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Talked to a pro baker at a farmers market in Portland and he changed how I shape boules
Met this older guy who has been baking for 40 years at the PSU farmers market last Saturday. I was complaining about my loaves coming out flat and dense. He watched me shape one and just said "you're overworking the dough, let it rest more between folds." He showed me his method on the spot - barely touches the dough, just gentle tucks. I tried it on my next batch at home and got the best oven spring I've ever had. Anyone else had a random stranger completely change their technique?
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sullivan.finley2mo ago
Is getting better at bread really life changing" - yeah honestly it kind of is for me. I had this same thing happen last year at a tiny bakery in my neighborhood. Lady showed me how to wet my hands before handling the dough and it totally flipped my results. I used to fight with sticky dough for 20 minutes and end up with these hockey pucks. Now I just keep a little bowl of water next to my bench and it takes like 3 minutes to shape. My oven spring went from flat pancakes to actual round loaves with ears. Little tweaks like that make such a huge difference...
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sarah5311mo ago
Is it really that serious though? You're moving dough around with wet hands and acting like you solved world hunger. I've had the same basic bread recipe for five years and it comes out fine every time without any of this mystical technique stuff. People act like bread baking is some ancient art form that requires a pilgrimage to learn from a guru at a farmers market. It's flour, water, yeast, and salt. You don't need to barely touch it like it's a wounded bird. You just need to not leave it on the counter for six hours or whatever.
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