Rise to me: The Bread Thread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Rise to me: The Bread Thread

Xarb: Nov 26, 2000; Not happy.

That looks amazing.

What makes it so light and hole-y in the inside?

My staple bread is the no-knead bread from the no-knead thread which I love but it always comes out really dense.

I think that is part of the style but I do need to refine my 2nd rise time.

I tried to make a challah that was posted earlier in the thread hoping for some light-fluffyness but that didn't really turn out either.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2012 23:49

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# ¿ Apr 16, 2024 16:13

Xarb: Nov 26, 2000; Not happy.

Ah higher hydration makes sense, I should have guessed that as my lightest bread was some turkish bread I made a few weeks back and that was very sticky.

therattle posted:

Glad you're enjoying the no-knead, sorry it's dense. I don't find it so, so yeah, proper rising times and more water should help.

No knead(heh) to apologise, I didn't mean it in a bad way although I can see how my wording would lend to that impression. I actually like the density of it which is why I have kept going back to the recipe. I just want to expand my bread-making repertoire to other lighter/fluffier breads.

The Doctor posted:

Ironically, this loaf is actually much less airy than it should be because of the heavy flour, it's this airy because it's high hydration, and I believe using a pre-ferment might have something to do with it? Basically you make half the recipe the night before and it ferments and gets very bubbly in the fridge. It also doesn't get kneaded because it's so wet, it borders on being a batter and simply gets stretched and folded.

http://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/recipe-for-80-hydration-baguette/ Have a look at the air holes in the cross section on this page!

Craziness. I've been meaning to try Baguettes for ages. I think this will inspire me to do it sooner rather than later.

# ¿ Dec 4, 2012 03:00

Xarb: Nov 26, 2000; Not happy.

How do you all store your bread?

I'm never sure weather to put it in a container, plastic bag or get a bread bin.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2013 02:00

Xarb: Nov 26, 2000; Not happy.

Party Plane Jones posted:

From the Bread Baker's Apprentice:

Ah that's great, thanks. I might have to reconsider buying that book. I almost did but read a review saying it only has measurements in the Imperial system. I'm not sure I could be bothered converting all the recipes to metric.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2013 02:31

Xarb: Nov 26, 2000; Not happy.

My standard loaf has 70% hydration and turns out great.

I find once I get closer to 80% I start having trouble with getting it to hold its loafy shape on the second rise.

For anyone that hasn't tried it I highly recommend making some bread using the french slap method. This video was posted in this thread ages ago but some people may not have tried it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOjSp5_YiF0

It has changed my bread making. It makes the inside so light and fluffy, while still getting the great crust on the outside.

One thing I have never quite got the hang of is my second rise. Whether my 70% french slap bread, or the no-knead recipe from the OP, if after shaping I leave my bread for more than 20 minutes or so I get a really poor oven rise. If I do the poke test after shaping it almost immediately leaves a little bit of a dent.

I've read people leaving their bread from an hour to 1 1/2 hours before putting in the oven, if I do this it just comes out flatter than I would like. Still I feel like I should be leaving my bread for a second rise for longer - 20 minutes doesn't seem like long enough.

Could it be the flour or water I use? I've used a few different shaping techniques so I don't think that is the problem.

# ¿ Nov 26, 2013 00:12

Xarb: Nov 26, 2000; Not happy.

Thumposaurus posted:

Described this earlier in the thread but you should be able to gently push in on the loaf and have it not spring back much at all when it's ready to go in the oven.

This is still baffling me. After my first rise (I usually do a 70% hydration all white-flour loaf) I knock it back, shape it and then immediately do the poke test. Even though it hasn't had a chance to do its second rise the dimple already doesn't spring back.

I thought maybe it needs a little bit of time to get going but nope, over the course of half an hour I keep poking it and it is always in the "ready to bake" or "overproofed" stage.

If I put it in the oven not long after I have shaped it I get a decent oven-spring (not amazing though) and an ok crumb. If I leave it for 30mins - 1hour it not only loses some of its shape, it also doesn't get much oven-spring at all.

What am I doing wrong?

# ¿ Mar 5, 2014 02:44

Xarb: Nov 26, 2000; Not happy.

dedian posted:

When you're shaping the final loaf, are you making sure to get adequate surface tension (it should seem taut). Also, when you say "knock it back", you're not completely de-gassing the dough, right?

Yes I think my shaping is ok, basically I scrap it out of the bowl and will either do an envelope fold a few times or kind of get it into a ball shape similar to how Thumposaurus mentions above. Could I be over-shaping it and cause it to lose too much gas?

Rurutia posted:

It honestly sounds like you didn't knead it enough. Or if you're doing no knead, it hadn't sat for long enough.

You could be on to something here. My go-to loaf these days uses the "French-Slap" method for kneading and I have to admit my dough doesn't get quite as smooth as Richard Bertinet's does in his video. I'll try kneading more tonight and see how I go.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2014 00:27

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# ¿ Apr 16, 2024 16:13

Xarb: Nov 26, 2000; Not happy.

dedian posted:

Edit: After looking at your previous posts and I wrote too many - maybe it was just the first ferment went too long..

It is still a good write up, as someone who is still getting to grips with bread-making posts like this are really helpful.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2014 01:36

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