An excerpt from this week's process.
I'm cloaked in darkness, headlamp lit, stooping over a low-running rosemary bush in my neighbor's yard. It's cold and windy. Leaves are tinkling off the trees like snowflakes. My kitchen sheers cut quick and harsh through the woody rosemary stems. The bush's resin coats my fingers. I keep cutting and cutting, whittling the plant down. I wonder to myself, am I giving or taking life? Am I pruning, or dismembering, this quiet little soul?
This week I made Rosemary Olive Oil Levain. Due to a busy afternoon, it was dark before I got around to picking fresh rosemary from the public bush across the street. In the final mix I approximated my own formula, using other recipes as references. Turns out, olive oil wasn't such a great idea. Any fat, at high temperatures (450-500ºF), does strange things to the crust. Water allows the crust to get sharp and crisp, while oil softens the crust from glass to cardboard. Or so my conjecture goes. Next time, I think I'll just add rosemary.
One of the most satisfying components of this week's bake was scoring the loaves (putting shallow cuts in the dough-tops before putting them in the oven). These marks keep the loaves from rising in the wrong direction. It's like pruning the rosemary bush, helping it grow in controlled, predictable ways. But scoring also has an aesthetic function. It takes bread beyond Goodness into the realm of the Beautiful.
Interesting. If olive oil does bad things to the crust, why do I always see so many rosemary breads that include it?
ReplyDeleteI've only had this recipe toasted, and I didn't slice it, so I can't attest to its crust's cardboard nature, but it certainly didn't taste like cardboard. Unless cardboard has gotten a lot more delicious since last time I tried some.
David. My thought is that most rosemary + olive oil recipes are baked around 350-400ºF, which aims at a softer crust. Once you get up around 450-500ºF, you're aiming at a crackling/crispy crust. The oil may not make a huge difference, but I think it softens things a bit. Does that make sense? Maybe I'm sparring with shadows here. :)
ReplyDeleteYou are the bread scientist, Mr. Jones. I defer to your succulent (yet crispy) wisdom.
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