Help with (french) Bread?

[dianeo54]

I've been trying to make the french bread that is in my memory from a trip I took to France. I've used a couple different recipes for french bread/baguettes, but the loaves are skinnier and a little shorter than I think they should be. Is that because baguettes means small loaves? Should I look for a different recipe for another type of french bread or am I doing something wrong?

Also, when I've made normal white bread or others, it is so dense. What is the cause of this? My all-purpose flour, adding too much flour, or not enough kneading?

Thanks for your help!
Diane

[kph]

yes they are small and tasty!! your bread being dense can result in using too much flour, not enough kneading or under risen.
for a solution to this is to bake it and serve in smaller pieces

Kneading is a technique of folding over the dough and pushing it down over and over. This is necessary because the glutten in the flour, when rubbed together becomes elastic and helps the bread both rise and set. The dough should be kneaded on a floured surface. If the dough is soft or sticky , add more flour and knead until it shines and has an elastic feel. Be careful not to OVER-knead the dough.

After kneading the bread is placed in a large oiled or buttered bowl. Oil the dough ball. Cover with a towel or plastic sheet and place in a warm draft-free place. Generally, you will want to let the dough rise (the action of the yeast allowed by the glutten) until it doubles in size. This usually takes about an hour.

At this point the dough should be "punched down" and perhaps kneaded a few more times. Place it back into the bowl to rise again or shape your bread into loaves or buns and put it into greased pans - depending on the recipe. The dough should rise for another half an hour or so.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to the appropriate temperature. When the bread has risen place it in the oven to bake until it reaches the desired color. When done, loaves should feel hollow when you tap them with your finger.

kph

[kph]

see if this site helps you

French Bread and Pastry Recipes for baguettes, croissants ...Lots of great recipes and tips! Baguette, ficelle, pain de mie, boule? Aren't sure what French bread is what. This site has a wonderful chart with all the ...
frenchfood.about.com/od/breadspatries/ - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

kph

[CM]

On 4/18/2006 10:43:00 PM, dianeo54 wrote:
>I've been trying to make the
>french bread that is in my
>memory from a trip I took to
>France. I've used a couple
>different recipes for french
>bread/baguettes, but the
>loaves are skinnier and a
>little shorter than I think
>they should be. Is that
>because baguettes means small
>loaves?

French bread is a "lean" dough (which means it has little or no fat proportion). In commercial bakeries, the hard crust is produced by steam-injected ovens. To approximate the hard crust in a home oven, there are several techniques that can be employed. First, you can use a clean water sprayer to spritz the loaves periodically as they bake, being careful not to leave the oven door open for too long when doing so. (Very high heat is important for a crisp crust). An alternative is to place a pan of boiling hot water at the bottom of the oven to add humidity as the loaf bakes. Or you can use baking tiles at the bottom of the oven which have been soaked in water overnight (or even a damp pizza stone). The idea is to add humidity in the form of steam to the baking oven.

If your bread is too dense and heavy, you've added too much flour. In following a recipe, the amount of flour is an approximation unless you followed a baker's recipe which weighs ingredients. This is because different batches (or runs) of flour have varying quantities of moisture due to storage and harvest factors. So, for each recipe where flour is measured (by cups) you may need more or less flour than the recipe calls for to achieve the desired consistency of the dough.

In making French bread, you would want your dough to be somewhat sticky (you can oil your hands to make kneading easier.) In most doughs, if you add enough flour to make them easy to handle, you'll end up with a heavy, dense product and less desirable product. To have feather light bread, add as little flour to the dough as you can manage.

There is a point, however, where your dough won't hold a good shape when formed. This can be due either to too little flour or insufficient kneading. If kneading bread by hand, at least 10-12 minutes is required.

When the gluten develops that will give the bread its structure, the dough will resist and become more difficult to knead. It will become smooth and elastic and when you stretch it thinly and hold it up to the light you'll be able to see "strands" of gluten.

In France and Italy, flour has less protein than all purpose flour in the US (it's actually closer to US pastry flour). If you're using US bread flour, the protein content is even higher. Protein=gluten=harder to knead dough and more structure. If you're following a European recipe, it may call for a higher percentage of flour.

The size of the baguettes you make is up to you, not to the recipe!

======
CM

http://www.cooks.com

[dianeo54]

Thanks so much for all your help!!