October 3, 2021 - 1:05pm
Burned My Ear!
Hello All,
I'm using a 6 quart iron combo cooker and it seems to working out well. The only problem is that the very top ridge of the ear seems too dark. Not sure how to deal with this. I preheat the combo cooker to 500 deg put the dough in and then in the oven and immediately drop the oven temp to 450 deg. I cook for 20 mins and then take top off of combo cooker and cook for another 25 mins. Any help appreciated. Pics attaced.
Thanks Much,
Christopher
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the temp to 425 F for the uncovered portion. And you could also switch your times. Bake covered for 25 minutes and uncovered for 20 minutes. Last resort would be to put a bit of foil over the ear but the way I look at it, the darker the bread, the more flavour it has (unless it’s black and truly burnt).
Thanks for the reply! I think I'll try what you suggested next time and switch the times for lid on , lid off and see how that effects it. Thanks again and take tare!
-christopher
Honestly, it doesn't look burned to me. I was taught - and I agree - to prefer a "bold bake", which yours isn't particularly.
The 3 or 4 of times I've had a loaf from the famous Tartine bakery, now, that's burned IMO. Most of the upper crust very dark, almost black, and any ears (although not much of those) carbonized black and bitter. Not a big fan. I'm more interested in how the flavor is, and how the center of the crumb is... too wet still? Does it stick to the knife? is it too dry?
Keep experimenting and make it the way you like it, and
Happy Baking!
Tom in Sunny San Rafael
I think it looks perfect! The ear is supposed to be darker, no? It's dark but doesn't look burned to me.
Thanks everyone for your responses and the kind words LoafLove. As it turned out, the ear wasn't bad at all and what I was thinking as "burnt" was just darkly caramelized and tasted fine. Happy baking everyone!