Reinhart's pate fermentee

[ElainaA]

I've been working my way through Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.  Some of the recipes have turned out wonderfully. However the recipes that I have tried using his pate fermentee have all turned out too heavy with way too dense a crumb. They taste really good but are just not what I was aiming for. My kitchen is relatively cool - usually about 66 degrees so i expect a long time for rising. Other than that I am following his instructions carefully.

Any advice?

Elaina

[keychris]

IIRC this is used in his french bread recipe? I love this recipe, and I really enjoy the texture of the bread it produces. Perhaps try increasing the hydration a little to get a more open crumb?

[bethesdabakers]

Hi Elaina

 

You are obviously exploring the world of bread making in an adventurous and experimental way. There are two dangerous traps when people are learning about bread, the “expert bakery writer” and “authenticity”. So there are two value loaded phrases in the title of your post “Peter Reinhart” who is a famous writer of bread books and so must be right, and “pate fermentee” which is even worse because not only is it a traditional baking technique, it’s French and so must be doubly right.

 

When you get down to it pate fermentee, biga, poolish and other preferments are largely the same animal and are there to add some flavour to commercially yeasted breads. They confuse people because they come from different traditions and have different names.

 

So the solution is to make naturally leavened bread which doesn’t require additional techniques to add flavour. And after all, what is a sourdough starter if it isn’t a preferment?

 

Good luck with your experiments.

 

Best wishes

 

Mick

[ElainaA]

@keychris -  Yes, this is the same technique used in his French bread. I have not tried that recipe yet. I think your advice to increase hydration is an excellent idea - I'll try that with my next foray into pate fermentee.

 

@bethesdabakers - Thanks for the advice. I have been baking bread for over 45 years and I'm not at all wedded to French technique. I hope I'm never too old to try new methods and recipes or to ask for advice when I am less than successful.  I have heard a lot of bakers I respect (those I know personally and many on this forum) express great respect for Reinhart's recipes and techniques and trying them out is great fun. 

Elaina

[Smithy]

In addition to changing the hydration, is it possible you're kneading too much? According to Reinhart's Artisan Bread class, as well as bethesdabakers' book, the stretch and fold method is a good way to develop gluten without losing those nice airy holes.