The Fresh Loaf

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Hamelman Vermont SD as a Couronne

alfanso's picture
alfanso

Hamelman Vermont SD as a Couronne

Don't post much anymore but still breathing & baking.  I was rummaging around the far depths of the kitchen cabinet and came across a Bundt pan.  It was nestled inside of one of those "coffee cake" ring pans, which we may have used twice in a decade or more.  

Several years ago I tried to shape a couronne with just a ring of dough, to somewhat disappointing results.  But yesterday I figured why not try it a more traditional way employing a less than traditional baking pan. 

For my money there is no easier levain dough to make than this one, and if there were to be any missteps I didn't want the composition of the dough to take the blame.

It turns out that this was a fairly easy task to complete using 1000g dough divided into 6 167g balls.  Due to the height of the central tube, adding the center leaf-over dough was not an option.  C'est la vie.

The sesame seeds were an afterthought.  For a first time out of the starting gate, there's not much to complain about, but the next should exhibit more consistent scoring.

Comments

mwilson's picture
mwilson

Magnificent Alan!

I like the symmetry and how the sloping slashes give the effect of the Penrose stairs.

Looks delicious. Nice to see you posting...


Michael

alfanso's picture
alfanso

looking to clear out the Bundt pan, only to find the ring pan hiding below it.  I had to refresh myself on what a couronne bread is "supposed" to look like first.

As mentioned long ago I generally only post things that I hadn't before (except for mods).  Since I almost always fall back on the standards, I infrequently have something new to offer.

Thanks, Alan

Isand66's picture
Isand66

I haven’t made one of these in ages either.  Yours came out great.  
Nice to see a post from you.  Hope to see more in the future.  
Best regards,

Ian

alfanso's picture
alfanso

as mentioned to Michael above.  Now that I have an overflowing 3 ring binder of formulas, most of which I just shuffle past, the things that spark my interest are few and far between.  It's hard to see your meme and not miss my own pooch.  Would have been 21 this week, but we said goodbye at the right time 4.5 years ago.

Thanks, Alan

Isand66's picture
Isand66

I have 5 pups and three of them are getting up there.  Thankfully they are all doing well.  It’s the hardest part of loving these furballs in knowing how short a time we have with them.  
It’s always fun seeing one of your bakes no matter how seldom we get them.

Best regards,

Ian

 

Benito's picture
Benito

That is a great use of the angel’s food tube pan, great that you can proof it in the pan, then lift the tube and base out when ready to bake and top.  What a great looking bake Alan.

Benny

alfanso's picture
alfanso

at end of bake (easier than I thought it would be) the only appropriately baked bottom was the expanded dough balls that made contact with the baking stone.  The remainder which resided on the baking pan were dull and definitely out of place/inconsistent with the remainder of the bake.  But a fix is already awaiting the next time.

And yes, I was really pleased with how well the couronne looked and an entire entity.

Thanks, Alan

Abe's picture
Abe

Looks delicious! Plus the way you have made this Couronne it's also a pull apart bread. Tear and share. 

Very nice, as always, Alan. 

alfanso's picture
alfanso

not as simple to carve into slices.  Too big for dinner rolls, but the presentation is delightful.  As Fernando said "It looks marvelous and its better to look good than to feel good"

Thanks, Alan 

pmccool's picture
pmccool

but I’d hang onto it, anyway.  

Nice work, Alan!

Paul

alfanso's picture
alfanso

you're joking right?  Holy smokes you're right, when it went into the oven I was sure it was those baton-y things.  Maybe time to get the GE service guy to come in.   Or give David Copperfield a jingle...

Thanks, Alan

semolina_man's picture
semolina_man

Looks great!  Well done. 

alfanso's picture
alfanso

I'm a diehard semolina guy, and my first intuition was to make these using my stock semolina formula.  But decided that the Vermont was playing it a little safer for a first time out of the gate.  But next time...

Thanks, Alan

Yippee's picture
Yippee

Ideal for gifting! Thanks for sharing! Now I need to get one of these pans...

Yippee 

alfanso's picture
alfanso

as the oven spring will also give you a two-tone and inconsistent bottom.  Next time I plan on using the outer pan for the shaping and placing the dough balls directly on parchment paper.  We'll see how that plays out.

Thanks, Alan

gavinc's picture
gavinc

A cleaver creation. Well done and food for thought.

Cheers,

Gavin

alfanso's picture
alfanso

food for the table too!  Other than Ziggy, I rarely do anything creative with bread.  So it was fun to try and see what would happen.  And it was also a bit funny that as soon as I saw the cake pan, meaning within seconds, I already decided to try my hand at this bread.

Thanks, Alan

The Roadside Pie King's picture
The Roadside Pi...

I had a go at this impressive looking bread s few weeks ago myself. I linked you to my second more creative attempt. This one as well as my first try with Breadtopia's formula and shaping tutorial turned out great! 

If you want to do the fold over I highly recommend Breadtopia's easy shaping method that requires no exotic pan. 

https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/73411/couronne-gascon-bordelaise

alfanso's picture
alfanso

as simple as it is, my next attempt will have several mods.  

  • My standard levain semolina mix,
  • divvied into 8 balls of 125g each rather than the 166g of the prior bake.  
  • a springform pan with the bottom out
  • place it directly on a parchment sheet with some circular object like an inverted drinking glass in the center.

This solves several problems at once.  Although the 125g ball is still too big for an individual dinner roll, it is closer in size and weight to one.

Thanks, and thanks for mentioning the eight ball version.  Your interpretation is mighty pretty.  Alan

 

The Roadside Pie King's picture
The Roadside Pi...

I used a nine inch pie plate with a 1 cup pyrex in the center. I inverted the whole thing on to a parchment lined peel. Then removing the cloth and center pyrex was a simple matter.