Wednesday, June 02, 2004


the last loaf & scaa consumer event

patient readers recall that of this now 8-day bread extravaganza, i had one batch of full levain left, besides what i set aside to be the chef for next week's baking.

so last night i made it up into a loaf in the usual way. measure out:

  • 15 oz. white whole-wheat flour
  • 10 oz. volvic water
  • 0.5 oz. fine sea salt

place the levain into your mixing bowl, add the water. let sit for a minute or two to soften the levain. then add the flour, and attach the bowl to your trusty stand mixer (or mix by hand).

mix gently to create a shaggy, sticky mess, about 2 mins. let this rest for 30 mins., covered with plastic wrap or a towel.

now you're ready to knead: if you're hand-kneading, give it 10 mins.; under the dough hook, 8 mins. at the lowest speed. either way, 2 min. before you're finished kneading, begin to gradually incorporate the salt.

the dough will be sticky, clinging to your hands or the dough hook -- all good. don't add flour.

if necessary, oil or moisten your hands lightly. that's all. as you incorporate the salt, the dough will begin to change and stiffen up.

you'll end up with a soft, pliable, slightly tacky dough. perfect. flour a fine linen dish towel very heavily, and place in a colander.

gently place the dough into the towel and drape the ends over. let the dough proof here until it rises adequately.

and this is the tricky part! in general, this dough will take about 4 hours to proof, depending on the weather. in hot summer weather, it could double in 2-1/2 hrs.

that's enough! in moderately warm weather -- say 70 degrees f. -- it could take 4 hrs. to double. and it might not double; it might rise only 30-50%. and that's enough too!

or you can cover the colander with plastic, pop the puppy in the fridge, and let it proof overnight. hey, whatever works for your schedule.

if you retard the dough in the fridge, let it come up to room temperature on the counter for 1 hr. before you bake it.

since i pre-heat my oven and pizza stone to 475 degrees f. for 45 mins. before i bake, bringing it up to room temperature isn't a problem for me.

once the oven's hot, i line my peel with a piece of baking parchment, gently unmold the loaf onto the peel and check the top crust.

usually it needs another light coat of flour to acheive that attractive country look. so i gently smooth on a little flour with my fingers.

then i slash the dough with a big square, cutting at a slight angle about 1/4-in. deep. i also take a cake pan and toss in 12 ice cubes.

finally, i slide the dough into the oven onto the pizza stone and close the door. i set my timer for 25 min.

at 30 seconds, i mist the top and sides of the oven with water from a plant mister. i repeat the misting at 60 and 120 seconds.

then i slide the cake pan and ice onto the floor of the oven below the pizza stone, and reduce the oven temperature to 450. after that, the loaf is on its own.

bake until the timer beeps. grab your oven mitts, slide the loaf out of the oven, and plunge your instant-read thermometer into the bottom crust.

the loaf's internal temperature should read between 195-205 degrees f. it should also be nicely brown, the color of hazelnut skins.

go ahead and rap on the bottom, which should sound hollow like an old oak door. let the loaf cool on a rack for at least 2 hours.

you really have to resist tearing at the bread immediately; the center of the loaf is still setting up and the bread's flavor will truly improve over this time.

by following this technique, last night's final levain produced the best loaf of the three. it emerged from the oven with lovely spring, beautiful crust, nicely floured top, and pretty slash marks.

really just cookbook-picture perfect. altho' i tried to beat back mr. right, after an hour i gave up!

the loaf was sliced in just 1-1/2 hrs. still, the crumb boasted large, irregular holes, a great moist texture, the sought-after opalescent starch gels, and tremendous wheaty flavor.

a victory! and on this high note, i'm now pleased to announce that scaa consumer members will be meeting for an event on sunday, june 27!

we're going to be meeting for espresso at gimme in brooklyn, then tour the new grading room at the exchange, and finally meet with oren bloostein for a formal cupping at his 58th st. store in manhattan.

this event is limited to 12 people; i already have 9 on my list. that leaves 3 spaces open.

this event is free for consumer members; non-members are welcome at US$20. (since the entry level for c-membership is US$18, it might just be cheaper to join. . .)

if you're interested in attending, please email me pronto. you can use the link below.

posted by fortune | 6:28 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments