> It is at this point that I need some advice/confirmation. Most
> cookery
> books have this second rising as 3/4 to 1 hour. I recon that with all this
> time spent beforehand that about 25 mins is enough
This is something that is based on many factors, including amount of
yeast used, temperature, humidity, type of yeast used, ingredients in
recipe (some denser breads take longer to rise), whether you are using
a sponge or sourdough recipe/method, and so on. On a good day
maybe the dough will take 45-60 minutes, but that's only a
"guesstimate"! I tend to look upon time estimates in recipe books as
suggestions based on the author's experiences. There are times when
it takes a much longer or shorter time in my own kitchen. I never go by
the time elapsed, but rather judge the dough itself and whether it has
doubled and passes the "finger punch" test.
>however I often seem to
> get an air hole underneath the crust and can't work out whether it is to
> do with cooking temperatures or whether, after a long rising process, this
> 25mins is far too long. Any help appreciated.
If I understand you correctly, then I think this air hole is due to improper
formation of the loaf rather than rising time, etc. When you're punching
down the dough and shaping the loaf it is important to try and work out
any of the little air bubbles that developed during rising. During the
shaping of the loaf you have to be careful to pinch out any air pockets
and roll things tightly, etc. This is something that is difficult to do
sometimes, and in my experience the only way to get it right is to
practice, practice, practice! Your bread will still taste good even if it is
not "aestheticaly pleasing" with that air hole! ;)
One other thing occurs to me regarding this "air hole" problem, too. It
may be that the loaf is rising for too long a period *after* shaping, just
before it goes in the oven. If this is the case, then there are little air
pockets/bubbles developing in the dough and these get larger the longer
it rises. If you don't let the loaf sit quite so long before it goes in the
oven sometimes this problem can be eliminated or minimized.
> 8/ I start cooking in a hot oven (about 210 C Fan Oven) with water in a
> pan in the bottom. When bread is in the oven is turned down by
about 20
> C. That's about it.
Adding mist or steam to the oven cavity during baking will cause the
crust to be quite crispy, such as the type of crust desired when baking
French baguettes or batards. There are, of course, other types of
breads which use this method as well.
I have a bunch of bread recipes on my Web page
(http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8098/recipes.html), including some
information (and recipes) using the sponge method (one of my favorites
due to the texture and flavor it imparts, especially using sourdough
starter).
I hope some of these suggestions help a bit,
Joan
--
Reply via email to joanm@bigfoot.com
http://www.bigfoot.com/~joanm
Deja News: http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet