Bread - What are you baking today…..

[Chap]

Out of the oven this minute… that smell

[ROman]

I think I can smell it in North Carolina.

[Giles]

At the beginning of the pandemic, when I started seriously trying to make decent bread.  I bought 500gms of dried yeast.

I gave a lot of it way (for a period last Spring/Summer, yeast was impossible to buy in UK). 11 months down the road, I thought that it may be getting a tad stale, so I chucked what remained away and bought a new lot…

I am making my first loaf (Poolish) with it today.  The difference in the smell and the composition of the dough is like chalk and cheese.  I actually cant really believe it.

[Giles]

Poolish with new yeast.

Unscientific observation - The volume looks larger than with the old yeast….

[neph93]

Lovely split! Weather looks nice too

[Chap]

Perfect shape

[Giles]

[neph93]

Looks very good.

I’m quite enjoying my baking steel but there is something about the way it conducts heat that means the loaves aren’t splitting. I miss that aesthetic. I’ll be doing sourdough on Sunday for the first time, so we’ll what occurs them.

[Chap]

Yep… I know it’s just the look, but I hate it, when my bread doesn’t split

[neph93]

@Chap:

Yep… I know it’s just the look, but I hate it, when my bread doesn’t split

There is a baker in Oslo who uses steel exactly because of this. She does beautiful things with the even canvas though:

[Chap]

Yes that’s amazing… have seen some of those bread artists on Instagram. I wonder how their dough balls keep the shape while they make patterns. Mine would turn into a pita bread

[neph93]

@Chap:

I wonder how their dough balls keep the shape while they make patterns. Mine would turn into a pita bread

That is where the baking steel comes in. The rise is even and long lasting.

[Giles]

Yeah, but you don't take the dough out of the proofing basket and put it on the steel to score (do you?).  I think that is Jens's point, when it is inverted it needs to get into the oven quickly otherwise the proofed dough tends to 1 molecule thick - at least mine does

[neph93]

That is what they do. It goes from the basket onto either the peel or the Lazy Susan (useful for complex patterns), then onto the steel in the oven. The doughs deflate meaningfully, but the steel creates a long even oven spring.

When I started using the steel I was scared to death when my dough went in the oven as it had deflated so much. The height tripled every time.

The spring had already started on these:

And they turned into these:

[Chap]

Cool that’s interesting… so it’s all about the steel. A pizza stone won’t work, right? Will we see some patterned loaves soon? You can probably start with an easy wabash and then some crazy checks?

[neph93]

@Chap:

Cool that’s interesting… so it’s all about the steel. A pizza stone won’t work, right? Will we see some patterned loaves soon? You can probably start with an easy wabash and then some crazy checks?

Haha… I’m tempted to have a go at some patterns. But I’m also tempted to go back to baking without the steel if it my sourdough fails to split tomorrow.

The advantage with a steel over a stone is that in standard electric ovens the steel gets much hotter, much quicker.

[Giles]

As long as a put the dough in the proofing basket (though I have started using a bowl and a floured tea towel) seam-side down, I always get a split whether I use a stone or a Dutch oven….

[Chap]

@neph93:

@Chap:

Cool that’s interesting… so it’s all about the steel. A pizza stone won’t work, right? Will we see some patterned loaves soon? You can probably start with an easy wabash and then some crazy checks?

Haha… I’m tempted to have a go at some patterns. But I’m also tempted to go back to baking without the steel if it my sourdough fails to split tomorrow.

The advantage with a steel over a stone is that in standard electric ovens the steel gets much hotter, much quicker.

I see… therefore the steel should be a good option for pizza too... with bread I will stay with my cast iron pot for the moment

[neph93]

@Giles:

As long as a put the dough in the proofing basket (though I have started using a bowl and a floured tea towel) seam-side down, I always get a split whether I use a stone or a Dutch oven….

That is the weird thing. Before the baking steel I was the same, and that was baking on a regular oven tray that wasn’t even pre-warmed. I was using foil hats however, to keep the steam in, which is a non-starter with the steel, so maybe that was this difference.

[neph93]

@Chap:

I see… therefore the steel should be a good option for pizza too... with bread I will stay with my cast iron pot for the moment

I think pizza is the best use for the steels. I’ll be making some tomorrow so I’ll let you know how it goes.

I have the steel because the wife bought it for me. When we move into our new house I am investing in some cast iron pots.