07/04/07

Poolish Baguettes Round 2

I am in the midst of trying to master the art of the baguette. Making this simple loaf is extremely challenging. I tried a couple of new things today during the shaping and loading into the oven and this contributed to an improvement in the results. However, my shaping needs to be improved. I did not scale the dough today and that was a mistake as I got loaves ranging from giant grissinis to goliath size baguettes. However, I was happy that at least some of the grignes started to look a little more decent.

The dough was 70% hydration and the total amount of yeast was only 3/8 tsp for a total flour weight of 46 oz. The dough spent most of the time in the fridge while I was at work but it rose beautifully in the fridge. I am able to achieve the desired flavor, crust and crumb texture. The only thing that eludes me now is the shaping and maybe I need to shape a couple of thousand more before I get it right.

The top loaf looks alright( at least for half its length).

The grigne that I was trying to perfect.

The rest of the ugly sisters.

The bastard batard. I am repeating myself since batard means bastard.