Greetings Bmosher,
I think the water directly on the dough is interfering. I've found a
few references on how to achieve the dusted crust you prefer. You may
need to read the articles in their entirety to follow the snippets
I've provided below. I also ran across a recipe suggesting to put a
container of water in the oven with the bread to create the necessary
steam so the crust doesn't dry out, or spritz the oven walls and
bottom (not the light as it could pop) instead of spritzing the dough
itself. That method might work better for you to achieve the look you
want.
"Preheat oven to 460°F. Divide dough into 21.8 oz/620 g pieces. Roll
gently into 11? logs. Place loaves onto floured cloth to rise. Let
rise 25-30 minutes or slightly less, but do not allow dough to crack
or over-proof.
Do not score loaves. Move them gently onto oven loader or peel. Bake
at 460°F. Mist with steam at the beginning; open oven door after 5
minutes and vent for about 5 minutes, then close again. Bake until
loaves are firm and golden red in color, about 30-32 minutes."
http://www.amysbread.com/news_PastryArts02.htm
"Using the couche as an aid, gently roll each loaf onto a lightly
floured peel (big wooden spatula that pizza shops and bakeries use).
Score the top of each loaf 3 times with a sharp knife; about 1/2 inch
deep. Slide the loaves into the oven, onto a pizza stone or your tiled
shelf, not a wire rack! Use a spray bottle and spray water into the
oven (but not directly on the light in the oven) to create steam.
Quickly shut the oven, wait 3 minutes, and repeat; this time, leaving
the oven shut for about 22 more minutes."
http://bigcookbook.com/guru.asp
"If your preference is for soft bread, brush the top and sides of the
loaf with oil or melted butter immediately upon removing it from the
oven. If you prefer a crunchier, harder crust, brush the crust with
nothing at all . . . and a dusting of flour on top at the beginning of
Stage Four will give a nice "old world" look to the bread, too."
[Stage Four: "Cover the loaf lightly with paper towels and stash it in
the warm place again. Let is rise for another 45 minutes, until the
loaf is doubled in size and ready to bake."]
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/bread.htm
No mention of spritzing it with water, as the water may serve to
deteriorate the flour coating.
Using a floured linen cloth for proofing the loaves
"Place a clean cotton cloth in a bowl or basket in which to hold the
loaf. Lightly dust the interior of the bowl with flour. Place each
formed loaf upside down in a bowl on top of the dusted flour. Cover
the loaves with plastic and let them rise again until doubled. This
rising will probably take less than an hour. Bakers note: You want a
light dusting of flour on the cloth to be transferred to the bread,
not a heavy caking. Softly sifting flour from a strainer is the
easiest way to achieve an even coating."
http://www.preparedpantry.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=74
Using banneton baskets (you may order them from here too)
"Note: these bannetons are the traditional French style, made of
wicker and lined with linen (the liner is not removable). They are NOT
the German brotform (cane) style. They are suitable for home and what
I'd term "light commercial" use. I use them at home (here's a photo of
a 2kg sourdough miche I just made using the large 12" model below),
and they'd probably be okay for use in a small bakery for a while, but
no, I don't think they'd hold up long in a busy wholesale-style
bakery. These are NOT the ones made in France which cost a fortune
(sorry, you gotta pay big bucks to get those... no way around it). The
baskets are fine, but the linen is much thinner than the ones from
France and it's not sewn in using the really strong thread and fine
workmanship used by the French models."
http://www.paulsfinest.com/bannetons.php
"Invert round loaf onto a floured, rimless cookie sheet, slash it with
a razor blade in a tick-tack-toe pattern and slide it onto baking
stone (if using). This loaf is not glazed because the matte, floured
crust looks more rustic (glaze, however, if desired)."
http://www.cooksrecipes.com/bread/classic_yeasted_french_bread_recipe.html
Proofing in baskets
"The simplest solution is to use an
ordinary kitchen colander, and line it with a tea towel (the flat woven
kind, without loops). This toweling is not non-stick, unlike the raw linen
used to line the imported baskets, but Peter Reinhart has suggested
spraying the toweling lightly with a release spray first to make them
non-stick, and then sifting flour into them (if you want a floured crust).
The holes in the colander will help with moisture build up from the
proofing bread. . . .Kathleen Weber, an artisan baker in Petaluma,
California, uses chip baskets, the woven plastic type used for chips
at Mexican restaurants, available at restaurant supply houses, for
proofing her breads. These are very inexpensive, and she claims that
they work even better than the imported banneton."
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:hhZNQDpSAsYJ:www.bread-bakers.com/archives/digests/v100n059.txt+%22floured+crust%22&hl=en
Proofing with the floured linen cloth (couche) may also be the key to
getting that flour coating correct. Please let me know if my research
helps you achieve the coating you desire. You're also welcome to wait
on rating my answer until you've experimented with the information
I've provided. :)
Best regards,
journalist-ga
SEARCH STRATEGY
"rustic bread" white crust
secret bread dust crust flour
secret dusting bread crust with flour
"flour covered crust" bread how
dust bread with flour instructions
"dusting bread" flour instructions
perfect "rustic country bread" crust
"rustic country bread" flour crust
"artisan bread" flour crust
"artisan bread" floured crust
floured cloth proofing bread
white flour coating artisan bread
"floured crust" bread |
