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**58limited** · February 6, 2022, 09:23 PM

I haven't made bread in awhile. It is an off and on thing with me but Richard Chrz posts have really inspired me to get back to it and up my game. I followed his method for this round and got decent results but not near the oven spring that he gets (Richard's loaves look like they exploded or like they popped like popcorn). There are several reasons for this including my technique and experience, my starter is not the same as his, I live in a warmer and more humid climate, my oven is an antique O'Keefe & Merritt - no upper heating element and no convection option. All in all this was a good bake. Below is the pic of them cooling. As Tom Petty said, 'Waiting is the hardest part."

The loaf on the right is the second one I cooked. I made the cut at an angle in it. It rose about as much as the one on the left but spread out a little more. I weighed them both when I formed the loaves and they were the exact same weight.

Edit: Here is the crumb - no large bubbles but uniform and tender with a chewy crust.

The most important test: the butter test. Passed with flying colors, one of the better tasting loaves I've made.

**mnavarre** · February 7, 2022, 01:05 AM

Today's bakes. 20% whole wheat/80% bread flour at 75% hydration.

First loaf cooked on a baking stone with a stainless bowl as a clouche, a la the Kenji technique above. Pretty good oven spring,

and the bottom crust was not overly dark.

But definitely under proofed, the giant holes and the slightly gummy crumb are a bit of a giveaway.

Loaf #2 cooked in a DO, Don't even need to cut into it to tell it's under proofed.

The flavor's spot on, though I can see some process tweaks to make it better.

**treesmacker** · February 10, 2022, 11:30 PM

Two new loaves... using the same method as recent. Mixed flour... mostly Central Milling Type 00 reinforced, with a smaller amount of Winco "bulk" bread flour. Beautiful outcome, but not really an explosive oven spring.

**treesmacker** · February 10, 2022, 11:53 PM

And two more loaves done the same as my previous post, except... this time the flour was mostly Winco "bulk" with a smaller portion of Central Milling 00 reinforced. Also, this time feeding my starter, I vigorously beat my starter/water together before adding flour Richard Chrz method. These loaves really had a great oven spring and I don't know if it was beating the starter or the different bread flour. In any case, I'd be happy to use Winco "bulk" flour going forward, and will beat that starter/water together... why not. Super happy if they all come out like this. And... really delicious, especially for toast!

**texastweeter** · February 11, 2022, 12:12 AM

Sourdough Sandwich loaf

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**Richard Chrz** · February 11, 2022, 07:54 PM

A few from this weeks bakes.

**58limited** · February 12, 2022, 03:10 PM

Sourdough ciabatta. I was hoping for a more open crumb but the flavor is great.

**58limited** · February 13, 2022, 10:34 AM

Today's sourdough loaves following Richard Chrz 's method. I did an experiment: one cooked in the open oven with a water pan and spritzing every 5 minutes for 15 minutes. The other in a Dutch oven. The only difference in the loaves prebake is I only have room to bake one at a time so the Dutch oven loaf proofed an extra hour in the fridge. The only issue with this bake is that I over proofed a bit in the bulk ferment stage - the dough tripled in size and I was shooting for double. Gotta pay attention. I used my King Arthur culture.

First loaf out of the fridge - rose quite a bit overnight.

First loaf (forgot to brush the flour off). Did not get a great oven spring but tastes great. Nice tender moist crumb, a great sandwich loaf.

Second loaf (Dutch oven) yielded a better oven spring but not where I want it, possibly due to the over proofing but lots of factors may cause this.

**treesmacker** · February 17, 2022, 09:16 PM

Two loaves today... I'm still using Richard Chrz methods and I think nearing his quality, though I don't think I'll ever get there! These loaves were proofed overnight outside at about 31-35 degrees, and then I placed them into the indoor refrigerator for about three hours while I went to a Dr. appt. So, total 14 hours under refrigeration.

**Mark V** · February 18, 2022, 06:49 PM

Yeah, Richard has made me more aware of 4 or 5 things I could work on. To top it off, photography also.

**58limited** · February 20, 2022, 10:37 AM

Bacon Jalapeno Cheddar using Richard Chrz 's technique and the King Arthur sourdough culture.

My most requested bread recipe. Both loaves weighed 1004 grams. The one on the right rose higher in the fridge but did not spring open as much as the one on the left. I made the cut a little deeper on the left one. The left loaf is a little shorter than the right loaf. I removed the right loaf from the fridge 30 minutes before baking and the left loaf an hour before baking. Both were cooked in my Dutch oven and were spritzed with water when they first went into the oven.

I'm very happy with the left loaf, really nice oven spring but the ear isn't as pronounced as I'd like. The right loaf turned out excellent too.

**mnavarre** · February 21, 2022, 08:47 PM

Today's bakes, same 20% whole wheat dough as before. The larger loaf on the left proofed overnight in the fridge and went straight into the oven. Since that baked up like it was underproofed the 2nd loaf sat on the counter for about an hour and a half before baking. I didn't really get better oven spring on #2, but hopefully the crumb is better.

Loaf #1 is definitely under proofed, but not as badly as I thought it would be.

The flavor's great though. nice & buttery with just a touch of tang. Really caught my starter at the right moment, and it's amazing what an autolyse does for building strength and the ferment.

Gettin' there.

**treesmacker** · February 22, 2022, 10:31 PM

Nothing really different here than previous posts, other than shaping into batards this time. Woulda liked a bit more oven spring, but these will do!

**treesmacker** · February 23, 2022, 07:05 PM

Twins today!

And into the freezer... I had a hard time fitting them into the zip lock bags... a fraction of an inch more oven spring and they wouldn't have fit.

**jhapka** · February 24, 2022, 07:07 AM

Can’t recommend this ebook enough for an intermediate baker. It’s all the detail and understanding left out of coffee table bread books, which are edited for mass appeal. I bought it last night after I mixed the dough and a few minutes of scanning cleared up a misunderstanding about the Tartine technique I’ve had since I first started on the Tartine method. Best loaves I’ve done yet after being plateaued for six months. Looking forward to spending more time reading.

https://trevorjwilson.selz.com/item/open-crumb-mastery-for-the-intermediate-sourdough-baker-1-1

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