.75-26.25 ounces for the 3 1/4 cups of water.

Zoë

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