bread question

[noobaker]

I'm trying to get better at making bread. So far I'm doing ok. The question I have is this; I'm trying to make baguettes. The book says that "because there are so few ingredients it's better to let the bread raise over 2 days to help deepen the flavor and let the fermentation process take place. ". The question is do I store the dough in the chill chest over night, let the dough come to room temp, let it double, gently punch it down and return it to the chill chest and repeat, or is there a better/ right way to do this.

Ingredients are:
flour
yeast
small amount of sugar
warm water
sea salt

The baguettes that I made turned out ok, but like the book said the taste is abit bland. I'm open to all suggestion, comments, flames etc. Thanks for the help

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noob baker
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AB, yer the man!

[Food Network Fan]

It would be nice if Alton posted here with us. But we are just a group of fans.

Are you talking about making a sponge as a bread starter?

[BerryBaby]

Look up Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day Easiest bread recipes ever and SO good! I bought the book after my husband found the recipe in the newspaper and I tried it. You won't be disappointed.

[Clove]

Originally Posted by noobaker

I'm trying to get better at making bread. So far I'm doing ok. The question I have is this; I'm trying to make baguettes. The book says that "because there are so few ingredients it's better to let the bread raise over 2 days to help deepen the flavor and let the fermentation process take place. ". The question is do I store the dough in the chill chest over night, let the dough come to room temp, let it double, gently punch it down and return it to the chill chest and repeat, or is there a better/ right way to do this.

Ingredients are:
flour
yeast
small amount of sugar
warm water
sea salt

The baguettes that I made turned out ok, but like the book said the taste is abit bland. I'm open to all suggestion, comments, flames etc. Thanks for the help

----------
noob baker
----------
AB, yer the man!

Are you making a poolish, sponge or starter for your baguettes?
If you are, let that develop in the chill chest overnight or for several days. This is the part of the baking process that best allows fermentation (or flavor development). Bring it to room temperature before adding the rest of the ingredients and continuing.
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poolish

If you want a more authentic bread, build your starter in a large bowl and leave in on the counter for several days. It will pick up wild yeast in the air and develop a more interesting flavor. If you are going to do this, read about the sanitation as these starters can pick up bacteria too. It's unlikely, but it can happen. You can smell the difference between the fermenting starter and the no that has "turned".

Nancy Silverton, owner of La Brea bakery in California,(PBS: Julia Child: Lessons with Master Chefs: Meet The Chefs: Nancy Silverton) has a great bread baking book, "Breads from the La Brea Bakery: Recipes for the Connoisseur " Amazon.com: Nancy Silverton's Breads from the La Brea Bakery: Recipes for the Connoisseur: Nancy Silverton: Books
Her recipes are broken down into 2 and 3 day techniques.
Making good bread is easy at home. Making great bread at home is a time consuming process, but not a technically hard one.

Keep at it, It's worth the effort!

[noobaker]

Thanks Clove, Berry and Suzie for the replies. I started w/ a sponge and left it in the chill chest overnight. (about 6 1/2 hours) I know, not much time, *grin* but the mrs. prefers my tossing and turning instead of bangin' around in the kitchen at odd hours. *grin*

Thanks for the book suggestions, I'll head to the bookstore in a few minutes.
Thanks again for the help!

noob baker