tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320677819739454.post6678863053356120043..comments2024-03-09T03:06:38.871-08:00Comments on Tartine Bread Experiment: Bread AmbitionFrancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01123188752355883535noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320677819739454.post-6841695898617696052011-09-06T00:23:59.574-07:002011-09-06T00:23:59.574-07:00Yes, that was one of my beginning loaves, and I di...Yes, that was one of my beginning loaves, and I did not bake it long enough. If you have a look at the loaves that I've done over the past few months, you will see that the crust is much darker, and I now take the temp of my bread before pulling it from the oven (it should be 210+ degrees).<br /><br />Chad's breads do not necessarily overproof, but I think that he leaves it up to you to figure out how to ferment, and at what temperature, and for how long. I have found that it is all dependent upon where you live and the weather there. I live in L.A. at the moment, and I have to use refrigeration for my proof (and partial fermentation time too), or the dough would overproof for sure. When it gets cooler, I will probably ferment at room temp, and maybe toggle proofing with the fridge, again, dependent upon the weather and the flavor that I am looking for in the outcome of my bread. I do like a little tang in my bread, probably more than Chad, so I love employing refrigerated fermentation and proofing.<br /><br />Chad's breads are not easy, I will admit. And the process is long. I just did a rather long post about starters, you may have noticed, and I wrote it partially because I don't use the Tartine Starter. It's sluggish for me. I use my rye starter. It's very dependable, and I encourage novices to have one because of this. For some reason, his starter is difficult. I have read a lot of people having discouraging experiences with it. He also lives in San Francisco, and bakes bread round the clock, so his access to better flours blows anything we have out of the water and the wild yeasts in his restaurant are going to quickly enliven any starters that he makes (lucky neighbors, they can make starters very easily because of his output). I can make a starter that will 'bloom' in a day now, because I bake so much and have so much wild yeast in my environment, so, his starter might actually work for me now, but that was not always the case.<br /><br />YES, use filtered water for your bread. Tap is a no-no. I've learned this through experience. Too much chlorine. For a new starter, bottled water is advised. If you are having overproofing issues, try refrigeration. I've written a lot about that. I am also posting what came out to be my best looking and tasting breads to date this week, so be sure to check back. I am giving detailed instructions on how it was made, down to the minute. It's not one of Chad's loaves, it's my own that is birthed from the education that I derived from his book and a lot of others out there, as well as the empirical experience that I have from baking regularly.<br /><br />In terms of time table, yes, I follow my own rules. As I just explained. Use his as a place to start, then work from that. If you are getting dense spots, you are simply underbaking. Leave that bread in the oven until it is the color of a chestnut. Don't be afraid. It is very, very hard to dry bread out. And I do not bake at 475, it's too hot, for my bread anyway. I start the loaves at 550, and immediately turn the oven down to 450. This allows the interior to bake properly and the color of the loaves to deepen. 475 was burning the bottoms of my bread before it was done. 25 degrees makes a big difference.<br /><br />Keep following my posts, because I really do create them so that people can learn from my experiences with Tartine's breads. This week I'm so pleased to present these lovely loaves, batch 2 of some that I've been working on, and I would love to share the formula and my experience with everyone. It is essentially the bread that I was looking for when I first started this trek.<br /><br />Don't hesitate to contact me again if you need help. I'm happy to tell you what I've learned thus far. Or, you can just follow my blog!<br /><br />- FrankieFrankiehttp://tartine-bread.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320677819739454.post-33857048569402168872011-09-05T21:00:53.568-07:002011-09-05T21:00:53.568-07:00I just stumbled across your blog and was impressed...I just stumbled across your blog and was impressed by your attention to detail while documenting your bread making. Last spring I attempted to bake the tartine loaf several times but couldn't quite get it. I thought it might be my use of tap water (I'm not sure what water here in Montreal is like) I'm going to take your advice about the spring water and give it another go. But I was curious about the crumb of your rye bread. On the outside it looks beautiful and seemed to spring wonderfully. However I noticed in the photo of the crumb that you are getting some dense overly moist areas amongst the larger airy holes. At least that's what it looks like...(I might be wrong). I had a similar issue with density/raw areas in my tartine breads. Were you able to eventually overcome this and what changes did you have to make? I know there are so many variables.... A lot of what I read in forums about the tartine bread recipe is that Chad allows too much proof time so bread can be over proofed. Have you made any major adjustments rto his timetable over the course of your experimentation?Eating for the Rest of Ushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04370860383240551618noreply@blogger.com