overnight proofing of shaped loaves

I have questioned the fridge to oven process before and got a simple answer as this:  Jeffrey Hamelman suggests it so how can it be wrong?

I still haven't tried it myself, but I guess that should be true.  If a master baker suggests it in a recipe, I'm sure it would be fine, for that particular recipe.  I personally like the idea of letting it come to room temp at least.

John

  I am from the school of thought that a loaf should be allowed to come up to room temp. prior to being baked.  Not only thought but from experience too but I suppose it depends upon the shape of a loaf.  I would imagine that a baguette could be popped right into the oven because they are so thin and long but I know with boules the crusts will dry out before the center of the loaf gets baked....but I guess one could lower the baking temps. and all might be 'done' at the same time.  Easier for me to allow room temp. time prior to baking.

Overproofing:  To manage that I would simply lower the amount of leaven you use in your loaf or fiddle with the temp. using the refrig. or counter top.  I use whole grains in my baking so I would be courting disaster if I were to leave a loaf on the counter overnight  with a leaven containing more than 8 -10% of the total flour and temps. above 68°.  Also obviously different doughs contain different ingredients all of which come into play during fermentation....so my suggestion is to experiment...experiment and experiment some more until you find what works in your kitchen.  It is only flour and water and a bit of salt :-)

Good Luck,

Janet

No matter what route you choose it will take at least 1/2 hour for your oven to stabilize to your target temperature, with the baguette that might be enough to bring it to room temperature.

Gerhard

"Has anyone baked loaves that were retarded overnight in the fridge and put almost literally straight in the oven?"

... I regularly retard shaped loaves, boules, whatever - overnight in the fridge, then wham straight into a hot oven in the morning, or whenever it is convenient later that day. No warming up. No dilly-dallying. Hardcore! Whip dough out of fridge, mist, flour, slash - and slam into the furnace it goes. No problemo.

The beauty of this approach is the cold dough is lovely and firm, so you get nice clean scoring, no tearing or tugging. In fact the proofed dough - even very high hydration dough - is so chilled it doesn't flump outwards once released from the banneton or couche, so more rise in the oven than dough proofed at room temperature. And the firmness of this cold dough allows me to nudge, shove, coax it onto the peel without any injury to the shape. The other, and very considerable benefit, is that providing I've kept my yeast levels on the spartan side, I can leave the dough in the chiller until I'm ready to cook - giving far greater flexibility than room-temperature proofed dough which demands to be baked when and as it is ready, and the baker's convenience be damned.

Retarding in the fridge doesn't dry the dough or crust if you pop the proofed loaves in their bannetons, inside a plastic bag folded over a couple of times at the top; the fold held in place with a couple of paperclips. Even a couche can be chilled this way if placed in 2 large plastic shopping bags. Just pop one on from the right, one from the left, so they overlap.

Try it - show the dough who's boss!

All at Sea

How do you do overnight proofing in the fridge for baguettes and avoid drying issues? Plastic wrap will stick.