Using the same recipe for the basic dough for Batards, I made a second attempt and thought that the bread actually turned out better this time.
Fermenting-Shaping-Proofing: It was so difficult for me to try and time the fermenting of the dough so that the hour that it needed coincided with my hour appointment beginning at 1:15pm. I ended up starting to make the bread too early so the fermentation process went a little longer than usual. I tried to pre-shape the dough but failed again. While trying to divide the dough in 2 I got caught in the sticky mess yet again and had a difficult time trying to get equal weights. After 15 minutes of letting the dough rest, I tried to shape the dough to no avail on a wooden cutting board. One of the loaves I just gave up and decided to focus on the 2nd one which I shaped on the kitchen counter directly which seemed to work a lot better. Turned more into a demi-baguette shape but this time I actually remembered to score the dough so we’ll see how that affects the shape.
Baking: I put it in the oven but had a difficult time trying to pour the ice in at the same time and ended up leaving the oven open for a little longer than I should have. I’m wondering how this will affect the crust? Seems like there wasn’t as much steam as last time…
Results: I put the bread in the oven for about 28 minutes and I feel like it could’ve been baked for a few more minutes. The shape and look of the baguettes looked better than my first attempt. The taste and smell were both amazing. Texture was again, mocchiri (chewy?). The crust turned out great since I let it cool and finish cooking unlike last time where I put the two baguettes into a paper bag right after baking. As you can see in the photo below, the bread on the right looks more like a demi baguette while the one on the left is…not quite sure what shape you’d call that lol. Overall, as before, I think the taste and texture are nice but I still really need to work on the shaping and the scoring of the bread.
FoodgasmTKY 