Following up the recent discussion about oven thermometers, it was
said that it is difficult to over-bake a bread. The point was made
that it is a good idea to add another five minutes when you think
your bread is done.
I have no problem with the advice when you are working with a basic
recipe - flour, water, salt, poolish, starter, or yeast - and even
with variations such as seeds, various grains, barley malt. I find
the extra five minutes - baking the basic bread at 450 or 460 F - has
a brilliant effect on the crust.
But challah entered the discussion and in my experience you can
over-bake a challah. I think this is due to the use of fats (oil,
butter, etc) and eggs in the recipe, but whatever the cause if you
over-bake you end up with a dry bread. I bake challah perhaps six
times a year so I am not skilled enough to judge from the time and
color, and don't mind the hole made by the instant thermometer. I
don't like dried out challah.
The baguette came up in recent posts. I believe the baguette is an
Italian import to France - though I'm not enough of a food historian
to provide a date. I think it was either the late 19th or early 20th
century. I do remember reading about French purists who objected to
the popularity of the baguette. Perhaps someone who knows more about
the cultural history of bread in France can correct me if I am wrong.
By the way Jews in Poland in the early 1900's sometimes called
challah "rich peoples' bread," probably because it contained eggs and fat.
Stephen Blumm