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Well, That's Not What I Expected

It (that is, the Sourdough Boule recipe from Everything Bread) started off so well. Well, almost "so well". I didn't watch my timing as well as I wanted. Leslie in Everything Bread suggested to let the bread rise for an hour and a half at room temperature "or until the bread doubled in size". So I went off to the community garden for an hour and a half. By the time I got back, the bread had nearly tripled in size, I think! So I punched it down, divided it in two, and rolled it into boules. By that time, we had to go shopping. So I put the two boules on a big plate and put them in the fridge, figuring that would slow things down enough that they'd be about the same size when we got back.

No such luck. When we got back about three hours later, the two loaves had grown together and I had quite a time trying to separate them. By the time they were on the baking sheet, one was much bigger than the other, and they were both flat on one side:

Boule before baking

You might notice there is some butter on top. Putting bread in the fridge always dries out the top, even when I have it covered with a cloth. So I figured butter would soften it some. (I probably should try plastic wrap. I'll do that as soon as we have some in the house.) So then I put the oven up to 475 °F, per the recipe, put the bread in, set the timer for 30 minutes, and left for a quick second trip to the store. When I got back exactly 30 minutes later, the smoke alarm was going off! I took the bread out and it looked like this:

Boule, a little burned on top, right after baking.

Yuck. Well, maybe not so bad. I let it cool, and figured that it might be more decent inside. So I sliced it down the middle.



Herself and I agreed that it was "not quite done in the middle". It really needed to be cooked a bit more. On the other hand, it would have been even more burned on the outside. Is our oven really that hot? Maybe next time I'll try it at 450 for 35 or 40 minutes. Unless someone else has another idea?

God speed, and remember: All sorrows are less with bread.
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Comments

  1. Confused BritJuly 11, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    definately reduce temp and cook for longer.

    I'm afraid I cant work in F so I cant tell you a recommended temp.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Matt GJuly 11, 2011 at 10:54 AM

    Roughly speaking, the recipe asked for 245 C/Gas Mark 9. I'm thinking of reducing to 230 C/Gas Mark 8 and adding 5 or 10 minutes' cook time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MaryJuly 11, 2011 at 4:43 PM

    I would never do a bread at more than 425, and I have no hesitation about playing with time/temp for most recipes anyway :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Matt GJuly 11, 2011 at 8:01 PM

    I'm wondering if it was a typo for 375. I might just try that.

    ReplyDelete

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