Today’s bread recipe is very similar to the baguettes with poolish, with just a slight variation. A Pate Fermentee is usually a small amount of dough reserved from a previous mix which acts as your started and gives extra flavor when added to subsequent mixes. The main difference between a pate fermentee and a poolish is the presence of salt (the poolish doesn’t contain salt). Rather than reserving unbaked dough from my previous baguettes (mainly because I didn’t think to), I mixed up the pate fermentee as listed in the book. The resulting loaves are delicious, though both Justin and I thought the baguettes with poolish had slightly more flavor.
Baguettes with Pate Fermentee
–Adapted from Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman
Pate Fermentee:
1 3/4 cups Bread flour
3/4 cup Warm Water
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/8 tsp Instant Dry Yeast
Mix flour, water, salt and yeast together until smooth. Cover tightly and let stand 12-16 hours.
Final Dough:
5 1/2 cups Bread flour
2 cups Warm Water
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/4 tsp Instant Dry Yeast
Previously mixed pate fermentee
–Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl except the pate fermentee. In a stand mixer, using the dough hook, mix on first speed for 3 minutes to incorporate all the ingredients. As the dough comes together, add the pate fermentee in chunks. If necessary, add additional flour or water. The dough should be moderately loose. Raise the mixer to second speed, and continue to knead for 3-5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.
Spray a second bowl with non-stick cooking spray, or coat with about a teaspoon of vegetable oil. Add the kneaded dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour.
After an hour, dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and fold in half. Return dough to greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise another hour.
After this second hour of rising, remove dough from bowl and cut into four to six portions. Lightly shape portions into rounds, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to relax for about 15 minutes.
After dough has relaxed sufficiently, form each portion into a baguette, round, or oval loaf, as you choose. Transfer shaped loaves to parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 to 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake loaves for 20-25 minutes (depending on the size of the loaves) or until golden brown and internal temperature reaches 210 degrees.
