Demo: Proving Bread

[a10er]

I forgot to mention that there is good news on the whole wheat bread front. Peter Reinhart is working on new book of all whole grain breads. http://peterreinhart.typepad.com/

-Adam

[doronin]

Are there any methods to check the state of the dough while proving: is it under- over- or just proved - beyond the well known finger poke test?

[jackal10]

I just made a coarse ground 100% wholemeal loaf, (including a wholemeal preferment) that I was pretty happy with. It used 50% of the total flour as preferment, that is the dough step has 200% preferment. Overall hydration was about 80%. Proof time was, of course much shorter - about half. Good wheaty flavour and crumb texture.

Edited April 7, 2006 by jackal10 (log)

[lizztwozee]

Jackal: What a fabulous learning opportunity you have given everyone, with your comprehensive posts and photos that illustrate each point so well! Thank you so much. I baked 24 oz. "fat baguettes" this weekend, and found that the last ones I placed in the oven "sprung" so much higher than the first, those being about 1 hour later than the first batch (I baked three batches of two breads each -- that's all that fit on my teeny home baking stone). After consulting my glass jug with a bit of dough, I realized it was just over doubled. And I noted that the grignes were more developed, and the crusts were darker. Now I know why, thanks to you! Thanks again.

[lizztwozee]

Greetings! This demo was awesome . . . but I have a question. The first set of pictures show the boules of bread, and the glass jug with the dough inside. Is this done right after mixing, or after a bulk rise, and with or without a "rest"? I'm wondering why, if it's after bulk rise and rest, it needs a full 4 hours to prove -- is it in a cooler condition? And is there a need for a "rest", if you're baking round breads? I'm doing so in mass quantity, and wonder if I can skip this step, going right from bulk rise to shaped loaves.

I wanted to send this as a PM, but Jackal10 seems to have a full mailbox! Can someone answer . . . Jackal10, are you out there? Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

[jackal10]

This was an intensively mixed sourdough (natural yeast) with 30% ripe preferment.

I was experimenting with "no time" (Chorleywood style)doughs at the time, so no bulk fermentation and no rest.

You get a slightly more open result with a short bulk fermentation, but for my starter 4 hours from mixer to oven is about right

[lizztwozee]

Great! I'll have to google "Chorleywood bread" to find out more. Fascinating! Now I'm guessing the 30% refers to your starter as a portion of the flour weight? What was the hydration percentage? Thanks, Jackal10!

[jackal10]

From my notes

Sponge

200g flour

200g water

10g mother starter

Ferment overnight warm (12h to 24h)(90F)

Dough

All the sponge (33% by weight compared to flour in this step)

1Kg flour

600g water

20g salt

1g Vitamin C

Total flour: 1200g

Total water: 800g

Mix intensively (food processor) for 2 mins.

(I would now let it rest 15 mins)

Edited July 25, 2011 by jackal10 (log)