\n I\u2019ve noticed that when I bake smaller breads like baguettes, ciabatta, and pan de cristal, I usually get a more open crumb even if I haven\u2019t optimized every step of the process. I figured this had to do with the amount of dough being baked. The air pockets in these not-tall breads aren\u2019t weighed down by a big vertical mass of dough. Moreover, the oven heat reaches the center of smaller doughs relatively quickly, stimulating yeast C02 production and then setting air pockets perhaps before they have a chance to tear or deflate. This is at least what I hypothesized and I decided to test this in a few different ways.
\nBefore we dive in, I want to clarify that I\u2019m not recommending the methods below (Test 1 underproofed, Test 2 overproofed) nor am I picking a favorite bread shape (Shhh, I love you, Baguette from Test 3). I\u2019m only trying to isolate the impact of dough shape and size on the crumb.
\nI also want to highlight an unexpected discovery from this experiment. I\u2019ve always struggled to bake larger breads on a stone instead of inside a baking vessel. The breads often have curved bases and inflate like footballs. The score seals early, making the crumb extra tight. When doing Test 3, I did my usual drip-system for steam that works great for smaller breads but not usually so well for large breads and I re-scored the doughs after 7 minutes of baking. Presto! For the first time, I had a well shaped batard with a score that kept blooming far into the bake. No need for extra complex steam production.
\nTest 1
\nDough Formula in Baker\u2019s Percentages80% bread flour20% red fife whole grain flour80% water20% sourdough starter2% salt<\/p>\n
Controlled Variables
\nThe breads came from one large dough that I divided and shaped into four different loaves for the final proof: oblong, boule, batard, and mini batard (1\/2 the dough weight).
\nUncontrolled Variables
\nThe smaller and narrower doughs (mini batard, oblong) cooled to refrigerator temperature faster during the final proof.
\nThe doughs were baked the next morning two at a time due to home oven size constraints. This meant two of the doughs had a longer final proof, though in the refrigerator there is likely minimal additional fermentation in this timeframe.
\nThe doughs were not all baked in the same vessel. Three were baked in the Hearth Baker, which allowed them to splay outward. Depending on the strength of the dough, shaping, and fermentation; this can make for a more open crumb and a flatter bread. Meanwhile, the oblong dough only fit in the Oblong Baker, which offers side support to the dough, encouraging upward expansion of the bread and in tight-fit situations, a more closed crumb.
\nScoring pattern impacts how bread opens and thus the crumb. I scored the boule differently than the oval loaves and it\u2019s possible this reduced the oven spring of the boule.<\/p>\n
Results
\nThese breads\u2019 crumbs were more similar than I expected. The mini batard (far right) was a bit more open than the other breads, but I expected the difference to be greater. Perhaps because the doughs were all about the same height, this reduced the effect of dough size. The boule (middle left) was a little more dense in the center, which I attribute to the shaping process, which pulls dough to the center of the ball and compresses it. The boule also had the least oven spring \u2014 again likely due to the shape having weaker surface tension and oozing outward once scored.
\nLeft to right: oblong, boule, batard, mini batard
\nTest 2
\nDough Formula in Baker\u2019s Percentages75% bread flour22% hard red winter and sprouted hard red whole grain wheat flours3% rye whole grain flour80% water15% sourdough starter2% salt<\/p>\n
Controlled Variables
\nThe breads came from one large dough that I divided and shaped into a batard and a boule for the final proof. They had the same treatment at the same temperature throughout, including the final (over)proof in a kitchen at 80F. They were baked at the same time in Hearth Bakers. Compared with Test 1, this bake removed the inconsistencies of temperature during the final proof.
\nUncontrolled Variables
\nThis time I scored the boule with one slash as I would a batard, but again I\u2019m not certain this was the right score to encourage oven spring.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tBulk fermentation<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tFinal proof room temp<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tReady to bake<\/p>\n
\u00a0
\nOverproofed pains de campagne
\nResults
\nAs with Test 1, the boule (right) has a center area of more density as well as less oven spring overall.
\nTest 3
\nDough Formula in Baker\u2019s Percentages77% bread flour23% turkey red whole grain flour69% water15% starter2% salt
\nSame low-hydration dough
\nControlled Variables
\nCompared with Tests 1 and 2, this round of baking tested dough height in addition to overall shape and size. The breads came from one large dough that I divided and shaped into a batard and demi baguette for the final proof. They had the same treatment at the same temperature throughout rising. The doughs baked on a preheated 500F FibraMent Baking Stone and were score a second time after 7 minutes. After 18 minutes, the baguette was done, whereas the batard baked an additional 15 minutes at 450F with foil over top for the last 10 minutes.
\nUncontrolled Variables
\nThe standard baguette and batard scores that I chose may have had some impact on the crumb, but overall I think I controlled temperature\/fermentation and baking method the best in this test.<\/p>\n
Batard (right) has a denser center area<\/p>\n
Results
\nAs expected, the crumb of the baguette is more airy and doesn\u2019t have any dense areas. The baguette finished baking (internal temperature over 205F) about 15 minutes before the batard, meaning heat reached the center of the bread faster, and the shorter height of the dough meant there was less weight pressing down from above on the air bubbles as they expanded.
\nConclusions
\nBased on the results of these three test bakes, the crumb is impacted by the height of a dough more than by the overall dough size or dough width. This is especially notable with the short baguette in Test 3, but also with how in Test 1, the crumbs were similar despite different dough sizes and shapes, perhaps because the parameter of height was similar. The exception of note is that the boule shape, even at the same height, is prone to having a denser center area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve noticed that when I bake smaller breads like baguettes, ciabatta, and pan de cristal, I usually get a more open crumb even if I haven\u2019t optimized every step of the process. I figured this had to do with the amount of dough being baked. The air pockets in these not-tall breads aren\u2019t weighed down […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-659","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-food"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}