I’m happy you will use oz. and grams in the new book. Cup measurments make me crazy(having learned bread baking from Jeff Hammelman at the CIA also), and scaling is so much more efficient.

Good luck with the new one!

Yes, the math is a bit odd I’ll admit. We were using approximates to come up with the size of the loaf, when you shape it. Some of the recipes call for more flour, or are heavier and some are lighter. It seemed less confusing to just round off the number.

Most of our readers won’t be using a scale. In fact, we have been blown away and impressed with the number of people that do scale their recipes!

Thanks, Zoë

I have a question about weights of ingredients and how they total to 4 lbs.

In the master mix:

2 lbs flour
1.5 lbs water
bit of yeast, salt

So far I have 3 lbs and this is “before” I bake, and lose water weight. Is the additional flour needed really sufficient to make up not just another 1/2 lb to start, but also evaporated water? Color me confused

Laura

Please let me know how it goes!

Thanks, Zoë

Thanks for trying the bread!

Is your dough having an initial rise in the bucket, when you leave it out on the counter for 2 hours? If not, then you might have some defective yeast.

If, however, you are getting the rise initially but not any oven spring when you bake your bread then I would try letting it rest longer on the peel before baking.

If your boule is any larger than 1 pound then it will require more resting time. If your ambient room temperature is much lower than 67 degrees than you may need to let it rest slightly longer as well.

Please stay in touch and let me know how it goes!

Thanks, Zoë

however – it does not seem to rise much – should I let the dough come to room temperature before baking rather than just letting it rest for 40 minutes and the 20 minutes while my oven is heating up -

many thanks for your help -

Betsy

Your vote counts and in the next book, which we are just starting to put together we are going to push for weights! I agree that it is the most accurate way to measure flour and our greatest hope is that all home bakers will be using a scale.

Our breads work beautifully in the dutch oven. We just don’t want people to feel confined by that baking method alone. Try it and see what you think.

Thanks, Zoë

I’d like to second the motion for adding weights in the next edition, as I think this is the only way to go in baking.
One more question: Would there be any benefit to baking your boule in a covered preheated dutch oven (a la NYT’s recipe from last year)? This way, the bread would steam itself… Or is the hydration not high enough in your recipes?