Ever since embarking on my Project Mission Impossible, I really haven't devoted much time to my baking. Even if I do bake, I'll try to go for simple stuff and avoid time consuming process like bread. But ever since I read about the 17-hr low-temperature pre-ferment dough from Edith's blog, my love for bread-baking has been rekindled. Something was stirring inside me, prompting me to search for the book to try my hands on it.
I finally manage to borrow the book 天然面包香 Natural Breads Made Easy from the National Library. The first bread I pick to try was the Black Sesame Bread (I didn't follow the recipe to the dot). I did half portion to have a first trial.
The pre-ferment dough turned out fine. It looked smooth and nice after the long proofing in the fridge.
Pre-ferment dough before proofing
Pre-ferment dough after more than 17 hrs of proofing
But when I tried to do the main dough, not sure if it was my calculation/measurement error, the dough turned out really wet. Although I've handled wet dough previously, I wasn't quite sure if this dough was right as the one shown in the book did not look wet. Moreover, I was using my cheap standing mixer to knead the dough instead of my usual hand kneading. I was wondering if I had over kneaded the dough.
I took the dough out of the machine, added more flour and hand kneaded it further. In the end, I gave up and just sent the dough for first proofing. Luckily the dough seemed viable. After shaping and second proofing, I sent it into the oven.
Everything went well from then on. The bread baked beautifully. There wasn't much aroma of black sesame though.
It is soft, even after a day, but not as soft as I've expected. Was it due to the additional flour added? Or it's meant to be like this? I have no clue, but overall, it's a successful bake. The next round I may try a full recipe to get a better gauge.
As I was loading my pictures into my Photobucket album, I discovered these which I had baked earlier (before the Chiffon Cake attempt) but somehow got missed out in this blog. Must have been too engaged in the Chiffon Cake then.
Raisin Mini Cuppies, a treat well received by kids
Peanut Butter Cuppies
The peanut butter cuppies had a nice aroma, but texture wise, they were way too dry. I'll need to experiment further to get a nice recipe.
6 comments:
Hi
I managed to get hold of this book but was hesitated trying because it state that pre proofing should be at 0 to 5 degree. So does that means in the freezer rather than fridge? Thank u.
Sukub
Hi Sukub, the pre-proofing is to be done in the fridge, not freezer. My fridge is around 4-5 degC. Do try it. The bread stays soft after 2 days.
Good job, WF! Continue your passion when kids are in school! It's important to have your own hobbies and "ME" time! :D
the bread looks very nice and yummy.
KWF, mine wasn't wet at all. Perhaps try again.
I did a test and even soft on 3rd day.
Linda, nowadays getting more difficult coz got to prepare materials for the 2 younger ones too. But I'm not prepared to give up on baking yet. ;)
Jacky, the bread tastes ok, though not quite up to my expectation yet, must have gone wrong somewhere.
Edith, I suspected my dough was not right too. Still wondering what cld have gone wrong.
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