At first, I wasn’t planning on
participating for this bake, since I didn’t have any sourdough starter at
hand. (Being the infamous starter killer
that I am, my previous starter met its demise last August from the dreaded pink
slime.) However, I concluded that I had
the time to start again, and I wanted to prove my critics wrong, so a new
starter was born. It was a success, and
is still viable even as I write this.
Once the starter was ready, I studied
the recipe for Pain Tordu, did a bit of research, then plunged in. My first thought was that a 10 hour proving
time must have been a mistake! Surely,
it would be overproofed! None of the
recipes I found suggested a 10-hour time frame.
So, Pain Tordu #1 had about a 2-hour
proof. It baked up nicely, although the
crumb/texture was tiny.
Since I still had plenty of time before
the reveal day, I decided to experiment.
By the way, this dough is just lovely
to handle, and is worth using no matter how it is shaped.
Pain Tordu #2 and Pain Tordu #3 were
next.
For #2, I did an overnight rise in
the refrigerator; for #3, the overnight rise was in my new proofing room.
(I discovered that my main/guest
bathroom gets nice and toasty when the door is closed. My starter lives in there, and it has become
my go-to spot for rising bread. The room
is rarely used, so it’s a safe place.)
To continue, #2 kept its shape, and had an improved texture.
#3, however,
had spread a lot (confinement is suggested), but did have a more open, porous
crumb. Perhaps that was purpose of a
10-hour proof.
As a last experiment, I purchased a
baguette pan, and Pain Tordu #4 was created.
Instead of the twist, I put the 4 baguette-like loaves in the new pan, then
placed it in the proving room for 10 hours.
The loaves still spread, and they were definitely overproofed because
they collapsed when I moved them. I
ended up with four flattish loaves that had great texture, but were still
disappointing.
There must be some compromise rising
time between 2 and 10 hours. It’s a
great dough with good flavor, but 10 hours just results in a disappointing
loaf.
For the dough alone, I would certainly
suggest giving this month’s bread a try.
The Kitchen of the Month is Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms. If you decide to join us, please send Elle
your photos and link by the end of the month.
- Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
- A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
- My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna
- Bread Experience - Cathy
- Thyme for Cooking - Katie
- My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
- Feeding My Enthusiasms – Elle (Kitchen of the Month)
