Rye Loaf 6
Well, I took all of your comments with me to the kitchen, and turned out the loaves you see below:
Not too dissimilar from my previous attempt, however I did note some differences:
- They're hard to make out, but you might be able to spot the holes in the top of the left loaf where I tried to dock each of the loaves using suggestions on my last blog entry (this was done prior to proofing). I didn't have a pencil handy, but I did have a chopstick, and used it to make half-inch or so holes along the top of the loaves. The dough was still pretty sticky and clung to the chopstick, so I'm unsure whether they had any lasting effect, or if they just closed up again during proofing. The loafs tore along the side as you can see.
- The fermentation times were changed, in the order of 12 hours for the first rise, then about 18 for the second (including 9 hours at room temperature, 8 hours in the fridge while I was at work, and 1 hour returning to room temperature). Proofing was two hours. The final loaves are not nearly as tangy as my previous attempt, and taste much more like the loaves we buy from the grocery (the word that came to mind was 'mainstream', but I'm not sure that's appropriate!).
- On the suggestion of a friend at work, I used a spray bottle to moisten the top of the loaves immediately prior to loading them in the oven. The resulting crust is much softer than the previous attempt, and not as chewy. I'm not sure if there's a direct link there, but it certainly seems that way.
Comments
gmask1,
I would say you made progress in this last bake. From the standpoint of appearances anyway, they look very nice. I don't know about docking for a pan bread. Honestly I've never had much luck trying to convince myself that it does much good. The German high percentage rye breads are usually docked so it must be effective and so I do it. For me it's a little like knocking on wood if you know what I mean, can't hurt.
I can't get over the open crumb you get. Could you tell us what the amount of sour you used was? Your ferment times are still way longer than I have seen for the final dough.
I'm going to ask Minioven to take a look at this. She's a better source of good advice on high percentage rye.
Eric
I'll betray my lack of knowledge here, but I have to ask - what are you referring to when you ask what amount of sour I used? I'm not sure I know exactly what 'sour' is!
You might try soaking the chopstick in water first, it will probably stick less.
:-Paul
I am still having trouble remembering the basics - that's one of them :-)
I wrote a comment back on the other thread and it is good to know you can retard your dough recipe to fit your schedule without too much going wrong.
About docking "...make half-inch or so holes..." is a little extreme. The point of docking is just to burst large bubbles under the surface and inside the shaped dough. You lucked out not turning the surface into a lunar one. It also means your dough must be very wet.
I think I would be tempted to try lightly oiling the dough surface before/after slashing. Then you might not have to worry about a skin forming on the top surface of the dough while it is proofing for the oven. (But still keep it covered.) Sometimes spraying with water can cause the surface to look dusty. Try different things until you reach the look you like. Be sure to keep track of what you do, writing them down and how they taste.
I am very curious to see what effect a "tent" would have on your loaf. When you remove the tents, you can also rotate the position of the pans.
Mini O
You're very kind :-)
Referring in-part to your comment on the other thread - I look at all the photos of wonderful baked goods on this site, and I can't help but be just a little envious! In that regard, I guess I am trying to make the loaves look a little prettier; more importantly, I see the visual appearance as a significant challenge to strive for. The scoring/docking is regularly emphasized in books, thus it's been frustrating to see my efforts have little effect thus far.
I'll give the tent method a try later in the week; I'll re-read your instructions, and make sure I understand them prior to doing that! If I am reading your comments correctly, I'm imagining the loaf pan with the dough enclosed inside an aluminum foil tent. There would be gaps in the sides of the tent by necessity (the foil wouldn't reach right around the pan), which is desirable in this situation. Does that sound on the right track?
Aluminum tent over loaf
i've got it easy, I have a wide lip on my loaf pan. :)
Mini O
I'd actually written the line 'a picture says a thousand words', before re-reading the title of your reply... I'm sure you could hear the penny drop from your computer!
My bread pans don't have that kind of lip, but I'm sure that where there's a will... :-)
Darn it, I'm going to write it anyway - a picture says a thousand words!
Today I have another Expresso Bun recipe rising, a Susan's SD and a strait loaf using old sourdough starter and 10g roasted flour for flavor, that should set me up nicely.
Mini O