San Francisco-style Sourdough Bread two ways

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 19, 2012 - 11:04pm

San Francisco-style Sourdough Bread two ways

Baguettes made with San Francisco Sourdough dough

I do like sourdough baguettes. Since I'd developed a San Francisco-style Sourdough bread I was happy with, I decided to make some baguettes with this dough. I made one kg of dough and shaped half of it as a boule which was retarded overnight before baking. I divided the other half into two 250 g pieces and shaped them as baguettes, proofed them and baked them without retarding at 460 degrees F for 22 minutes. See my recent blog entries for the formula and procedures. (My San Francisco Sourdough Quest, Take 3)

Baguettes on the peel, ready to score and load

Scored baguette, ready to load and bake

Baked baguette, cooling

Baguette crumb

The crust was slightly crunchy and chewy. The crumb was chewy with a nice flavor and a mild sourdough tang. These are definitely worth making again. Next time, I think I'll retard the shaped baguettes and also try baking at a slightly higher temperature to get a darker, crunchier crust.

The boule also turned out nicely, shown here with "a supporting cast" of San Joaquin Sourdough bâtards.

David

Submitted by PiPs on February 19, 2012 - 11:09pm.

Lovely bake David, Your Super

Lovely bake David,

Your Super Peel looks very well loved :) I think your boule turned out a lot better than "nicely" ... looks stunning!

Cheers,
Phil

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 19, 2012 - 11:23pm.

Thanks, Phil!

My Super Peel does get a lot of use, and I do appreciate it.

Thanks for your compliment on the boule. You didn't like the baguettes? ;-)

David

Submitted by PiPs on February 20, 2012 - 4:09am.

Ha Ha, you know, i'm not

Ha Ha, you know, i'm not really a baguette kinda guy :)

I can imagine they're pretty darn good though ...

Phil

Submitted by Mebake on February 20, 2012 - 1:12am.

Very attractive baguettes,

Very attractive baguettes, David. The scores opened perfectly! The color on the baguettes, too, is fabulous.

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 20, 2012 - 12:10pm.

Thanks, Khalid!

David

Submitted by SallyBR on February 20, 2012 - 2:16pm.

Absolute perfection! I have

Absolute perfection!

I have some sourdough baguette dough waiting for me in the fridge, once I get home from work, I'll shape and bake - gotta work on my slashing, yours is so neat!

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 20, 2012 - 2:23pm.

Thanks, Sally!

I am pretty happy with the baguette scoring. I guess my mental mis en place was en place.

David

Submitted by GSnyde on February 20, 2012 - 3:08pm.

Real Purdy!

Nice looking loaves, the skinny and the round both.

Glenn

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 21, 2012 - 12:25pm.

Thanks, Glenn!

To paraphrase our grandmother, "Why would I make ugly bread?"

David

Submitted by ananda on February 20, 2012 - 4:31pm.

Nice

Lovely crumb and scoring on your baguettes, David.

A "Super peel" sounds great!

All good wishes

Andy

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 21, 2012 - 12:28pm.

Thanks, Andy!

I do recommend the Super Peel, especially with the wider extension. It allows me to load my baking stone completely all at once. There are also fewer loading mishaps with it.

David

Submitted by breadsong on February 20, 2012 - 10:41pm.

superb scoring

Hi David,
What beautiful scoring on your baguettes, and boule!
The batards aren't looking too shabby, either.
:^) breadsong

Submitted by sonia101 on February 20, 2012 - 11:37pm.

They look stunning, gosh I

They look stunning, gosh I can almost smell them all the way over here in Australia....I'm drooling!

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 21, 2012 - 12:29pm.

Thanks, sonia!

David

Submitted by Syd on February 21, 2012 - 8:11am.

Nice shaping and scoring of

Nice shaping and scoring of your baguettes David. I have been following your sourdough quest with interest. After bragging somewhere on this forum that all it took was a bit of hot weather and I could turn out a sour loaf, I can't seem to put my money where my mouth is. I am on my third attempt now and I haven't been able to do it, yet. I tried letting my levain ripen for almost 14 hours until the it was really sour. It didn't work. Retarding for 24 didn't work, either. Now I am trying a formula from the Handbook on Dough Fermentations. It starts with a firm starter (50% hydration) which matures for 8 hours. The final dough is made up of 20% starter, 100% white flour, 60% water and 2% salt. It gets a 1 hour bulk ferment and an 8 hour final proof. No mention is made of temperatures. We will see what the final loaf is like, but I have to say after having just tasted the dough when it completed its bulk ferment, I don't hold out much hope. Unless of course some magic happens in the next 8 hours. I think the crucial difference is that I have never used 100% white flour in the past. All of my sour loaves have had some whole grain in them.

Syd

Submitted by FlourChild on February 21, 2012 - 8:39am.

Gorgeous loaves, I especially

Gorgeous loaves, I especially love the look of the crumb on your baguette!

Submitted by sweetbird on February 21, 2012 - 7:20pm.

Gorgeous!

Your baking always inspires me, David, and these gorgeous loaves are something to strive for!

Janie

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 21, 2012 - 9:58pm.

Thanks Syd, FlourChild and Janie!

Syd: A little whole grain flour - rye or wheat - really does enhance the flavor. Rye in the levain seems to increase the acetic acid. Warmer proofing seems to do so also. 76 degrees or so enhances yeast growth. 85 degrees enhances LB activity.

David

Submitted by Yuki-Johan on April 16, 2012 - 4:48am.

i have a question

when the baguettes are rising do i cover them with damp cloth or not? :( i covered them with a damp cloth and it was hard to slash. I really love the slashes on your baguette and wana learn to make slashes like that :)

Submitted by dmsnyder on April 16, 2012 - 8:38am.

Baguette scoring @ Yuki-Johan

I proof my baguettes smooth side down on bakers' linen. They are covered by a fold of the linen couche. When proofed, the baguettes are flipped over on the couche, then onto a transfer peel ("flipping board") and then onto the peel, so they end up with the smooth side up. The couche absorbed some moisture from the baguette surface, making them a bit easier to score.

Baguette scoring is really an advanced technique that takes knowledge and lots of practice. See the TFL Handbook scoring tutorial and watch videos of Ciril Hitz or Jeff Hamelman. (Links provided on request.)

David

Submitted by Yuki-Johan on April 20, 2012 - 3:18am.

thank you

:) I shall watch the videos.

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