Yesterday I made the dough I planned on. I did a 70% hydration dough just like I did in my first solo attempt but this time I kneaded it. OK. The stand mixer kneaded it. But that doesn’t matter. I finally got the dough I was looking for.
This morning I got up and baked it. I put it in the 450°F/230°C oven for 35 minutes on a baking sheet and let it bake.
My hope was that kneading it would build up the gluten and help it rise up. Nope. If anything I think it spread out even more. To be fair I might want to retry both methods and bake it the way I did the goof – put it in a hot cast iron skillet at a higher initial temperature. Or a pizza stone (the new one arrived yesterday!) I’m not sure if I want to try this or try something completely different. Leave a comment and let me know what you’d like to see me try.
Fast forward a few hours. I cut into the loaf and see a crumb that looks familiar. I tried the bread with just some butter and was happy with the level of sourness (a little less than I like but what the rest of my family prefers.) I was not so happy with the crumb. Just like the previous attempt this was a denser bread than I wanted. I’m wondering if I can get the bread I want at this hydration level. Maybe I’ll drop to a lower hydration until I can get bread flour again – the AP flour I’ve been using might not be up for the task.
My Baking Adventures 