Can you par-bake Artisan Bread?

16 years ago

I have been baking the no-knead artisan bread, last winter and this (I call it winter as soon as the furnace goes on regularly. Winter = baking season).

I have not had luck so far getting the boule recipes to be high and domed. I get a nice crust but they are all on the flat side. 2 inches is the highest I have achieved. So I have decided to make everything as a flatbread instead. This has worked out well: prep time is reduced, baking is shorter; plus everyone likes tearing off a piece of bread instead of waiting for it to be sliced.

I have been using the light wheat recipe and making things like middle eastern breads and foccacia with onion and fresh rosemary.

We are bringing lunch tomorrow to our sonÂs apartment, who is a hard working medical student. He LOVES homemade bread so this would be a nice surprise. I want to bring the onion foccacia, butÂam I better off shaping it at home, and baking it there; or can I par-bake it at home and just finish it at his place? His apartment is an hour away. We are bringing the main dish in the slow cooker. His oven is not calibrated and is probably way off. I am afraid the bread will either dry up before it is brown, or burn. We have baked chicken in it but never anything that required a precise temperature.

Thanks!

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Comments (4)

shellm
16 years ago
I am looking in my artisan bread in 5 mins cookbook.it says yes.

1 follow preparation steps for recipe
2 begin baking at the recipes usual temp
3 remove the loaf from oven when it begins to darken in color[about 90% of baking time]
4allow loaf to cvool on rack,place in plastic bag
5 to bake place on baking stone in preheated oven.bake until browned approx 5 to 10 mins

Shelley
lindac
16 years ago
I wouldn't....not in an iffy oven...
I would thoroughly bake it at home....wrap in foil before it's completely cooled.....then unwrap andwarm in his oven....carefully as you are not sure of the temp.
I have not had good luck par baking....the inside isn't done and it gets gluey when you try to finish baking.
I don't know what the commercial bakers do, but it doesn't work for me!
Linda C
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Ah-hah! Im glad I measured the yeast now. I thought maybe there was a difference in brands, but if mfrs did that, it would mess up so many recipes that call for 1 packet. I waited 2 hours last night (yawn) before putting the bowl in the refrigerator but I didnt see much rising then. I used warm water and covered the bowl all around with some towels to keep it warmer. I would have left it out but I could not stay awake any longer. Since I have the baking stone I was not going to use parchment, thinking parchment might affect the crisp crust the porous baking stone is supposed to be good for. I have corn meal around (somewhere). But if parchment makes no difference to that tell me. I dont think I have an instant read thermometer but have the kind with a spike that you stick into meat, and my husband has this fancy gadget with a beam he got as a prize at work: you aim it at a surface (like the grill) and it tells you the temperature. But room temperature is easy enough to tell. Though it wont be warmer than 65 F in this house. Front of the stove is a smart idea. terrapots, I will think of your "Shadow" while mine sits next to me. Her blanket is a foot to the right of the keyboard but if she feels neglected she starts encroaching on the mouse. If I still dont give her enough attention she will stand between the keyboard and the monitor or walk on the keyboard. Thanks for the tips!
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Yes, I certainly understand your motivation. If it didn't work for me, I would not be writing, as I am. I am a very inexperienced baker. Are you using SAF yeast? I ask because, I don't know yeast from a television, but, an experienced, respected, inspirational baker on the kitchens forum has recently discovered that red star yeast does not always work and SAF always does. So to give me every chance of success, I got SAF yeast. I love the smell, too. I keep th e yeast in the freezer. I am so inexperienced that I researched where to keep the yeast. This baker also only uses bottled spring water. I still use tap water. The authors say kosher salt. So I use kosher salt. And I bought King Arthur flour, because bakers whom I respect use KA flour. Just trying to increase my odds of success in this goofy adventure. Linnea, these are only my thoughts. I have been lucky with abin5. Happy and excited. If you think your flour may be the culprit in not achieving what you want, then think of solutions---change brands, further research the flour brand/water ratio. Good luck.
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hawk307
16 years ago
Linnea:
It's according to the thickness.
I bake until it is Firm and at least, has Tan spots,all over it, or all tan.
Then cool fast on a rack and into a plastic bag.
You can freeze it or finish baking it later.
Let it thaw a little first.

I prebake Sicilian Pizza. The end crust is about 1 1/2 inches thick.
The Calzo Pizza is thicker yet.
Been doing this for 47 years.

If you can , give it a test run.
LOU
User
16 years ago
Like Linda I would throughly bake it. Bread that is baked completely freezes well and can still be be warmed up. I let my bread cool completely and then wrap in paper towels and then into freezer bags.

I would bake your foccacia until it is done and just warm it up at the last minute.

Ann

Can you par-bake Artisan Bread?

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shellm

lindac

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