Why are my Baguettes so flat?
I'm a professional private cook in Rio de Janeiro. I also teach here. Fresh bread is a major part of my teaching regimen and I have successfully taught my students several different types of breads, everything from focaccia to Italian bread for bread bowl soups.
I recently had an opportunity to do some baguettes for a friend's French cafe and I've been working on the system. I use an 80% hydration recipe that involves many stretch and fold sessions with 45 minutes in between. Though I follow the instructions, I'm having issues with the dough being so wet at the end that it's impossible to shape correctly. It's so loose and visibly wet that it practically runs off the pan.
When I form the baguettes in the couche, they puff up a bit, but when I remove them and attempt to transfer to my baking stone, they just turn into flat bread and don't recover. The taste is great, but you can see from the slashes from the lame, that something isn't right. Plenty of bubbles and when I'm working it, it expands quite a bit during rest periods. But it's just too slack.
I'm using a typical type 1 bread flour. Here in Rio the weather is cool and humidity is very low right now. What is causing this?
Best Answer
Different flours (ie different brands and strains) have different rates of absorption. If I use American bread recipes, I always have to use far more flour than the recipe calls for in order to achieve the described consistency. If your dough is too wet and is not behaving as the recipe describes - add more flour, or use less water.
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Quick Answer about "Why are my Baguettes so flat?"
When yeast is active in your dough it eats away at starches and sugars and releases gasses. These gasses are then trapped inside your dough by the gluten mesh that has been created. If your gluten mesh is not fully developed it will not be able to supposer those gasses and thus resulting in a flat or collapsed bread.Why did my baguettes not rising?
Using AP flour will give you rise, but the extra protein in bread flour will give you a slightly higher rise. Bread flour also produces more gluten, which makes bread just a bit denser and chewier. So I might experiment will using a higher ratio of bread to AP flour - if you can, try 90% bread flour to 10% AP flour.How do you keep bread from going flat?
To achieve this, a flour with high-quality gluten which is well kneaded is essential. Sometimes lowering the water in the recipe can prevent recurrences. Otherwise, adding a little vital gluten powder or changing to a high protein bread flour can fix the problem.What makes bread flat and heavy?
Dense or heavy bread can be the result of not kneading the dough long enough. Mixing the salt and yeast together or Losing patience in the middle of molding your bread and there is not enough tension in your finished loaf before baking.Why does my bread flatten when baking?
Bread sough or loaf collapsesOven temperature that's too low. This means the dough rises to its maximum, then collapses before it gets hot enough to set. Or, dough could have been over-risen.The 7 Most Common Breadmaking Mistakes You’re Probably Making
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Answer 2
I have been practicing making baguette for about 4 years now. Much experimentation led me to use a 78% recipe which does everything I want. My problem is not with a "too-wet" loaf but rather a tendency to flatten out during baking. I think it is when I make it on a rainy day but you don't have a high humidity so we both have that problem.
Reduce your hydration!
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