Question 1:
Recently I made my own Tavolini type bread board (see the KA Bakers
Catalog). My board is sanded smooth and flat but is unfinished. The dough
does not handle as well as it would handle on a commercial board or table.
It surely handled better on such surfaces I have had the opportunity to
use. Does anyone know what the finish used on those commercial bread
shaping surfaces is? I wish to improve the dough handling on my board with
a proper finish.
Question 2:
Our local newspaper recently printed 2 recipes for bread baked daily in
one of our very popular restaurants. The recipes specified 6 quarts of
water and "about 9 pounds of flour". That is more weight of water than
flour and should, in my mind, make a useless slurry. The restaurant
insists the recipe as printed was correct. It seems to me 19 to 20 pounds
of flour might make a useful dough.
Somewhere on the Internet I recently saw an article that discussed the
proper amount of water. I do not recall where I saw this and do not recall
with certainty the ratio. I think the weight of water was around 70% of
the weight of flour. Can someone cast some light on this?
I have a video on bread making made by a professional baker. The recipe
he used to make dough by hand called for 1 1/2 quarts water and 5 pounds
flour. That is 60% water by weight. This mix made what appeared to be a
nice workable dough. Is this a good ratio to use in general? Should the
ratio change for other than white flour? I realize the moisture content of
the flour must be considered. This would modify the amount of water
actually required. 60% seems like a good place to start.
In the same video bread made using a 60 quart Hobart machine used 62%
water weight, per the recipe, for the required amount of water. This is
not far from 60%, so 60 to 62% may well be the answer to my question. I
would appreciate comments from anyone who cares to make them.
TIA to anyone who can help.
Jack Elliott