January 19, 2014 - 9:46am
Saturday Loaf
I've been lurking and attempting a Tartine country loaf since the holidays. Here is my latest with 79% Hydration, 30% Starter, 20% whole grains that I took to a party. I'm still not getting the spring I want but the flavor and texture is excellent.
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Very nice indeed! Did you score the loaf before placing it in the dutch oven? Scoring seem to really help in facilitating oven spring.
Yes though with the high hydration and warm proof the score started closing up quickly.
With the Tartine loaves, perhaps any high hydration loaf, I find that overnight in the refrigerator does wonders for scoring. If it fits your schedule better try even just a few hours in the refrigerator. Scoring with a double edge razor blade has worked best for me.
I've taken to scoring with a pair of kitchen shears on high hydration loaves. Its easier and the cuts bloom seemingly just as well as a normal slash.
Good tip, thanks!
for a perfect High Hydration Score:-) The bread looks about as good as it gets inside and out has to be tasty. Well done.
It was quite tasty. They made the car smell quite nice on the way down as well :).
Your bread looks lovely. I am having the exact same problem. I have now decided that I get the best upward spring when the dough is the right size for the container it is being baked in. I like oval shaped loaves and they spread out too much in my cloche or Dutch oven, but I have found the perfect size of clay baker and got the best loaf so far the other day. I think the bread needs something near its edges to make it go up rather than out. I was reading in a book recently that the spreading problem does not happen in bakeries as each loaf has lots of other loaves close to it, so encouraging the loaf to rise up, instead of spread out.
I think proper fit is important be but I've seen people like dmsnyder here on The Fresh Loaf and The Tartine Bread Experiment blog get amazing high loaves with the same setup so there is also something else.
Oh, yes definitely! Correct shaping, proper gluten development, good scoring and a whole host of other skills, but my suggestion is just something very simple that can help while we develop all those other skills! There is so much to learn.