Edit History

2 hours ago, Chris Hennes said:

Yes, you do. Or, at least I did! And the ones proofed in the bannetons baked up just beautifully. The difference between 39°F and 65°F is not that large considering you're putting them into a 500°F oven.

 

The trick with the refrigerator is to get the surface of the dough to dry out a bit to give cleaner slashes, so if you proofed in baskets you're going to have to turn the dough out of them first. It's not really Modernist Bread's innovation and as I recall they just mention it in passing. I never do it.

 OK it’s a bit late now for this time but I will try it again and see how I make out. I did proof in baskets and despite having read up on all the tricks etc. including using the liner, my dough stuck. I mean really stuck. I wrestled it from the linen liner, reshaped it, put it back to proof a little longer (on the counter).  I had put it into the baskets seam side up so that when I turned it out of the baskets I would have a surface to properly score. So much for that idea.  But these things are sent to try us. 

 

Then, you know how it is when you want something to be so and want it so badly that you will ignore the evidence of your senses? So it was with my sad sourdough. I absolutely convinced myself that it had proofed properly.  It hadn’t of course.  But never one to be deterred by mere evidence, I proceeded to bake anyway after making slashes in the rough surface. 

 

 

 Loaf number one. Baked in the Cuisinart steam oven on the bread setting at 425°F for 30 minutes.

 

 As you see it has the dreaded bread “eczema” (a bubbly crust). And the photograph is somewhat misleading in that it appears to show more volume than this loaf actually had.  

 

 

 Loaf number two. Again inflicted with the dreadful eczema. This was also baked in the Cuisinart steam oven at 425°F but I got distracted so it was in there for 35 minutes. This is a little too long. 

 

 

Here is the inside. Much more holey than it is religious.  But on the other hand not a complete disaster. 

 

 As I was pulling the second loaf out of the oven @Kerry Beal showed up at my house  with flour, other ingredients, groceries that I had asked her to pick up for me and groceries that she just brought anyway, and guess what else? 

 

She brought along her container of French lean dough which would need some folds within the next  couple of hours.  If those of you who know Kerry wonder how she crams so much into a day —this is how!

 

We had an opportunity to compare notes about our baking and discovered that we were both amused or perplexed by the method of dissolving the salt into some of the water that would be used for hydration. We both came to the same conclusion that the amount of salt and the amount of water was such that that salt would never dissolve.  We had both tried stirring, shaking, heating etc. but there is far too much salt compared to the water to allow a solution to form. The best you can get is a slurry. If anyone can tell me different I’m excited to know. 

 

We also reached the conclusion based on my appearance that a black chef’s coat even one with an eG type logo on it from an eG type workshop long ago (thanks @gfron1) was not the most practical wear if you were going to be baking bread. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Chris Hennes said:

Yes, you do. Or, at least I did! And the ones proofed in the bannetons baked up just beautifully. The difference between 39°F and 65°F is not that large considering you're putting them into a 500°F oven.

 

The trick with the refrigerator is to get the surface of the dough to dry out a bit to give cleaner slashes, so if you proofed in baskets you're going to have to turn the dough out of them first. It's not really Modernist Bread's innovation and as I recall they just mention it in passing. I never do it.

 OK it’s a bit late now for this time but I will try it again and see how I make out. I did proof in baskets and despite having read up on all the tricks etc. including using the liner, my dough stuck. I mean really stuck. I wrestled it from the linen liner, reshaped it, put it back to proof a little longer (on the counter).  I had put it into the baskets seam side up so that when I turned it out of the baskets I would have a surface to properly score. So much for that idea.  But these things are sent to try us. 

 

Then, you know how it is when you want something to be so and want it so badly that you will ignore the evidence of your senses? So it was with my sad sourdough. I absolutely convinced myself that it had proofed properly.  It hadn’t of course.  But never one to be deterred by mere evidence, I proceeded to bake anyway after making slashes in the rough surface. 

 

 

 Loaf number one. Baked in the Cuisinart steam oven on the bread setting at 425°F for 30 minutes.

 

 As you see it has the dreaded bread “eczema” (a bubbly crust). And the photograph is somewhat misleading in that it appears to show more volume than this loaf actually had.  

 

 

 Loaf number two. Again inflicted with the dreadful eczema. This was also baked in the Cuisinart steam oven at 425°F but I got distracted so it was in there for 35 minutes. This is a little too long. 

 

 

Here is the inside. Much more holey than it is religious.  But on the other hand not a complete disaster. 

 

 As I was pulling the second loaf out of the oven @Kerry Beal showed up at my house  with flour, other ingredients, groceries that I had asked her to pick up for me and groceries that she just brought anyway, and guess what else? 

 

She brought along her container of French lean dough which would need some folds within the next  couple of hours.  If those of you who know Kerry wonder how she crams so much into a day —this is how!

 

We had an opportunity to compare notes about our baking and discovered that we were both amused or perplexed by the method of dissolving the salt into some of the water that would be used for hydration. We both came to the same conclusion that the amount of salt and the amount of water was such that that salt would never dissolve.  We had both tried stirring, shaking, heating etc. but there is far too much salt compared to the water to allow a solution to form. The best you can get is a slurry. If anyone can tell me different I’m excited to know. 

 

We also reached the conclusion based on my appearance that a black chef’s coat even one with an eG type logo on it from an eG type workshop long ago (thanks @gfron1) was not the most practical wear if you were going to be baking bread. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Chris Hennes said:

Yes, you do. Or, at least I did! And the ones proofed in the bannetons baked up just beautifully. The difference between 39°F and 65°F is not that large considering you're putting them into a 500°F oven.

 

The trick with the refrigerator is to get the surface of the dough to dry out a bit to give cleaner slashes, so if you proofed in baskets you're going to have to turn the dough out of them first. It's not really Modernist Bread's innovation and as I recall they just mention it in passing. I never do it.

 OK it’s a bit late now for this time but I will try it again and see how I make out. I did proof in baskets and despite having read up on all the tricks etc. including using the liner, my dough stuck. I mean really stuck. I wrestled it from the linen liner, reshaped it, put it back to proof a little longer (on the counter).  I had put it into the baskets seam side up so that when I turned it out of the baskets I would have a surface to properly score. So much for that idea.  But these things are sent to try us. 

 

Then, you know how it is when you want something to be so and want it so badly that you will ignore the evidence of your senses? So it was with my sad sourdough. I absolutely convinced myself that it had proofed properly.  It hadn’t of course.  But never one to be deterred by mere evidence, I proceeded to bake anyway after making slashes in the rough surface. 

 

 

 Loaf number one. Baked in the Cuisinart steam oven on the bread setting at 425°F for 30 minutes.

 

 As you see it has the dreaded bread “eczema” (a bubbly crust). And the photograph is somewhat misleading in that it appears to show more volume than this loaf actually had.  

 

 

 Loaf number two. Again inflicted with the dreadful eczema. This was also baked in the Cuisinart steam oven at 425°F but I got distracted so it was in there for 35 minutes. This is a little too long. 

 

 

Here is the inside. Much more holy than it is religious.  But on the other hand not a complete disaster. 

 

 As I was pulling the second loaf out of the oven @Kerry Beal showed up at my house  with flour, other ingredients, groceries that I had asked her to pick up for me and groceries that she just brought anyway, and guess what else? 

 

She brought along her container of French lean dough which would need some folds within the next  couple of hours.  If those of you who know Kerry wonder how she crams so much into a day —this is how!

 

We had an opportunity to compare notes about our baking and discovered that we were both amused or perplexed by the method of dissolving the salt into some of the water that would be used for hydration. We both came to the same conclusion that the amount of salt and the amount of water was such that that salt would never dissolve.  We had both tried stirring, shaking, heating etc. but there is far too much salt compared to the water to allow a solution to form. The best you can get is a slurry. If anyone can tell me different I’m excited to know. 

 

We also reached the conclusion based on my appearance that a black chef’s coat even one with an eG type logo on it from an eG type workshop long ago (thanks @gfron1) was not the most practical wear if you were going to be baking bread.