So, I had tons of "prep" pictures for this bread. Until I realized that I didn't have a memory card in my camera. Ooops!Anyway, I was pretty nervous going into this bread. I was concerned about getting the crispy crust, the moist crumb - in short, getting artisian bread out of my little home-oven. But that's what this challenge is all about, right?
This dough starts with a pre-ferment. I used the pate fermentee, so Friday I mixed up a basic dough - flour, salt, yeast and water. After a rise, I popped it into the refrigerator. After that, you can use it anytime in the next three days. I waited two.
First, you let the pate fermentee warm up a bit. Then it needs to be cut into small pieces so that it can be incorporated into the final dough more easily. To the pate fermentee, I added more flour, salt, water and yeast, mixing it into a ball. Mine was fairly dry so I had to add more water. Then it was time to knead. And knead. And knead. After 20 minutes, my dough was smooth, tacky but not sticky, but still nowhere near passing the windowpane test. Eventually, I gave up and set it to rise.
The dough doubled in an hour. Following instructions, I gently degassed it and let it double again, about another hour. The dough is then cut in three, careful to degass as little as possible, and shaped into batards, which are sort of rough torpedo shapes. Then I let them rest for a few minutes before shaping them into baguettes - long and skinny. I let them proof for another hour in their little couches before popping them onto the very hot cookie sheet that I use since I am still lacking a stone.
They came out beautiful, with a lovely crunchy crust. The color could be better, I suppose, but since it's the best I've ever gotten, I'm not complaining!
The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread
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