bread video Hearth Bread and Flatbread Discuss bread video in the Brick Oven Cooking forums; Originally Posted by christo Made with 100% bread flour. Need some advice on how to enhance the flavor. The guy ...

[dmun]

Originally Posted by christo

Made with 100% bread flour. Need some advice on how to enhance the flavor.

The guy from the Times said that it would work with whole wheat. I'm going to try half KA white whole wheat next time.

This one looks more "bready" and less "spongy" than mine. I wonder if it's the flour, or the reduced temperature?

[CanuckJim]

James,

You're right on my thinking. Reducing the yeast in tha ancienne recipe would work, I think. Far as the cloth goes, I'd mist the cloth with spray oil first,then dust with flour (fine mesh seive), then turn out. Cloth is necessary with such a highh-hydration dough. Again, I'd go for 50% all-purpose, 50% bread flour: nice crust, creamy interior.

The printable recipe says 1 5/8 cup of water to 3 cups flour; the video says 3 cups flour to 1 1/2 C water. Probably in the middle somewhere.

Trial and error, error and trial.

Jim

[maver]

Jim, the video also encourages sloppiness in measurements, so both water amounts are robably right.

I made 2 loaves side by side in the pizza oven tonight - one in le creuset and one right on the hearth. I set up the oven with lots of steam (had some firewood to dry) and had steam pretty well pouring out of the oven the entire bake. The loaf in the dutch oven looks much better, similar to pics posted here already. The other is flat and pretty ugly. Both feel like they have similar crust. I will start the taste tests tomorrow.

[james]

Maver,

We need photos! The finished loaf and the inside crumb.
James

[maver]

Aren't there rules about cutting warm bread over there? More practically speaking, I overate pizza last night and there really was no room for bread. As requested:

I'm not really pleased with how my high hydration breads have handled in the brick oven. With the dutch oven in the pizza oven I have better oven spring and generally a better looking loaf. My first batch of bread with more conventional (lower hydration) dough I had better looking bread. Should I be doing anything differently? After using the dutch oven method I think it would be a good choice for a conventional oven, but I'm inclined to abandon high hydration doughs altogether as I've had better results in the brick oven with conventional (lower hydration) dough. Neither of the loaves from last night have a well developed crust, but the one cooked on the hearth has the more substantial crust.

[maver]

by the way, in both pictures the better shaped, better oven spring bread is from the dutch oven, the first one on the left, second picture on the right. And, I pimped the recipe a bit as suggested by the baker in the Times article - 3/4 bread flour, 1/4 whole wheat. I also cut the yeast in half and added 1 tablespoon natural starter.

[dmun]

Originally Posted by ljanmi2

I went to IKEA today, but did not get their casserole pan. The small one is only 3qt, and large one is oval shape (I did not notice that on the picture) and probably still too small at 5 qt. The recipe calls for 6-8 qt size.

I think the fancy enamel number may be overkill for this application. Target has a lot of plain cast iron dutch ovens, including a seven quart number.

[james]

Well, I had been thinking of getting the enameled cast iron pan for a while, so I bought the 3qt Ikea pan anyway. I am going to make a mini boule in the 3 qt. version. I think the pan will work very well in a wood fired oven (which I am about to start) anyway, and I've been looking forward to trying various casseroles in that style pan. It doesn't have the meltable lid handle, without which I might have already bought the silly expensive french pan. More to come on that.

I have two batches of the no-knead bread going. One straight from the recipe, and a second using ice water that is going to be in the refrigerator for a while. We'll see.

I am doing the second one in the large covered terracotta pan that Forno Bravo sells (shameless plug). To keep the mess down, I even mixed it in the pan I am going to bake it in.

Last, I did it by weight. I just can't help myself. I'm at 80% hydration (500g flour and 400g water). We'll see. I'll post photos (but only if it comes out well).

James

[james]

Maver,
I have always thought that the super hydrated breads give you something light and airy, without a lot of shape or texture. The ciabatta looks like a big dog bone. It's flat and wider on the two ends, and the pain al'anciene baguette is very narrow and light. I don't think you can even slash either one. The ciabatta you find here is incredibly light -- our kids joke "where's the bread?"

I think it a just one particular style. Now, I am waiting to hear what Jim, who actually knows what he is talking about, says.

James

[james]

Would it make sense to put the shaped ball on a cookie sheet, not a floured cloth, for the final proof? Would it be easier to flip and dump the dough in the hot pan? Less likely to stick?
James