Well we’ve been in Arcachon for twelve days already and haven’t been slouching in the baking department.
Set a new record: arrived Sunday evening, refreshed starter with flour cunningly stashed in hold baggage (only a couple of hundred grams), baked first loaf Monday evening.
I bet you think that’s a Pane Pugliese. Well it’s not. It’s a Pain de Campagne masquerading as a Pugliese. And for all you bakers who think you need a high hydration for an open crumb – this is slightly under 60%.
Next up, Einkorn.
Found a bag of Petit Epautre Integrale (einkorn) down the local Bio shop. Found a formula that I hadn’t baked for about a decade lurking in the spreadsheets and proceeded to screw it up. With starter at 153% I should have treated it as an overnight sponge followed by a single rise. But I made up the starter and gave it eight hours, made up the dough and refrigerated it overnight (fridge much too cold) and then proved it.
Tasted great but when I can afford another bag of flour (500g cost as much as I sell a loaf for) I’ll give it another try.
Followed by a good old fashioned Classic (T65 & T110 flours)
Ist pizza:
I still don’t know where I can buy a better pizza than I make.
With the scrap leftover pizza dough (80% hydration) about three days in the fridge, stumpy rustic baguettes, proved as long as it took for the oven to heat up.
Finally (so far), I was just knocking another Classic dough to keep in the fridge when Sue persuaded me to turn it into Olive Bread with the wonderful Greek cured olives from the market.
I attempted a new sort of single strand braid from memory – I think it only half came off.
Meanwhile, while we huddle round the oven, half of Girondes vines have been destroyed or seriously damaged by frost …
The PArtisan Baker 