Bread – Number Five – Part Two

Bread – Number Five – A second batch with minor variations. Like a concerto, but different. 

Dedicated to the la cloche, a miracle tool. Same recipe as bread number five.
 

Ingredients

2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (Used same proportions as breadtopia recipe used in bread number five)
between ¼ tsp. and ½ tsp. instant yeast (Up from ¼ tsp.)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups purified or spring water (Used filtered tap water because the first batch of Bread Number Five came out fine, indeed, wonderful, with it.)

Variation on Bread - Number Five - Part One 

This time using just a little more yeast for a guaranteed 12-hour rise and the same ingredients otherwise. Instead of making the bread after the dough is ready, will be storing it in the refrigerator for a day or two. Will be dividing the recipe into two batches as well because the first batch made such a large bread.

Also going to try using the top of the la cloche, the bell part, on the baking stone.

Instructions

1.  Mix dry, then wet ingredients. Cover bowl with plastic. Let dough rise overnight for 12 hours.

2.  Put in fridge during workday. Return home and take dough out of fridge. Easier to work with because not quite as warm and wet. Cut dough in half with shears, so cool, to make two small breads out of this batch.

3.  Put well-floured half of dough batch on well-floured wooden board with well-floured hands. Very easy because not as sticky as unrefrigerated previous batch. Flatten into approximate rectangle. Fold in tri-part envelope configuration and then in half. Cover loosely with plastic for 15 minutes.

4. Lay out well-floured kitchen towel. Put dough on towel and cover dough with rest of the towel as if inside a tri-partite envelope. Or, keep dough on well-floured board and cover with well-floured towel. Either way works fine.

5. Let sit for an hour to 90 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 degrees at least a half hour before placing dough in oven. Or, like me, dinner is taking up oven space prior to bread baking. So, make something that needs oven heat as close to 500 degrees as possible. This way, minimal time will be needed to bring the oven up to 500. After all, one may have foods to prepare other than bread, though that is apt to become an obsession.

6. Reminder: At 60 to 90 minutes beforehand, get oven well heated to 500 degrees. When oven and dough are ready, place dough onto baking stone and cover with top of la cloche. (Did not quite drop from the floured towel, but managed to keep its shape as eased the dough off and into 500-degree oven and onto hot baking stone.) Actually, the dough is really dropped onto the baking stone, which is much easier than employing the bottom of the la cloche; this way the top just goes wherever on the stone the dough happens to fall, or has been carefully placed, whichever best describes one's practice.

7. Baking time according to size of the dough. With dough half the size of the last batch, bake at 500 degrees for 22 minutes; remove top of la cloche and reduce temperature to 450 degrees for 13 minutes.

8. Admire the beautiful bread when removing it from the oven. Looking good.

[Restaurant in San Francisco that must be named for development in Brooklyn in Coney Island.]
 

Perfect breakfast

Amazing. Genius. And tasty. Relished the deliciousness of the bread with a little butter and tea for a simple breakfast. Divine.

In the evening, made the last half batch. This time it was easy as it was the third time through the process. Skipped the recommended folding because the half batch of bread made last night came out a little too spherical. Want a somewhat more pleasing shape – less soccer ball, more the top of a football. Nice part of the repeat performance is how much faster the process goes and with much less trepidation. A bit of a confidence boost, really.

Indeed, did not even do the entire wrap-in-a-kitchen-towel step and instead left the dough on the cutting board and covered with a well-floured towel. Really, what is the big reason for moving the dough unless one possesses an impressive proofing basket? (Hope not to receive my comeuppance with that comment.) Also convinced that placing the top of la cloche on the baking stone instead of the bottom of the la cloche works miracles as bottom of la cloche requires way better aim than I possess while handling sticky dough in a kitchen towel as entire body is suddenly confronted with open oven’s 500-degree heat. The baking stone makes for a very wide and generous target, with the bell-shaped la cloche fitting wherever the dough happens to land.

Another wonderful bread. Feel proud.

P.S. Have now made this bread yet again and comes out perfectly. Very easy and dough lasts at least a few days in the fridge after the 12+ hours first rise.

Visions of something other than sugar plums dance in my head

Of course, however, mind rushing to possible next steps. Already in pantry is the spelt flour. Visions of cold mid-winter Sundays with various sourdough starters on the dining room table like a third-grader’s science fair experiment in progress. On the horizon, videos to watch that demonstrate step-by-step kneading and rising.

[Pacific Ocean]