Boule (From Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day)

[DeejayDebi]

Alright Stuart! Your gonna love this stuff. The theroy is it will make one loaf a day for a week - I don't think so!

[Stuart]

Well, I tried again, and it's better but not great. It's still dense. The crust was too hard. I put a pan of water in the oven. I might have overhandled it before baking, but I don't think that's the entire reason for a poor result.


Look how flat it is. After I made the ball it started to flatten out. Not as badly as last time.


Dense!

It tasted okay. My fiancé and I ate it with butter. She liked it and that was the best part.

I'm discouraged but I'll try again. I'll have some whey in a couple of days. I may try to use that.

Maybe I'm not using enough yeast? But I'm doing 1.5 packets of active dry yeast.

[DeejayDebi]

The crust looks good from here. Was it to thick? I does look a bit dense. Try making smaller ones like bun sized and see it you can get the feel for the dough. When you set the dough on the baking pan did you let it rise up well? It doesn't look like it rose enough before baking.

It is getting better - just not quiet there yet.

[Stuart]

I let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before putting in the oven. It didn't rise really tho, it more sunk, losing its initial shape, but not nearly as badly as the first time, when it looked like it had just melted. 
I've got a little dough left, I'll try again tomorrow! If it works then I'll have a sourdough by that time.

[DeejayDebi]

Yeah one thing that's kind of neat is the dough changes slightly everyday so you don't feel like your eatting the same ole thing.

[Zoey]

Thank you Debi!

This is great.

My first try (almost following the recipe) already resulted in the best bread I have ever baked.

A few notes though:

 - After mixing the ingredients, I found the mixture too dense, so added some water. This might have been a minor mistake. The mixture became less dense while sitting.
 - I was afraid the bread would dry overnight (baked in the evening, ate at breakfast) so I covered it with a double-layer of paper towel. Definately a mistake.

The crust turned out a bit gummy, undoubtedly because I didn't let it dry uncovered.
The interior turned out too moist, either because of too moist dough or because of the covering. I'm guessing on covering. Not doing that again.

Still, fantastic. Wow. The texture was just as light and airy as described, really wonderful.

I ate self-made cheese on self-made bread for the first time in my life today. This was somehow a huge experience for me. Wonderful!

[Boofer]

Self-made cheese and self-made bread...a rather zen experience. For those wine makers and brewers among us, an extra special experience. I love it. 

I love to make my own bread, but I'm really anxious to try the boule. Thanks for the opportunity, Debi.

-Boofer-

[DeejayDebi]

Your welcome. I guess bread isn't always an simple experience for everyone. There are so many variables. Humidity is a big one.

This dough will seem very wet - almost to much so but if you give it time to raise before baking it will be light as a feather. AND DON"T play with the dough! Just grab it with heavily floured hands, tuck the ends under and set on the pan or peil. That's it! If you play with it - it will go flat.

[Stuart]

I had a bit of dough left and I needed to use the container that it was in for cheesemaking, so I just put it in the oven. I floured my hands really well so I could handle it better, and I tucked it the dough under itself and just put it in the oven. Cross your fingers!

[Stuart]

It's not perfect, but I made the best bread so far. It's still dense but it rose better when baked. I need to get it to be fluffier. I'll try again but in the meantime I need to make some cheese!

[DeejayDebi]

Gee Stuart I don't know why this is not working well for you. Next batch maybe you should try using the same brands of ingredients? I hvae used all kind of sae flours and yeasts so I am definately confused. I am thinking maybe it just to cold and not given enough time warm and to rise.

[Stuart]

I went to my local farmers market and I was talking with the bread guy. He was super nice and gave me some advice. Debi and all, do you think a stone would make a big difference? He made it sound so, and said I could just get ceramic tile to use.   Also he was concerned about the age of the yeast.  I'm going to try again!

Do you guys use whey or water usually? What's the result difference?

[Baby Chee]

I love dense crust if the interior is fluffier.  Nothing like a good crust to work on, unless it is used for hamburgers perhaps.

Cheese and bread and butter: decadent simplicity.

These boule pictures look great.  I'll have to try it one day.

[Tea]

Stuart, yes Deb recommended that a stone be used.  I didn't have one either and went out and bought one especially for this bread.  Also the oven needs to be HOT.  The first one of mine I don't think I had it quite hot enough, (thermostat is gone), so turned it up more for the next lot.

So far I ave only used water in mine.

[DeejayDebi]

You can use whey. It will be a little saltier but it tastes good. My understanding is it adds more vitamins too.

I always used a pizza stone for bread (or even pizza) I think it really makes the crust ... er ... crusty?

Be sure to preheat the oven by the instructions with the ceramic in there. That's part of the trick for the crust.

It is posible your yeast is old. I guess I assumed you checked the dats on the package. oops!