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The wonderful pictures in dmsnyders recent bog post -- http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/9839/ficelles-made-anis-bouabsa039s-baguette-formula -- inspired me to try it out.  I did a room-temperature ferment with less yeast (100 grains of active dry yeast) for 24 hrs but otherwise did pretty much the same.   I got everything to work except the scoring which I still can't figure out how to do on such wet dough.

Scott

First off, a big thank you to the many contributors at TFL who provided me with some much-needed guidance on high-altitude baking.

My wife and I are at our daughter's home in Colorado Springs this week.  Our daughter and son-in-law just had their first baby, a daughter, on Monday.  Whee!  That evens the tally at one grandson and one granddaughter.

As part of my contribution to the overall effort (not that there's a lot for Grandpa to do, besides beam delightedly or put things together), I've been baking bread; some for immediate consumption and some for their freezer.  Since the Springs are at about 6200 feet elevation, and since I have no prior experience with baking at this elevation, one of the first things I did was comb through earlier posts on TFL that talked about baking at higher elevations.  Armed with that information, I've turned out scones, honey whole wheat bread and blueberry braid (the latter two from recipes here on TFL) with great success.  Not sure what's next on the menu, but I have the information I need to do it right.

Thanks again for the information, experience and wisdom about baking that is available at TFL.

Paul

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend a French-style dinner roll recipe?  Something that is crusty (but also relatively easy to tear), has an airy crumb and preferably uses some percentage of whole wheat/rye flour.  I've tried making rolls from my two standard sourdoughs (pain au levain complet et pain au levain from Leader's books) but, while the bread is great, the crust is simply too strong to tear when formed into a 3 oz roll and baked at 400F.  I've not tried substituting pate fermentee for stiff levain but I have thought about it.  At this point, my next attempt will be pain du campain from BBA or one of the liquid levain recipes from Leader's Bread Alone.  Any other thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

I use sourdough and sometimes yeast to make my loaves and even though the dough seems to be the right hydration (by feel), it seems it relaxes a little too much and tends to spread out on rising. So I have a lovely tasting loaf that is only 2 to 2 1/2 in tall.  I'd like it to resemble the Brownberry pan breads (in shape/height). It makes great loaves when placed in a pan but I really like the oval shape of a slice  of a batard.

Is there any way to get my dough to stand up taller?  I'm afraid if I make the dough stiff, it will have a dry,dense crumb. I have tried getting a night tight roll on shaping. Ideas?

I use home milled white and red wheat as well as Better for Bread flour. It seems to have great gluten formation. I mix it initially in a K5 and then fold 3-4 times before doing an overnight retard in the refrigerator to develop flavor. It is always nicely active and rises readily after shaping so the yeast isn't in question.