Flemish Desem Bread-baking Bread With A New Desem, Part 4

Continued from #4

Let the dough rest, covered, for 15 minutes or more and then when it
has relaxed and is supple again, flatten and repeat the rounding
procedure, then put the loafs to proof. This whole process structures
the dough inside the ball and stretches the gluten film tightly over
it. This method helps the finished loaves to bake into a high round
shape, and is worth perfecting. The double rounding really does help
the bread rise higher, with and evener crumb texture.

Put the loaves, seam side down, in baking dish(es) that have been
greased and dusted with a sifting of cornmeal. Proof them (give them
their final rise) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 95 degrees and nearly 100%
humidity. It is absolutely essential to approximate this temperature
and humidity if you want light bread.

Maybe the simplest way to do it is to wet the inside of a plastic bag
with water, put the bread into it, puff it up well, and seal it. Keep
it in a place warmed by a source of mild heat, like an oven with a
pilot or an electric bulb, the door held open a little to get just
the right temperature. When the time comes to preheat the oven, one
possibility is to set the loaves over a pan or sink filled with very
hot water. Or use a heating pad on low-medium setting for the whole
time. Having a thermometer is very helpful in this department. Proof
the bread until it feels completely spongy to the touch and loses all
its firmness; it may even sag just a little.

BAKING THE BREAD: Desem bread is a traditional hearth bread, meaning
that it is formed into a loaf and baked without a pan, directly on
the floor of a steamy brick oven. Baked in round casserole dishes
with snug domed lids, however, the loaves nearly duplicate the
hearth-baked version.

Preheat the oven in plenty of time to have it up to temperature when
the bread is ready to bake. Just before you put the bread in the
oven, poke a few 1/2″ deep holes in the top of the loaf with a
serving fork or a skewer. This prevents the crust form pulling away
from the loaf. BAke the bread at 450 degrees F. with steam until the
bread browns nicely, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees to finish
the bake, about an hour in all.

Desem bread is done when it is deep golden or rosy brown, and sounds
hollow when you tap the bottom of the loaf. If you aren’t sure,
though, take a look at the crumb. If you have baked two loaves next
to each other like buns, just break them apart and look there,
otherwise, make a small slice in one edge. Press on the bread crumb
with a light touch; if it springs back, it is done. But if your
fingerprint remains and gloms together, looking very wet, return the
bread to the oven for another 15 minutes. Many things can increase
the time this bread requires to bake; if your dough was soft, if it
fermented extra long, if you bake in glass, if your oven is very hot,
if it is well steamed, if you use metal baking pans, or it the bread
rises expecially well-these things decrease the baking time.

TASTE THE BREAD: If the bread you make is as good as it really ought
to be, you can be sure it will get more delicious and lighter with
every baking from now on. If it tastes really terrible to you and you
didn’t let the starter get too warm at any stage, the flour was bad,
and at this point there’s no rescuing the desem because it isn’t
there. Please do try again with better wheat or flour.

There will be additional bits of information that I will add in yet
another post. There are some other recipes for desem that I will add
upon request. I cannot emphasize enough that if you may have become
very interested through these posts. Please go out and buy the book.
There is still a great deal of information to be gleaned from the
book and there are dozens of other wonderful recipes to try!

From The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book, A Guide to Whole-Grain
Breadmaking by Laurel Robertson and Bronwen Godfrey

MM format by Mary Riemerman