13 Comments
Jun 8, 2022Liked by Rhianna Morris, Andrew Janjigian

Fascinating! I often reduce recipes for class, but not to this degree. May have to start experimenting with this.

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Jun 8, 2022Liked by Andrew Janjigian, Rhianna Morris

Interesting! I often cut the recipes in half (or with focaccia or pizza freeze half the dough for later, which has been reasonably successful), but I’ve never gone smaller than that. I so want to do even smaller loaves, so you’ve inspired me. I wish I’d seen (or remembered) Andrew’s 166g loaf. I’ve been wanting to make sourdough rolls, and you’ve provided a way forward. Thank you!

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Jun 8, 2022Liked by Andrew Janjigian, Rhianna Morris

Great tip, “For a recipe where the first 20–25 minutes are lidded, I’m usually lifting at about 12 minutes. That gives enough time for the oven spring magic to occur but without developing as thick of a crust. Shortening the back end helps with this, too.”

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Jun 8, 2022Liked by Rhianna Morris, Andrew Janjigian

Great article! Over the last few years, the number of family members in our house has fluctuated from 4 to 2 and back to 2 to 4 as our college sons head in and out of our home during this time of their lives. As you can imagine, we eat far less bread when it is just the two of us. Our current methodology is to bake and then freeze the remainder. BUT, sometimes you just want "oh so fresh almost straight from the oven" bread! Thanks for providing the instruction for making bread, rolls, sweet breads, and focaccia for one.

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I am puzzled by the suggestion that taking the lid off sooner to reduce the thickness of the cruse. I read a recommendation for the opposite. The longer the lid is left on, the more the inside of the loaf cooks without the crust getting too thick. I thought that the "doneness" of the crust took place after the lid was removed.

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author

Definitely the former, Abe. The longer the loaf sees steam, the thicker the crust, because the steam inhibits it from drying out, which "sets" the crust, and it transfers heat to the crust more efficiently than a dry oven, so it penetrates further into the crust. This is why I prefer to bake my Dutch oven loaves hotter and faster, and only keep them covered for 15m or so.

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Jun 8, 2022Liked by Andrew Janjigian, Rhianna Morris

Ah, brilliant! My last chick is fledging next month and we've been throwing so many half-loaves to the wildlife. I already have an oversized bag destined for panade or dressing, and even grated a crust last night to thicken a lovely garbanzo stew, but the scent of a fresh loaf is too wonderful to stop baking. I'm looking forward to making some loaves for one or two.

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Great writing and great inspiration. Now I'm eager to bake at home.

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Does the loaf continue to rise after the top is removed?

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Jun 14Liked by Andrew Janjigian

After the pot lid is removed? No, or negligible from my experience.

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Jun 14Liked by Andrew Janjigian

I love this! Can anyone tell me how to locate Andrew’s 166gr recipe?

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Jun 14Liked by Andrew Janjigian

If you click on the Instagram link, his recipe is in that post.

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I deleted Instagram, is it anywhere else?

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