Baking day!

Why I bake...

First of let me tell you why I started baking.
After moving from Argentina sixteen years ago, we discovered that was really hard to find good artisan fresh bread around.
We were used to walk no more than two blocks in order to find a decent loaf of French bread.
So we decided to start baking our own one.
I had some experience making pizza dough and this is not too far away from the regular long shaped bread.
Few years later, after customers got tired of our gourmet jellies, we decided to bake for sale at the farmers market.
To be more precise, Sandra started baking but she wasn't too excited with the idea.
I wanted to make the things right and bought Emily Buehler book: "Bread Science: The Chemistry and Craft of Making Bread" (a must have if you want to learn to bake)
Awesome book that taught me the basics (maybe more than that) and helped me with the decision of baking.
My bread was well received by the people and I kept baking....a lot!
Years passed and we decided to make a living making cheese but that will be another post.
I started with French, then specialties like Parmesan cheese and Onions bread, then some pastry, croissants, pan de leche and more!

French bread is the less "complicated" to make so I decided to share this recipe with you.

Very little history...

The history of the bread in France is huge and this blog does not pretend to be a history blog.

Anyway, I could tell you that the price of the bread in France was regulated by the government for decades (or centuries?) in order to keep it available for everybody but when the price was released, the bakers kept the pain ordinaire fixed; that national French laws dictate that French bread should contents just the four basic ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast; that the increase of the bread price (among other things, of course) could be a cause of the French Revolution; that during WWII the French government imposed a regulation making the bakers to use the whole wheat kernel in order to consume less grain, etc., etc.

Like I said, French bread history is vast and exciting so, if you are interested, check out the books list (coming soon).

Baking once a week...

Recipe...

Ok, let's go with the recipe but first let me tell you that this is a"once a week" bread so I will use regular yeast. Otherwise, with more time, I would make a poolish or use a piece of yesterday's dough.

yields 6 ficelles of 290 grs.
Ingredients:


         1000 gr. organic unbleached bread flour
           700 gr. water (I like to use at least 70% hydration)
             30 gr. kosher salt
               5 gr. yeast (instant yeast)


As you can see, the ingredients are the same used in bialys dough but the process will be totally different and this way to handle the dough will develop a totally different flavor.

1st. step - Autolyse

In a big bowl (or your mixer bowl) combine the flour with the water. Leave it covered with a wet kitchen towel for one hour. In this part of the process, the flour will absorb the water and the gluten strand will start to develop. This will make your kneading easier and shorter. With a shorter kneading you will incorporate less oxygen to the dough. Thus, will be less oxidation in your final product.

2nd. step - Kneading

Remove from the bowl, add the yeast and start kneading on a floured work surface for a minute. Add the salt and continue kneading  for 5 to 7 more minutes. If you are using your mixer add the yeast, use your hook attachment and knead for 30 secs. Add the salt and knead for 3 to 4 minutes in medium speed. The dough should be a  beautiful and soft ball which temperature should be 77 - 78 F.
Let the dough repose for 15 minutes move to:

3rd. step - Turning or Folding

The dough will look relaxed.



In a flour surface, turn down the dough and, at 3 and 9 o'clock (in an imaginary clock) pull it up



and fold it in. Rotate the folded dough 90 degrees and do the "pull and fold" thing again.
Then turn the dough down and fold the corners under.



 After your dough looks smooth and nice, put it in a oiled bowl and



cover it with a plastic bag (I have a proofing cabinet but the bowl with the plastic will work nicely). Leave it fermenting (1st. fermentation) for an hour and a half in a warm place.

4th step - Fermentation

Do nothing, just wait. Get a cup of coffee or tea.

5th step - Scaling and Shaping

I like to weight my breads so all will bake in the same time. Punch down your dough and divide it in sixths.



Wait for 10 minutes and roll them into balls. Cover them with a plastic bag and forget about them for another 1/2 hour.



  Take each ball and flat them leaving them as an oval flat piece of dough. Take its upper third and fold it in pressing with your fingers as show it in the pic above.



Again, fold in the upper part and now press it with the hand knee. This will leave a longitudinal groove.



Now, make the top meet the bottom and press all the way with your hand knee. Be sure that the seam seals all the way. To add strength to your ficelles, place them on a firm surface (table or countertop) and using your hands push and pull (not rolling, please) using the friction between the dough and the table. This work will make the ficelles longer and stronger. Now, if you need to make them longer, you can roll it a little.



Accommodate the ficelles on floured kitchen towels with the seam up. Cover it with another floured kitchen towel and leave it for another hour in a warm place.

6th step - 2nd Fermentation

30 minutes before the end of the fermentation, set your oven at 425 degrees and put a cast iron pan on the bottom (I'll explain later).

7th step - Slashing and Baking




Using a peel or a little cooking sheet take the ficelles and proceed with the slashing step.
Using a lame, razor blades or a serrated knife (like in the example) and positioning the knife at 30 degrees make a series of diagonal cuts as shown.
If you are using a baking stone, use your peel to accommodate the ficelles on it.
In order to recreate that crust you can find in the bread from bakeries, pour a cup of water in the heated pan. This will create steam that will do the "crust - making" job.
Bake them for 18 - 20 minutes, remove from oven and let them cool on wire racks.



8th and last step - Enjoy it!

If you try the recipe and like it, please let me know!

Farmer Fabian