In an earlier tip, I wrote about the heat factor of getting consistency in the baking result. This one is in the same topic area, only more focused towards the importance of steam during the bake.
Perhaps a lot of you already bake, or have baked, inside a clay pot or cast iron/enameled casserole (or the genius combo cooker). If you’re struggling in getting wanted results, and have deviated from this way of baking bread, you should return to it. Basically you’re eliminating the important steam factor as a source to the irregularities, should your vessel hold it well. The water being released from the dough gets trapped inside, creating a great environment for the dough to rise and the crust to develop. After about 20-25 minutes the lid is removed, steam vented and you put I back in for another 10-20 minutes, or until you’re happy with the crust.
And also, try different styles of these so called “Dutch Ovens” to find the one that gives you the result you’re looking for – and the stick to it, cause it’s likely to keep delivering.
It’s hard to add just the right amount of steam whilst baking on a stone or steel, and that’s why using this method fits the top 10.
Oh, and another tip while at it – if you’re experiencing the bottom getting too thick or burnt (or both), you can safely remove the half baked loaf from the DO using a peel at the lid removal part. And then just place it on the oven rack, removing the DO from the oven.
The videos in this post shows a 50% whole wheat loaf (rather over proofed) being scored inside a combo cooker and then the release of the steam at around 25 minutes.
By adding a paste made from 1 part wheat flour and 5 parts water (or milk) to your standard enriched burger bun dough, you’ll be getting a very fluffy bun, that holds longer before going dry.
Heat the paste to 65 degrees Celsius and add it to the liquid of the dough basically. You could let it cool quite a bit before adding it too, not to tenper too much with the final dough temp. A dough enriched with butter won’t like getting too hot at the start!
I use roughly 25-30% Tang Zhong in relation to total flour weight, seems good enough.
Also, as stated in earlier tips, time (with a risk of getting repetitive) is of most importance to ensure consistency in the final result. Let it rise for a long time using low amounts of sourdough/yeast (I like seeing it doubled at least after shaped as buns) and you will be rewarded.
The video on this post shows you just how tender and light this buns is.
I’ve basically been having a dough rising every day during the last years. Most often in a bowl or a box, and if not; in my thoughts. Along with the coming week’s posts I will share 10 of the most valuable insights I’ve had that’s lead to more consistent result in baking high quality, beautiful goods from home (in no particular order). Would love it if you comment or DM with questions, I always do my best to answer!
Optimize radiation heat transfer by maxing heat settings a good 2 hours+ before baking. This series is about finding consistency in baking great results at home, and the heat transfer to your dough is a key element to this.
There are three types of heat affecting your dough.
1. Convection (the hot air around the doigh).
2. Conduction (transfer from one medium to another)
3. Radiation.
The first two peaks quite quickly. The last one comes from the oven walls, ceiling and bottom, from the mass of the oven (metal and other parts). The longer you’re heating up this mass, the more it will radiate to the other mass inside the oven (to a point of course).
Higher heat mass equals to greater potential in the rise of the baked goods.
If you’re worried about the climate affects, make sure you’re supplying from a green source if possible. Also I’m quite positive that baking your own bread affects the environment less than buying it as the final product in an industrial process.
The loaf featured from today’s bake shows you a very pleasing oven spring after the double cut score. 33% whole meal wheat at 81% hydration. Baked on a steel with steam added.
And a little reminder – I’m not saying you have to do this to bake good bread, not at all! This is a way to eliminate heat radiation as a factor when it comes to finding what brings your results to an even higher consistency, should you not be happy with it today 😀.
Here in Sweden most recipes for Cinnamon/Cardamom buns that you find in books or baking blogs will tell you to use a rather high amount of commercial yeast, that boosts the fermentation timings. This next tip is a very basic one; Lower the amounts of yeast drastically and let time create consistency for you! Just make sure you keep it a bit cooler so the butter wont go bad/leaky!
It might not sound very revolutionary to increase fermentation, but if you haven’t tried any type of enriched dough (added fat and sugar etc) that’s been siting for an extended period of time, you’ll definitely notice a difference in taste, texture and overall stomach sensation when you do. This is definitely my experience and once I started to lower the yeast and sourdough starter to a fraction of what I used to; the baked buns just kept being the best ones I made so far! A lot of people out there still thinks that long fermentation is for loaves of bread only.
In a dough with about 1000g of flour, I now use 3-4g fresh yeast (that’s 1g dry yeast equivalent) and about 40-50g sourdough starter (or just skip the fresh yeast entirely and increase the starter to 100g – and get a different texture in the finished buns). In a normal room temp environment, the dough will be ready for baking in about 10-12 hours.
In my experience, a dough with a lot of butter (and other enrichment) will either need a lot of mechanical force to come together in to a silky smooth one, or a lot of time. The later alternative can make the most hopeless feeling dough in to a pleasure to work with! I mix the dough in the morning, and shape it into buns after lunch, letting them rise as shaped buns until dinner time. As an alternative (when working) I mix the dough in the evening, let it sit as a bulk at a lower temperature overnight and shape early in the morning (to be baked just a couple of hours later).
The pictures in this post was from today’s cinnamon bake. I just love the look of proofed buns and the promise it makes, as you can see. All the angles are there!
Using finely milled flour to create light and airy whole meal sourdough loaves.
Flour selection is of course a very vital part of getting consistent results. When it comes to the whole meal (whole grain) flour I find a great difference in the end result when it comes to the coarseness. In my opinion you still keep a lot of taste and aromas intact, even when the entire grain (with sprout, bran, kernel) is very finely milled. From what I’ve picked up from several sources (like the brilliant @ceorbread on Instagram), the flours ability to bind water is affected, thus the development of the dough, leaving you a mass with greater potential for a lighter and more open crumb. I mill most of my whole meal flour myself, with my bench stone mill. I do two runs – first at a coarser setting, then at the finest possible. This is also, in my experience, affecting the dough development qualities in a positive way. I’m still learning the chemistry behind this, if you’re familiar with it I’d be glad if you pitched in! I know a lot of you mill your own flour (and if you don’t you should) so keep in mind to let the flour cool before mixing. The friction of milling twice will leave it quite hot (and this can mess with the activity of the dough in a negative way). The best type of whole meal flour I’ve baked with comes from Vortex/Whirl milling (such as from WarbroKvarn here in Sweden). It’s whirled into a very fine dust-like powder, without increasing friction significantly. This is in my experience also true for 100% rye bread. The finer the milling the lighter crumb loaf you’ll get. The loaf with crumbshot featured in this post is a 50% whole meal loaf, using very finely ground whole wheat grain. Packed with taste and nutrition and a very pleasing texture, from a while back.
I’ve basically been having a dough rising every day during the last years. Most often in a bowl or a box, and if not; in my thoughts. Along with the coming week’s posts I will share 10 of the most valuable insights I’ve had that’s lead to more consistent result in baking high quality, beautiful goods from home (in no particular order). Would love it if you comment or DM with questions, I always do my best to answer!
Make distinct patterns possible by storing the shaped dough cold and open to air.
How the dough will bloom when put into a hot steamy oven is a sum of all things that have happened so far in the process. It’s not all about how the blade cuts the surface of what’s to become the crust.
With all thing being equal up to the point of the loaf being shaped and ready for the second rise, there are some details that (to me) makes a huge difference. This is what this tip is all about. Storing the shaped loaf in a way that it can be exposed to a moderate amount of circulating air, for an extended period of time. This gives you a surface that holds a little less water. A sharp blade will have an easier time getting distinct cuts.
I’ve experimented with a lot of different materials and timings here and I find cane baskets a good alternative for letting air come in contact with the dough. Using a cloth of cotton or linen (or a mix) with a light weaving also helps (too tight and thick and the moist will stay at the surface). By storing it cold in the fridge the dough will be exposed longer and the surface will dry more.
Please note that how the dough then rises in the oven after the scoring could be dramatically affected by other variables then the cuts on the surface, such as fermentation, structure, tension, heat, steam and more (on danlarn.com I have an extensive 2-part scoring guide if you want to learn more).
Let’s talk a little bit about the loaf featured in this video too. I would say that the surface could have been a bit drier, and that it would be better to score less if the goal was a higher rise. The jagged fallen leaf still turned out very nice if you ask me! Had this dough been stored in a sealed bag, it might have been too difficult to score cleanly.
I’ve basically been having a dough rising every day during the last years. Most often in a bowl or a box, and if not; in my thoughts. Along with the coming week’s posts I will share 10 of the most valuable insights I’ve had that’s lead to more consistent result in baking high quality, beautiful goods from home (in no particular order). Would love it if you comment or DM with questions, I always do my best to answer!
Get that round shaped pizza with fluffy Cornicione (edges) easily by using an individual container for each dough ball.
By putting the shaped pizza dough ball in a round and very slightly oiled container, with lid, you will make the whole pizza process a delight! In my experience, this method will help you keep shape and gas. Something easily lost when lifting and separating proofed dough balls.
Just turn it upside down and let gravity do its thing (shake it lightly to help if you’re impatient). Oh, and in the video I’ve cut ahead to the release to spare you the shaking.
Let it land upon a pile of flour and put some more on top.
Pat it gently to open it up a little at a time to preserve its original round shape.
Lift it away from the pillow of white dust and dust it off lightly to lose some of the most excess flour, then put it on a cleaner surface. I like using a cutting board to reduce the cleaning time.
How you proceed from here Is up to you to make the pizza open up as evenly as possible. I’m currently practicing at the method in the video. Just feels good (once again working with gravity as my tool).
Also, the longer you’ve proofed the ball, and the more water and weaker flour you’re using, the easier will the ball open up into a pizza ball.
Today’s dough was made from 80% Caputo Tip 00 (Blue bag) and 20% strong wheat flour (Kvalitetsvete Berte). It usually turns out very slack, so I tend to put it in the fridge for some time before the shaping phase, to gain a little more control.
No matter what, the trick with the round container will make it easier and that’s what’s at focus here. 0,5-liter containers fit very well for dough balls up to 250g. I prefer around 220g (such as in this video) to make it bake faster.
The pictures shows two pizzas baked in a home electrical oven (on a steel). The first one after a 24-hour rise, the second after another 16 in the fridge.
I’ve basically been having a dough rising every day during the last years. Most often in a bowl or a box, and if not; in my thoughts. Along with the coming week’s posts I will share 10 of the most valuable insights I’ve had that’s lead to more consistent result in baking high quality, beautiful goods from home (in no particular order). Would love it if you comment or DM with questions, I always do my best to answer!
The Sourdough Starter! Expect consistency in result by treating your starter with consistency
Feed your starter at the same timings each day, with the same type of flour, at the same ratios and keep it at the same temperatures!
Your aim should be to have a starter that doubles in size over the same period of time. Adapting the variables above slightly over time to reach this when you notice the change in timings.
I myself am a living thing. I like food and I like to have regularity in the intake of energy. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at about the same time each day makes me happy. And some snacks in between of course. I enjoy eating food I’m used to and like. I like being moderately warm and I really don’t like being cold! All this is of course very natural to you and me as human beings.
And my greatest tip to keeping an active healthy starter is to give these things also to your millions of living yeast bacteria.
Do not cut corners over a long time. Of course, I could starve for a couple of days too, In a cooler. I’d survive that and function, yet I wouldn’t be very happy or productive. Your starter will probably function to leaven a dough too, with inconsistency in the feeding, yet the full potential wouldn’t be reached!
The 1st picture shows the crumb of yesterday’s sourdough loaf. 25% fresh milled organic Ölands wheat and the rest organic bread flour from my region (Limabacka kvarn). 74% hydration and a long healthy fermentation, starting with an active and happy starter!
The 2nd picture shows my starter in regress on a warm day, after peaking and having a high acidic load.
The 3rd picture shows my starters rise in progress from today (a couple of hours in).
I’ve basically been having a dough rising every day during the last years. Most often in a bowl or a box, and if not; in my thoughts. Along with the coming week’s posts I will share 10 of the most valuable insights I’ve had that’s lead to more consistent result in baking high quality, beautiful goods from home (in no particular order). Would love it if you comment or DM with questions, I always do my best to answer!
10 tips in 10 days coming up! I’ve basically been having a dough rising every day during the last years. Most often in a bowl or a box, and if not; in my thoughts. Sourdough loaves, pizza balls, burger buns, sweet cinnamon buns & breakfast rolls. Along with the coming week’s posts I will share 10 of the most valuable insights I’ve had that’s lead to more consistent result in baking high quality, beautiful goods from home (in no particular order). Would love it if you comment or DM with questions, I always do my best to answer!
So number 1, Sourdough country bread! Get your ideal dough by doing NOTHING. I’m talking about an extended 3-6+ hours flour and water only ‘autolyse’.
When baking a larger size (and heavier) piece of dough, such as a wheat based loaf of sourdough bread, the structure of the shaped dough needs to be able to hold a large portion if its own weight. This is in order to achieve a full bodied form when being baked.
My best way to achieve this is to ensure a practically full ‘development’ of the dough in the time leading up to the final shaping. I’m achieving this consistently by letting time do its work on hand stirred flour and water, rather than relying to kneading/machines during the mixing only.
A freshly mixed dough with water and flour only.
Mixing is all about hydrating the flour. Even though you can’t see dry flour any more, it doesn’t mean the flour is hydrated to the point where the chemical processes starts going.
Relying on time first handedly has given me doughs that feels more supple, smoother and easier to handle during the folding and final shaping.
This is true to all types of wheat dough really, not just sourdough bread.
Featured in this post is today’s first test bake with regionally grown and milled organic bread flour from Limabacka Kvarn and a quarter fresh milled whole ölands wheat. Stunning result!
In this part of this guide I will get into the last variables and insights of the baking process that directly affects the visual outcome on your country style sourdough loaf. In the first part I focused on the why and the preparations leading up to THE moment. These preparations are what will affect 90% of the outcome so check it out if you haven’t. Let’s get started on the finishing touches of a process that potentially have stretched of several days.
Now before we break this down further you need to know what happens when you put well-balanced dough on a really hot surface, inside a really hot oven. During the fermentation gas pockets have formed inside the dough. These pockets have a different amount of gas depending on the flours capacity, the sourdoughs effect and how you’ve handled it during the process. When heat is applied the gas expands upwards, looking to exit the bread. The water in the dough also begins to expand and vaporize (becoming gas, pushing upwards). The gas will look for the path of least resistance. If you don’t score at all it will create cracks where the dough is at its weakest. If you do less cuts the gas will expand towards less surface and the uprising effect on the settling crust will be grater. More cuts spreads the effect.
The last variables
The determination and confidence in THE moment
The friction (swiftness)
The force, depth and angle
The added flour for contrasts
The heat, steam and timings during the bake
The determination and confidence in THE moment
Yes, it’s THE moment. That half nervous half excited trembling moment where a perfectly shaped, naked piece of dough lies before you. You need a plan to get you focused on the task. Before your loaf left the basket and before the blade touches its skin you need to have a well thought out plan, which you are determined to stick with. By the time my son started to explore crayons a year ago I started to explore scoring patterns. I often spent a good time stenciling out a loaf and practice the lines while my boy spent his time by destroying it.
Try out how the esthetics feels to you by drawing the pattern on a piece of paper and think through in what directions you plan to strike the cuts. How to flour the surface. Believe me, it makes a big difference in the end. Also, take the variables presented in the last article in mind when planning your move (under, over, strong and weak dough).
Enter THE moment with confidence and a plan to take joy from it.
THE moment, time to put your plan into work. As you can see this dough has some flour left on it from its cold rest in a basket.
The friction (swiftness)
You want those really clean cuts right? No jagged dragged edges. The dough should not want to follow your blades direction. It should stay put and open up with clean edges.
A softer surface will more easily drag with the blade (room temp proofed dough, higher hydrated dough, closed environment damp surface proofed dough). A drier, harder surface will give you less friction and cleaner cuts. Read more in the previous part about how the state of the dough affects the friction.
Keep in mind also that the longer a stickier material is in contact with another material the more likely it’ll get stuck. Swiftness is a variable because of this. Now you don’t have to draw quicker than your own shadow to create clean cuts so take it easy still. Controlled trumps quick, find the balance here.
You also want to avoid the potential touching of the blade holder (on the lame if you have one) as well. It can cause the dragging too or create patterns in the flour on the surface that you don’t want.
By dipping the blade in fine flour or rinsing it with water (you could also spray it lightly with oil) you reduce the friction from the blade as well. I usually do the first right before making the first cuts. Make sure also to treat your blades well and by well I mean rinsing only under running water, never touch the blade and let the blade touch anything other than dough.
Result of above video. A rather weak dough with a higher hydration and softer surface.
The force, depth and angle
When THE moment reaches its climax you’ve made that first cut. The force, depth and angle will affect how the gasses in the dough will expand when exposed to heat, pushing the stabilizing crust up and outwards. In the first part I gave some insight in how you can adjust the cuts to the state of the dough fermentation. In this section I’m going to assume we have a good balance in proofing and strength.
I generally prefer a clean shallow cut over a deeper. If you go too deep the tension of the dough will be undermined and the risk of unnecessary spreading increases. I’d say 2-5 millimeters are enough.
If you want one side of the longer cut to rise upwards, creating ridges in the crust (or “Ears” as they are commonly called) you need to angle the cut, creating a sort of lip under the skin. A 45 degree angle is good. A curved blade helps you achieve this lip under the skin of the dough as well. If you want ears on both sides of a longer cut you don’t angle the cut at all. The expanding surface of the dough will push the lip you’ve created upwards when baked. The cleaner and more even cut you’ve made, the cleaner “ear” you’ll get (this is also very dependent on the steaming and more, I’ll come to this later). Tension in the dough surface seems to have an effect on how the ear will rise as well. Be sure to place the dough with the seam centered upwards when put in a basket and try to created an even tension without breaking the skin during the shaping phase.
Giving the blade a 45 degree angle while maintaining control, getting even depth and force is a lot harder than it looks. I’ve been absolutely certain I’ve given it an angle but in video review it shows I angle it back just as the cut is performed. The trick here is to angle the wrist and lock it, using the elbow as direction. Do not rely on your fingers angling. Your muscle memory will force you into a straighter line, such as you’ve been doing all your life when slicing something or drawing something. Lock in, hold on, trust your elbow, go for it and keep the other hand away.
The Double Ear cut. This was a medium hydrated dough that was relatively strong. You can see in the video that my wrist was angled when the vertical cuts were laid.
The added flour for contrasts
There are some choices to be made regarding contrasts before using the blade. How much flour to use if any, what type of flour and where to apply it on the loaf. Each choice will result in a different result.
I tend to use relatively little flour before putting the shaped dough in the basket for the final proofing. I never dust the cloth in the basket, only the loaf itself. Most of the flour will be absorbed in the dough and the cloth during the long retard leaving me with more choices before the bake.
I most often go with rice flour when choosing to flour the surface. It has a higher tolerance for heat and takes longer time to get burnt. I could also use regular sifted wheat if I’m looking for that rustic burnt look.
If I’m going for a straight or double cut with ears I tend to not flour at all. I think the shifting colors in the crust is a thing of beauty itself, with the blistering from the dampness in the dough reacting with the extreme heat.
If I want to add a more artistic touch to the end result I apply flour to the areas where I want a distinct effect, creating contrasts between the cuts that have opened up and the white flour. I normally use a tea dispenser filled with flour and shake it to create an even layer. If I suspect it’s unevenly spread I could also rub the surface with my hand to adjust. The video below will show you the general method.
Result of above video. The contrasts in on this crust is magic! Without the flour the lines wouldn’t appear as distinct.
The heat, steam and timings during the bake
In a home environment you have some options when it comes to transfer heat effectively to the dough, making it rise to its max potential before the dough settles which happens when it reaches a certain degree. This is why it’s important to shock the dough with a higher heat, making the gases expand rapidly. You want to keep the skin of the dough flexible and damp so it wont tear during the rise or hinder the rising by settling too quick.
I’ve realized exposure to steam is vital to the development of the colors in the crust too. The longer I expose it to steam the better variations of colors in the crust I seem to get. You see, the remaining sugars in the dough will caramelize through the same Maillard reaction that happens when frying or grilling meat for example.That’s why the crust with a character is so tasty. A crust on an over proofed loaf (where less sugar is present since the yeasts have eaten most of it) will have less variations of color and won’t taste as good.
I use two different mediums to transfer heat and just as many to make hot steam take care of the skin. Either the so-called Dutch Oven or the baking stone with added steam.
The Dutch oven is a pre heated (1 hour) pot in which you’ve put the dough. By putting the lid on you will trap the steam that the dough generates when temperatures rise. The dough will take a steam bath in its own steam! It can prove difficult to transfer and score a dough in a deep pot so I’ve started using a Lodge cast iron Combo Cooker. It has a skillet that serves as a bottom and a deeper pot that serves as a lid, trapping the steam. An easy way to bake with consistent steaming results! I only use it for round loafs (Boules) since its diameter is around 24cm, limiting what oval loafs/batards I can use it for. I bake
The baking stone can be either ceramic or granite. I usually pre heat my ceramic stone (placed in the middle of the oven) for at least 2 hours at maximum temperature, otherwise the heat transfer will be too slow. I nowadays bake all my oval loafs/batards on the stone and add steam manually. I do this the following way (mostly inspired by Maurizio Leo, check out his guide for steaming here, also check his other great material):
10-15 minutes prior to the bake I take make two tight rolls out of kitchen cotton towels and put them in a standard size baking tin. I also insert a standard full size oven tray and the very bottom of my oven. The stone has now been pre heating for at least 1 hour and 45 minutes.
I boil water and pour it over the tightly rolled towels slowly, making them absorb it fully. I keep pouring until the water stands about 2-3 cm from the bottom of the tin. I now insert the tin on the oven tray at the bottom of the oven. I place the tin at the center of the tray.
DISCLAIMER – THIS STEP IS NOT VITAL AND USED AT OWN RISK: While making preparations for the scoring I plug the exhaust at the front of my oven, right above the oven door, with wet paper cloths. This will trap the steam produced in the oven better. Be advised that this will probably damage the oven in the long run. The time display of my induction stove top gets all misty (sound has stopped working too) and the doors to the cupboards around the oven takes some serious dampness during the bakes.
I boil some more water now and prepare a long metallic ladle which I’ve bent to an almost straight angle. Right after the bread is scored I open the door (and beware of the attacking steam) and place the bread on the stone. I usually use a pizza peel with baking parchment to slide it on the stone. Now I fill the ladle with about 200ml of water and splash it on the oven tray at the bottom, creating a cloud of steam, which I try to entrap by quickly closing the door.
I set the timer to 25 minutes and let the steaming tin sit there for the whole period. During this time I wont open the door. I bake at 250C (480F) during the first 15 minutes, lowering to 230C (445F) for the rest of the bake. Sometimes I just go with 250 all the way.
When 25 minutes have passed I open the door, remove the tin (and the paper clogging the exhaust if used) and let the door sit open just a little while to let the dry air enter the oven. I also remove the parchment paper and spin the loaf 180 degrees, moving it to a warmer place on the stone. I bake for at least 10 more minutes, often 5-10 more depending on the color I want.
I take the loaf out when I’m pleased with the colors and place it on a cooling rack. You should wait at least 1 hour (or actually until the inner temp is around 40C) for the crumb to settle before cutting into it.
The type of flour you use will react different during the bake. A stone ground wheat flour with high extraction (more of the original grain left) will probably give you a darker, deeper color then a roller milled wheat flour with low extraction. Different brands and breeds will have different characteristics as well, giving unique results from each harvest depending on exposure to sun and nutrition. Not to mention all the other cool stuff you can add to the flour (like purple corn and other vulgar food). It’s a never-ending palette of opportunities to your visual outcome.
A boule made from all stone ground flour.
End note
Bake it hard if you like the darker colors. Bake it lightly if you like it lighter. Add a lot of flour if you like contrasts or add just a little or none if you want the colors of the crust to shine! Go nuts with the blade if you prefer the patterns to be the center of attention, or let the loaf reach its maximum ear height by that single and precise slash.
Give your loaf the soul you think it deserves.
Bread by @danlarn 