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Re: Artisan photo

Maggie Glezer <glezer@mindspring.com>
Sat, 31 Jul 2004 18:42:07 -0400
v104.n035.7
Dear Mr. Laurence:

Thanks for the compliments about my book.  I think the photos are also very 
important--instructional and inspirational.  Ben Fink did a wonderful job 
with them.  The photo you are referring to on page XI is from Sullivan 
Street Bakery in New York, and unfortunately I do not have an exact formula 
for it in my book.  I honestly don't remember its name either.  But to me 
it just looks like a batard.

What I know about production at Sullivan Street, at least circa 1998, is 
that they used King Arthur flour, always added a lot of water in the dough, 
and mixed their doughs for a surprisingly long time.

The "secret" to huge holes, properly called alveolage, is a well mixed 
dough, a long, thorough fermentation, preferably with a few turns early on, 
skillful, tight shaping (the hardest part for most home bakers, especially 
if you haven't taken any classes with a knowledgeable artisan baker), an 
adequate proof--the dough should be very soft and yielding when pressed, 
almost collapsing (but it will not if the dough was properly mixed and 
shaped), an angled cut (30 degrees) with a single sided razor, and a hot 
baking stone to bake on.  That's kind of a tall order, but worth aspiring to.

To replicate this bread, I would start with Sullivan Street's pizza dough 
on page 158 and shape it like a batard, as I described on page 35.  If the 
dough is just too wet and spreads out flat during baking (it has 109% 
water!), try cutting back on the water next time, maybe down to 90%?, and 
see if you get more height.

We are on vacation until August 15, but I would love to hear from you, or 
anyone else who has tried this, after that.

All the best,

Maggie