The Dog Ate My Baguette
I have been making a lot of baguettes lately. I had a particularly promising one the other day - took a bite, left the room, came back to find the dog eating it. That's what happens when you make a lot of baguettes, I suppose.
My husband asked me if I was driving myself crazy with making all these baguettes. The answer? No, I'm just trying to learn how to do it. And you have to make a lot to learn. So there it is. And fortunately unlike some of my rye-ier efforts, he actually likes to eat the endless series of practice rounds.
Today's entry? A lower hydration overnight retarded sourdough version. It rolled out a lot longer than I expected - 20 inches - as I did a long rest after the preshape. It surprised me that the shaping was much easier with this long rest and it didn't seem to get overproofed. As my baguette trays are 16 inches long instead of proofing on the tray, I placed it diagonally on a 16 inch sheet seam side down, covered with couche, and supported the sides.
It sang like crazy coming out of the oven and looked ok if a bit mottled - I'm not sure why.
I was thrilled with the taste. My best yet without question. This had exactly the smooth creamy crumb texture that I have been striving for with an absolutely crisp and brittle crust. The sourdough gives it a deep flavor, with not a hint of sour.
Since I rolled it out so thin it had a bit higher ratio of crust to crumb for every bite, than I might have hoped. So at least a shade thicker and shorter next time.
| Final | Starter | Total | Baker's % | |
| KAAP | 150 | 42 | 192 | |
| Water | 100 | 28 | 128 | 67% |
| Salt | 3 | 3 | 1.6% | |
| Starter | 70 | 22% | ||
| 323 | ||||
| Mix all by hand - a couple minutes | ||||
| Bulk Ferment 1 hour | ||||
| Stretch and Fold in bowl | ||||
| Seal container and refrigerate for 13 hours | ||||
| Remove and preshape | ||||
| Place upside down in couche | ||||
| Rest 1.5 hours | ||||
| Shape and place diagonally on 16 inch sheet | ||||
| Cover with couche and support on both sides | ||||
| Proof for 1.5 hours | ||||
| Slash and bake at 450 for 30 minutes | ||||
| steam at beginning | ||||
| Rotate at 25 minutes | ||||
If you ask am I likely to be posting any more on baguettes, I will have to quote Winston Churchill.
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
After all, I still haven't fully explored hydration or yeast vs starter or retardation time or starter plus biga or...
And just in case you are wondering if my dog story is a bit too shaggy...
Does this look like a shaggy dog?
Comments
Haha this reminds me of my dog so much! He loves bread, especially homemade!
The crumb looks great on this and the shape & look are brill :)
have any trouble "retrieving" the bread from the table. He looks like a big one. My dog barks at me when I take bread out of the oven and put it out to cool. Apparently I have a lot of nerve. Thanks so much for your comments. -Varda
Haha yes he's a great dane. And that's why he isn't allowed in the kitchen! ;)
And I like that innocent look on your dog's face
He also looks innocent when he's chewing up the rugs and/or my shoes. Thanks so much Juergen. -Varda
as apprentices as wieners :-) Yours looks innocent but, mine does too and she is guilty of everything - even the stuff she makes me do!
I think it is a fine baguette Varda. I think it should taste sour, even a tiny bit though, if is a sourdough - especially with the long retard. I would feel robbed! The crumb is nearly perfect except for the big holes and where the sour probably went since you can't taste the holes
Your quest is yielding results any apprentice would love to eat)
Happy baking Varda.
DA, I didn't say that the starter doesn't provide a lot of flavor. It does. Just not sour flavor. Fie on sour baguettes! (Or should that be a pox on sour baguettes? It's hard to decide.) And the holes are definitely where the flavor is. It will just take a physicist to explain how that works. Obi Wan is NOT my apprentice. He is banned from the kitchen for all time. Ok. Maybe I'll let him in for a minute, but just so I can scratch his ears. Thanks so much for commenting. -Varda
!!!
he's lucky. If you look at that picture again, you'll see that he's lounging on our best comforters. How does this happen? -Varda
Well Done. Those look professional from shape to score to crumb.
I've decided there are a few "best baguettes". The sweet yeasted French, the sour crunchy, and the "itslian" wheaten. all perfect in their own place. Sure do like the results baguettes get from cold bulk fermentation
n happy baking.
Josh
Josh, Here I am just hacking away in my kitchen, so your words are very encouraging. And interesting that you are saying there are multiple best baguettes. That makes me feel so much better, as I won't have to give up one thing I like for another thing I like. So helpful. Thank you. -Varda
Your dog sure looks like he got caught in the act! How old is he? Very pretty indeed. I love wymaroners (spelling is my best shot at the breed....spell check says no misspellings but I can't believe that!) almost as much as golden retrievers :-)
Loaf is beautiful. You sure have made great strides. How are you hanging in baking in the heat or is it cooler where you live? (We are in the high 80's and 90's so it's baking in the garage for me. Thank God for the Cadco!)
Take Care,
Janet
Hey Janet, He is 6 months old, and has just started to think things over when he wants to jump up and nip me just for fun. So now he isn't always in trouble - just sometimes. But truth in advertising, I took this picture today, and the baguette nicking incident was a few days ago. Here he was just having his little nap when I took the shot, and I think he was a bit put out. Thanks so much for your comments. The worst of the heat wave seems to be over. The house is air conditioned, so the baking goes on. I did a few bakes in my outside oven right at the peak of the heat wave and it's safe to say that I got extremely hot. -Varda
My spell check is really not working....wonder what has happened to it? A computer mystery.
Anyway, thanks for the spelling correction. Great name. You are brave to invite a puppy into your home!
Janet
He had to wait through the whole process and you weren't considerate enough to realize that his patience only could stretch so far. He took action, it was immediate, without guilt, and evidently very satisfying from the look on his innocent looking kisser...,
Appears you're French lessons are beginning to pay off. You must have good taste now...,
Wild-Yeast
is Master Obi Wan Kenobi but I really think the Master part is premature, as he is really just a Padawan learner at this point. That's just his standard innocent face. He's a trouble maker at heart and always wreaks havoc with a doggy smile. I wish I hadn't forgotten my French, but perhaps with all the baguette making it will come back to me. Thanks so much for commenting. -Varda
Varda, what a lucky doggy to get to sample your fine looking baguette! I usually find overnight retardation helps the flavor too. Looks like you are starting to get the hang of it. Nice looking crumb and crust.
say hello to your taste tester for me :)
Ian
You got off the plane. (Sorry to remind you.) Thank you Ian. He did get a nip at this one (the one small remaining piece somehow vanished) but after I wrote this post. The one I was referring to was a few days ago, and he ate almost all of it. He's going to get fat. -Varda
Hi Varda,
Lovely baguette, and I smiled when I saw the picture of your dog.
I was looking at the picture, wondering where the crumbs were :^)
- breadsong
If this had been a shot of him after eating the baguette there would not have been any crumbs either. I should just stop cleaning up my kitchen and let him do it. Thanks so much breadsong. -Varda
Too good for dogs, Varda!
All good wishes
Andy
but clearly he doesn't think so. Thanks for checking in. -Varda
your dog is too cute. beautiful baguette!
nice..
evon
Thank you Evon. -Varda
Well if there was one, you would surely win! I've just worked my way up to croissants, someday I will try making baguettes and hope they are this good looking, and tasting too.
Your bread taster may join the canine assitant union one day and graduate from taster to tester. He will add all sorts of things to your dough and can be counted upon to take the blame for almost anything. If they ever write a book about us, will they call it The Yelp?
but I don't think young Obi Wan is cut out to be a tester. He has been known to chew happily on dried toad carcass and never looked happier. Can't wait till I get my copy of "The Yelp." Very funny! -Varda
He looks sooooooo guilty!
Did he really say,"Who me?"
Bluwberry
I am not going to answer any questions unless I have a lawyer present, but then again, he has such a strong German accent, I'm not 100% sure. -Varda
can be very determined and impatient..... but they want to pumpernickel everything!
is the least of my worries with this one. I think he considers our house and home to be "slumming it" and is always talking about the manor this and the manor that. It gets irritating. -Varda
(BTW, Thanks for lending me your humor. It comes in very handy.)
Lovely looking baguette, Varda! It takes many trials to get baguettes right, and you have done a fabulous job. Crumb and crust are excellent.
What an innocent looking dog ;)
-Khalid
Hi Khalid, I'm still trying to figure out this baguette thing and get some consistency going. Thanks so much for your comments, and I'll pass your kind words along to Obi Wan. -Varda
Baguette looks great Varda,
Just wait ... when Obi Wan is fully grown he will be consuming 2kg miches in a single gulp!
Cheers,
Phil
And scary thought about an even larger bread thief in the house. Eek! -Varda
Well Varda, apart from having a butter wouldn't melt in his mouth look about him, your dog has good taste. I wouldn't mind a bite of that baguette myself.
I almost missed this post. Glad I spotted it.
Hope all is well.
All the best,
Syd
Hi Syd, We could always trade some bread - a baguette for one of your sourdoughs for instance - but we'd have to figure out how to deal with that pesky time space continuum. Thanks so much for commenting, and would love to know what you are baking nowadays. -Varda