For the past two weekends I've embarked upon baking my own bread - something I've never really done before and thought it was about time to get to grips with, so I read a whole bunch of recipes and worked out which was the one for me.
But while results have been extremely tasty and the bread has a fantastic texture and spring to it, I'm not completely satisfied with the shape and the crust on the loaves I've baked - thus I'm wondering where I'm going wrong.
The recipe I'm following is as follows.
500g of strong white bread flour.
10g of fast-acting yeast.
10g of sea salt.
30g of softened butter.
330ml of room-temperature water.
I add just enough water to bring everything together in the bowl then tip out onto a lightly-oiled surface and knead the dough until smooth and stretchy. This is then rested in a lightly-oiled bowl, covered with a tea towel, and left for around 80-minutes until it's at least doubled in size - usually I start working with it when the dough has risen to the height of the bowl.
The dough is then tipped out onto a lightly-floured worktop and knocked back, then formed into a cob shape and placed on a tray lined with baking paper and left to rest until doubled in size.
And it's at this point where things start to go a bit weird.
While the dough forms into a neat little ball and seems to be holding its shape well, over the course of the second prove it spreads out more than up and when baked I end up with a cob that is far wider than it is tall.
This confuses me greatly - is my dough too wet? Have I under-kneaded it? Over-kneaded? Something else?!
Anyway, the dough is then baked in a 210° oven for around 30-minutes and I put a baking tray in the bottom and and fill it with water to create steam. But while this gives me a nice pliable crust, it's never quite as 'rustic' as I'd like it to be. And when I've tried baking without the water in there, the crust is more crunchy but still very, very thin.
Is the water a good idea? Am I using too much or too little? Should I be spraying water onto the bread itself before baking? Is the oven at the right temperature?
I can't overemphasise how much enjoyment making my own bread has brought me in such a short space of time, but while it tastes fantastic I'm really wanting to nail the technique before moving on to other types of loaves.
Any advice or assistance will be gratefully received!
PS. Apologies for lack of photographical evidence of the results - will rectify that this weekend if it helps.
But while results have been extremely tasty and the bread has a fantastic texture and spring to it, I'm not completely satisfied with the shape and the crust on the loaves I've baked - thus I'm wondering where I'm going wrong.
The recipe I'm following is as follows.
500g of strong white bread flour.
10g of fast-acting yeast.
10g of sea salt.
30g of softened butter.
330ml of room-temperature water.
I add just enough water to bring everything together in the bowl then tip out onto a lightly-oiled surface and knead the dough until smooth and stretchy. This is then rested in a lightly-oiled bowl, covered with a tea towel, and left for around 80-minutes until it's at least doubled in size - usually I start working with it when the dough has risen to the height of the bowl.
The dough is then tipped out onto a lightly-floured worktop and knocked back, then formed into a cob shape and placed on a tray lined with baking paper and left to rest until doubled in size.
And it's at this point where things start to go a bit weird.
While the dough forms into a neat little ball and seems to be holding its shape well, over the course of the second prove it spreads out more than up and when baked I end up with a cob that is far wider than it is tall.
This confuses me greatly - is my dough too wet? Have I under-kneaded it? Over-kneaded? Something else?!
Anyway, the dough is then baked in a 210° oven for around 30-minutes and I put a baking tray in the bottom and and fill it with water to create steam. But while this gives me a nice pliable crust, it's never quite as 'rustic' as I'd like it to be. And when I've tried baking without the water in there, the crust is more crunchy but still very, very thin.
Is the water a good idea? Am I using too much or too little? Should I be spraying water onto the bread itself before baking? Is the oven at the right temperature?
I can't overemphasise how much enjoyment making my own bread has brought me in such a short space of time, but while it tastes fantastic I'm really wanting to nail the technique before moving on to other types of loaves.
Any advice or assistance will be gratefully received!
PS. Apologies for lack of photographical evidence of the results - will rectify that this weekend if it helps.
