On 2021-03-01 6:37 p.m., Graham wrote:
> On 2021-03-01 5:15 p.m., Boron Elgar wrote:
>> On Mon, 1 Mar 2021 16:24:23 -0700, Graham > wrote:
>>
>>> On 2021-03-01 12:09 p.m., Boron Elgar wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 28 Feb 2021 22:06:02 -0700, Graham > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 2021-02-28 5:02 p.m., Boron Elgar wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ran into this online about sourdough blistering. Now I get to poke
>>>>>> around and see if it makes sense.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "This is because acidic conditions created by sourdough breaks down
>>>>>> the gluten near the surface. As the bread bakes, steam is created and
>>>>>> it escapes through mini-chimneys all throughout the crust where the
>>>>>> gluten has been weakened. Those mini-chimneys end up looking like
>>>>>> blisters."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://wheatbeat.com/blisters/
>>>>>>
>>>>> My teachers at the local Alliance Française told me that they did not
>>>>> like N.American style sourdough. The French equivalent, pain uu
>>>>> levain,
>>>>> has a more subtle flavour, probably because the levain is kept at ~60%
>>>>> hydration rather than the 100% hydration typical of sourdoughs. ISTR
>>>>> that the high hydration favours the acid.
>>>>> Therefore French boulangers see the blisters as a fault.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Are these levains mixed for each bake and based on a mother starter,
>>>> so that the mother starter is kept at 60%? Or are these levains
>>>> started with a bit of commercial yeast? I have seen both types
>>>> referenced.
>>>>
>>>> I bet the hydration of the final dough and the length of proof have
>>>> some influence on it, too.
>>>>
>>> I certainly think the length of proof has an influence on the "tang".
>>> AIUI, the French use lower hydrations as their flour is softer. A
>>> Belgian baker set up in Calgary some years ago and he told me he had a
>>> helluva job adjusting his recipes to Alberta flour. He told me that he
>>> had to add a lot more water than he had in Belgium with the softer
>>> flours.
>>> It used to be that the standard, and government mandated, recipe for
>>> bread in France was 100:60:2:2 in bakers' percentages.
>>> I'm not sure about whether it is standard practice in France to add
>>> yeast to their pain au levain. However, there is a video of a baker in
>>> the Poilâne basement preparing the dough for the famous miche and he
>>> adds yeast.
>>> I'll have to get the Appolonia Poilâne book from the library because I
>>> think the recipe she quotes has yeast. I'll have to see if Calvel has
>>> anything on the subject.
>>
>>> Dammit, there is so much folklore involving SD!!
>>
>> I've no compunctions about tossing in a bit of yeast if I think there
>> is some reason for it. One of my favorite deli ryes sometimes gets a
>> sprinkle, as I do not always have a blossoming rye starter if I decide
>> I want to make some the next day or so.
>>
>> I have not opened my Clavel in so many years, I am not even sure where
>> it is now. I wonder if I even have it.....
>>
> Here is my review of Appolonia Poilâne's book from the local library
> website:
>
> "If you are a keen bread baker then theres not that much here for you.
> Indeed, the 1, 2 and 3 star reviews at Amazon pretty well summarize its
> shortcomings, even though it is an attractive volume.
>
> There are only 6 bread recipes (2 "SD", 2 rye, pain de mie and brioche)
> 3 gluten free loaves, some cake and pie recipes and, it seems, a lot for
> dishes using bread or breadcrumbs. The recipe for the famous "Punition"
> cookie is given and there are instructions on how to make cultured butter.
>
> The recipe for the famous miche starts with making the levain with some
> yoghurt in the recipe and then puts yeast in the final mix. This despite
> the fact that Appolonia has stated elsewhere that it is a naturally
> leavened bread.
>
> I have eaten the walnut bread from the London branch and I have tried to
> duplicate it without much success. Here she gives the proportion of nuts
> to the standard dough so that might prove helpful. However, the walnut
> loaves that I bought appear to have contained a much higher proportion
> of nuts."
>
BTW the title of the book is: Poilâne
The Secrets of the World-famous Bread Bakery