On 9/17/04 1:28 PM, "Joe Doe" wrote:
The real rational for large irregular holes and shaping is the following:
When you stretch and fold you are creating layers of dough with large
air pockets. The number and distribution of the pockets will depend on
how hard you handle the dough - If you merely fold, one large air sheet
can be imagined. If you then stretch and fold again, the sheet will
have smaller pockets because smaller pockets will form as you handle the
dough (you are sticking together opposing sheets of dough by handling).
So with 2 or 3 cycles of stretching and folding you will have created a
larger network of air pockets irregularly distributed. If you handle
the dough very hard and squeeze all the air by squeezing the opposing
dough halves together in a stretch and fold cycle, you will have few
irregular holes. On the other hand if you are too gentle the final loaf
will have obvious sheets of air separating sheets of dough.
What I do is stretch and then roll up the dough (same effect as above).
The dough is then flattened out (gently so as to not squeeze out too
many air pockets) and rolled up at 90 degrees to the previous cycle. A
few cycles of this and you will get the effect you desire.
So the secret for large holes is during the shaping.
Roland
I really liked the idea of mechanically introducing air into the final
proof. Made lots of sense. So for this afternoon's bake, I gave Mr. Roland's
technique a try. I didn't have a wet dough available, I had a 65%'er,
straight white flour with a hint of rye, very slightly kneaded, retarded
overnight. Same as I always do, except I gave it a "stretch and roll" twice
before I bouled it up. No resting between the stretch and rolls either.
Works like a dream. Loaves literally soared in the oven. Beautiful wide-open
crumb. I would add the following modest addendum to the technique:
Be very sure to slash the loaves deeply and be thorough about it. The loaves
will tear if you don't.
Will
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