The Staff of Life

Its finished and I’m happy with it.  Here are some more pics.

Still notsure about the banneton.

I used a banneton for this boulé.  A banneton is a proofing (rising) basket.  As the bread rises, it takes on the shape of the banneton.  This one just made the bread look lumpy and made the surface of the dough too dry.  I need a good basket and a little practice, then maybe I’ll use it more often.

The Setup.

This is my oven setup.  The oven was preheated to 500 degrees for 45 minutes.  There’s a baking stone under the bread that you can’t see, it has been in the oven throughout the preheating along with the empty loaf pan in the upper right corner.  The bread is on parchment that has been floured lightly with bread flour and polenta (rough cut corn meal).

I placed the bread with parchment directly on the baking stone, poured a cup of water in the loaf pan, sprayed the top of the bread with a little water, then emptied the squirt bottle onto the sides and bottom of the oven to create steam.  I set the timer on the oven for 2 minutes.  After 2 minutes I sprayed more water on the bread, the sides of the oven, and the bottom of the oven.  I set the timer for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes I repeated the spraying process.  I then turned the oven down to 450 degrees and set the timer for 15 minutes.   After 15 minutes I took the bread out and placed it on a cooling rack.  No eating for at least 30 minutes, the bread needs to rest.

I put the water in the loaf pan and spray the sides of the oven to create steam.  This steam collects on the surface of the dough and allows it to expand more in the oven.  It also creates a perfectly crunchy, golden crust.

Rustic.

I didn’t get the crumb (texture) I wanted out of it.  I’d like a more open crumb with bigger holes, but I used whole wheat flour for 1/3 of the flour.  This is always going to make a more dense bread.  Thats where the rustic part comes in, apparently when you use whole wheat flour it’s rustic.

As I said before, I began this bread on April 11 and finally finished it this morning.  It is 100% wild yeast harvested from the air, the flour, and some raisins.  It is among the best bread I have ever made.  Maybe I’ll start selling it soon.