| BBA Challenge #14 ~ French Bread | | Print | |
| Monday, 10 August 2009 09:20 |
 Another week has passed with yet another Bread Bakers Apprentice challenge bread completed. The bread this week was French bread, a bread very similar to the Italian bread I often make. Once again, making this bread was a two day process as you must first mix the starter, or pâte fermentée the day before, allow it to rise, and then after degassing it place it in the refrigerator overnight. This starter is then removed from the refrigerator the next day and allowed to come to room temperature before being mixed with the other bread ingredients which include a mix of all-purpose and bread flour, salt, a small amount of additional yeast, and lukewarm water.
From Wikipedia - "A pre-ferment (pâte fermentée), also called a sponge, a starter, or the mother dough is a fermentation starter used in bread baking. It usually consists of a simple mixture of flour, water, and a leavening agent (typically yeast), and is added to bread dough before the kneading and baking process as a substitute for yeast." Once again I used my table mixer to both mix and knead my bread and found it took about 6 to 7 minutes of vigorous kneading to pass the windowpane test. As usual since my kitchen is very warm, my dough did not require 2 hours to double in size, and after approximately an hour and a half I shaped the dough into three baguettes. The dough is then allowed to proof to 1 1/2 their size before baking. The dough is scored before baking using a lames, or scoring blade to allow the release of trapped gas while baking, but I find it easier to simply snip the bread with sharp scissors since I do not have the lames. The final finished French bread loaves turned out quite well with a good flavor, and a very nice chewy crust created by the steam pan in the oven. I would have preferred a more coarse textured crumb, but we must have enjoyed the bread as it was put to good use over the next couple of days. Our next bread will be a basic Italian bread which I am thoroughly looking forward to!  Three Baguettes Cooling On My Window Sill  Close Up Of The Crumb For those who haven't read my earlier post about the BBA Challenge, this group has taken on the challenge of baking every bread in this great book written by Peter Reinhart on a schedule of about one bread per week. I will post the schedule I am following and invite any IFF readers to join me as we develop our bread baking skills. We have decided that we will bake the 43 main bread recipes in the book, not taking on all the many variations of each. You can join me at any time during this challenge, the only requirement being that you have your own copy of the book as I cannot share recipes from the book as it would in fact be copyright infringement. You can read more about the BBA Challenge on Pinch My Salt. Here are the upcoming breads listed in order that I will be baking in the upcoming weeks if you would like to bake along with me. Italian Bread Kaiser Rolls Lavash Crackers Light Wheat Bread Deborah Mele August 10th, 2009  To order this book simply click on the photo below!
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Comments (3)
Are those scissor cuts?
3
Friday, 21 August 2009 09:43
daniel
Those slashes look amazing! Are those scissor cuts? Beautiful bread!
french bread
2
Monday, 10 August 2009 18:03
Frieda
Beautiful loaves...I look forward to making them next. The BBA challenge has been a great learning experience!
Gorgeous loaves...I ♥ them!
1
Monday, 10 August 2009 16:25
deeba
Gorgeous pictures & beautiful loaves. Aaaah, love the joy of bread baking! You are doing a stunning job! WOW!
