Overnight Fridge Proving

[bethesdabakers]

I contributed to steering this thread way off topic http://danlepard.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=12421#12421

But it is well worthy of further discussion and I thought I would do a little experimenting and to publish the results regardless of how they came out.

I also realised no one has mentioned baking from cold for some time and a lot of newcomers might not realise this is possible.

In the above thread I posted a picture of baguettes proved overnight and put straight in the oven as soon as the oven was up to temperature.

This time I proved a Pain de Campagne, about 1200g dough weight, and put it straight from the fridge into a cold oven and set the temperature to 200C. I baked it for the normal time - 45 mins. Internal temperature of crumb was 99C at the end of baking.





Crust is a little pale, big burst along the slash but to my mind that's quite accepable especially if you're baking for yourself and baking this way because of time restraints. My customers would probably say it was a big improvement ...

Mick

[svenrufus]

How's the crumb? Any pics of that?

[bethesdabakers]

[lepard]

all right, you win.

[Jeremy]

Dunno, mate, it still looks pale and I prefer a bit more uniformity, but who the hell am I????? I will stick with the warm up out of the fridge, I have had too many ugly and underproofed loaves. American fridges are colder me thinks than your larders?
Thanks for the postcard, say hey to Sue!


Jeremy

[JennyR]

Looks good to me Mick, I've never heard of putting it in a cold oven before!

Jeremy it may not be the 'ideal' way to do it but for someone who's short of time and doesn't have the luxury of a few spare hours to warm the loaf up the knowledge that a perfectly acceptable loaf can be made like that is very useful. Given a choice of no bread, shop bought sliced loaf from corner shop or a loaf like that I know what I'd rather choose!

I think a fridge is a fridge, if mine gets any colder it's a freezer, 2-5 degrees c. I don't think many people have the luxury of an old fashioned larder these days, houses aren't built with them anymore.

[dougal]

Looks good to me Mick, I've never heard of putting it in a cold oven before!

Elizabeth David mentioned it (with slightly surprised approval IIRC) ...

Jeremy it may not be the 'ideal' way to do it but for someone who's short of time and doesn't have the luxury of a few spare hours to warm the loaf up the knowledge that a perfectly acceptable loaf can be made like that is very useful. Given a choice of no bread, shop bought sliced loaf from corner shop or a loaf like that I know what I'd rather choose!

It takes longer for the full heat to penetrate to the middle ... so, the under- crust dough will be baked while the centre is still springing. This is going to happen normally, but it will be accentuated by the middle starting off about 20C colder than normal. That's why there's a tendancy to 'blow'; its swelling in the middle, but all round, it has firmed up - so it could burst out anywhere...
Maybe the answer is especially deep slashing?
And to go for long slender shapes rather than boules, so the middle gets its heat sooner?
Or wetting the outside of the dough, so it stays stretchy longer?
Or all of these and more?

I think a fridge is a fridge, if mine gets any colder it's a freezer, 2-5 degrees c. I don't think many people have the luxury of an old fashioned larder these days, houses aren't built with them anymore.

I did some measurements inside my fridge (with a mind to meat curing). The variation was quite surprising, not just top to bottom, or with time, but there actually seemed to be more variation when the fridge was fuller.
And that's quite apart from the different conditions depending on whether or not the door is opened frequently!
HOWEVER, whether the fridge is at 2 or 7C doesn't make much difference. Yeast dies at about 52C. Normal dough might be at 25C. So the middle of the cold dough needs to be heated by 45 to 50C (instead of only by 27) before the 'springing' (from yeast, never mind steam) stops.

[JennyR]

Random springing? I'll have to make a point of doing it this way once in a while, my perverse children are at their happiest if theres a good old burst going on somewhere. Has only happened once but in their memory thst was the 'best' loaf!

[Jeremy]

I know about scheduling, but my New York apartment fridge is tiny too, so doing a long loaf instead of a small batard or boule wouldn't work, I will have to suffer and eat yogurt or cereals and wait for my bread. That said, to each his own, Mick is my guru so expect a note soon on my somewhat hasty statement!

Cheers

[bethesdabakers]

Bloody right.

Sometime Saturday when the baking's done and the kitchen cleaned down.

Keep talking.

Mick