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π Two Loaves: One puffy, one square. Both delicious.
A Look at My Troubled Bake and How I Pivoted (Several Times). |
This week, I made a favorite at The Perfect Loaf: Pain de Mie. It's a soft, slightly sweet pan loaf that's always beautiful. β But I made a huge mistake before I began and didn't know it. β I've made this bread countless times. My kids love it, I love it, and it makes the perfect sandwich bread and buttered toast. β I mixed the levain, mixed the dough, and had it in bulk fermentation. But after four hours, it was still tight and hadn't risen significantly. β So, I checked my notes (you're taking notes, right?). The first thing I looked for was the Final Dough Temperature (FDT)βit was perfect, right at 78Β°F (26Β°C). β A low FDT is almost always the cause for a sluggish dough that doesn't rise, stays tight, and doesn't pass my "jiggle test" (when shaken, the dough should jiggle at the end of bulk fermentation). β With a correct FDT, I looked deeper and found it. Oddly, my spreadsheet was incorrect. It called for only 16% levain (leaven) instead of the usual 19.5%βa significant difference. β Because of the small levain, the dough was not where it should have been by the end of bulk fermentation. It needed more fermentation time. But how much? Instinctively, I decided on one hour. So, I set a timer and covered the dough. β After an hour, it had risen and looked more alive, but it still felt tight. So, I set another timer for 30 minutes. Finally, after 5 hours and 30 minutes, it was ready. β I tell you, this bake was a series of pivots, and when it came to shaping, things were no different. β I reached for my two 9x4" Pullman Pans and noticed one was missing. (Only later did I discover my kids had stolen the pan and used it as a "Lego Safe." I get it; the lid does snap on quite tight!) β So, I used a standard loaf pan for one of the doughs, smaller than my Pullman. I mean, I'm not angry at the results! The one on the left, we'll call it The Big Dough in the Small Pan, was topped with an egg wash. The one on the right, I used the lid for a perfectly square loaf. β The interior was lovely, with a beautiful structure. And perhaps most importantly, both were delicious. β With baking, it's rare things follow a playbook exactly. It requires an agile approach. Temperatures are seldom the same. Sometimes, your starter isn't used at exactly the right time, or in my case here, a spreadsheet was wrong, and a pan missing. β Go with the flow. Draw on your experience and ask questions along the way. You might surprise yourself. Some of my best bakes have been those where I thought the dough was doomed but stuck with it. β β In this week's newsletter:
π Recipe: Pain de MieNow it's your turn to make this delicious pan loaf. Just be sure you have your pans ready and out of children's reach π
β π Guide: What is diastatic malt powder?Wondering what diastatic and non-diastatic malt are? Are you struggling to get deeply colored, crunchy loaves? Diastatic malt may be your answer. β In Rebecca's first guide, she dives into:
β And much more.
π¬ Member Discussion of the WeekIn my baking, I am folding, coiling, and scoring with vigor. However, when I bake my boule, the bottom is doughy. It's brown and hollow sounding, and I follow all recipe instructions: 500F for 20 minutes and 450F with no lid for 20 minutes. Suggestions? It sounds like you need to bake longer. I would preheat to 450F and leave the temperature there. Bake for 20m at 450F, vent the steam, then bake for 30-40 min more at 450F. The internal temp of your dough should be around 204F for a free-form loaf. ππΌ Come Talk BreadProblems like the ones I faced in this newsletter are exactly the topics we discuss daily in the member's chat. Come join the community and get access to our private chat and forum, recipe archives, recorded and live sessions, and all my baking spreadsheets & tools.
π What I'm Reading and Watching
π 2 Ways I Can Help You This Week
β β β Happy baking! β Maurizio Leo β P.S. I used my Pain de Mie (instead of my shokupan) for pizza toast (scroll down a bit), and it was sublime π |
The Perfect Loaf π
Want to make bakery-quality sourdough bread from home? Subscribe for the best sourdough guides and recipes to take your bread from ordinary to incredible.
Store your starter for vacation, hamburger buns & more! Hello, bread-making friends! As summer vacations approach, I wanted to share my trusted method for putting your sourdough starter into "hibernation" mode during your travelsβand then waking it back up when you return. The process is super simple. With minimal adjustments to your routine, your refrigerator becomes a temporary home for your starter, where it can patiently wait until you're ready to bake again. Once you're back, just a few...
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Crusty loaves and fruit galettes (or pies) This past week, I've been baking with a variety of grains in testing: whole spelt, sifted durum, and a high-extraction wheat. This recipe isn't quite ready for prime time just yet. I want to try a more slender shape and pronounced tipsβalmost like a demi-baguette, but not quite that far. But, I'm super happy with the flour blendβspelt and durum work super well together, it's no wonder they're two widely used grains out in Italy! Check them out: I...