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Warning: Bread related content..... My first attempt at the "batard" shape

mpgandfun

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This is the result of my first attempt at a batard. Looks like I had my oven too cool (even though I set it 25F higher than normal).
It still tastes good, but I'm shooting for more oven spring and edge curling. Muuuuch better than store bought crapola!

batard1.jpg
 
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I love fresh bread. I'll eat it without butter or add some of that cinnamon butter spread. Good stuff.
 
Recipe please?

I cheated a little with this loaf, I made a "starter" to jump start the fermentation of the dough.

The starter:
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cup warm milk
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

20 minutes of fermenting should be plenty of time to allow the starter to get crankin'.
It will probably triple or quadruple in volume so pick a container big enough to handle it.

Right after you mix the starter ingredients (and begin waiting the 20 minutes), in a separate bowl,
mix the main dough:

Put this in your bowl first: 250 grams of tepid (75-78 degrees F) water
And then add the rest:
440 grams of all purpose flour
30 grams of whole wheat flour
30 grams of rye flour

Stir the main dough until the water is mostly absorbed. It won't be smooth & will be somewhat
dry and clumpy and will have stir marks in it. Cover this and let it sit for the same time slot your starter
is fermenting.

After the starter and main dough have spent 20 minutes of doing their thing, add the starter to the main dough
along with 10 grams of salt. Combine the two in a bowl and then put on a counter top & knead for 8-10 minutes. You will need
to add some flour, a few tablespoons at a time, to make it "workable" and not stick to your hands during the kneading process.
Put your complete dough in a lightly oiled bowl & cover with plastic and allow it to ferment for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

After your dough has fermented, shape it into a batard, boule, or whatever you'd like.
Now is a good time to start the preheating of your oven to 450 degrees F. While your oven is heating up, let your shaped loaf sit
covered with plastic on an ungreased cookie sheet to proof for 45 minutes. After my loaf proofed, I put a couple tablespoons of
all purpose flour on top of it and spread it around the top of the loaf with the palm of my hand. Immediately after coating it with
flour, I made the slashing down the center of the loaf with a sharp razor. 1/2" deep with the blade or so is enough. A little more
won't hurt a thing and will give you more of the opening you can see in my pic. After slashing your loaf, get it into your preheated oven.

I baked mine it at 450F for about 25 - 30 minutes. Ovens vary in heat, so look for the hazelnut brown color on the outside to tell when it is done.
Take it out of the oven and let it cool for a half hour or so. The outside will have a very crispy crust right when it comes out of the oven. Letting it sit for a while will let
moisture from the inside of the loaf work it's way to the crust and soften it up, more like breads you buy at the store.

One last step: Slather a slice up with butter and keep people away!
In this instance, just kidding. I took this loaf to work with some butter and shared it.
 
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nom nom nom :D

I had to Google batard, I can't say I recall ever coming across this wee beastie before.

All of a sudden I crave olive bread. *stomach growls*

I will have to dust off my bread machine now, darn it. I know that will most likely cause someone who hand makes their own exotic foodstuffs cringe, but I'm afraid that's the closest I will ever come to domesticity and setting foot in the kitchen to actually "bake" anything, hee hee. (unless thawing out a Safeway frozen Lasagna, or drying out wet motorcycle rain gloves in the oven counts, lol)
 
Looks great..
Will give it a try....
I use to kayak with someone who made "artisan" bread on the trips... This looks similar...

In the old, old days of wood fire heated brick stoves the bread would come out a little black and hard on the bottom....the light and fluffy upper portion, or "upper crust" was cut off and was sent upstairs to the masters and the bottom part given to the the kitchen staff and labourers....
 
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