Pan de Cristal 100% Hydration

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chopsaw

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Dec 14, 2013
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I ran across this while looking for something else . Found it on the King Author baking web site . Sounded interesting , so I gave it a shot .
500 g Bread flour
500 g water
3/4 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp salt
1 TBLS olive oil ( for the pan )
Mix everything together in a bowl .
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Gonna be sticky .
That Dough whisk came in handy for this
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All mixed .
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Get a 10 x 7 pan . Glass works best , and add the olive oil to the pan .
Don't be shy , and get some up the sides .
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Pour the dough into the pan , and let it spread out .
Wet your hands and help if needed .
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Take the temp of the dough in the middle . You want it around 75 degrees .
That's the temp of the dough , not the room .
Cover it and let rest 20 minutes .
Looks like this after the rest .
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At this point do the first bowl fold . You'll do this 4 times .
Wet your hands and grab the dough by the edges and fold into
the middle .
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All corners folded in .
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Then flip it over . Re cover and rest another 20 minutes . Then repeat
another 3 times . Resting 20 minutes in between folds .
I did a total of 3 folds . This was after the final rest .
Starting to come together .
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Now it's time to stretch and coil fold . You will also do this up
to 4 times . Wet both hands and grab the dough by both sides of the middle and
pull straight up . Let it fold over itself , turn 90 degrees and repeat . Cover and rest 20 minutes , then repeat .
This was my 3rd and final stretch . You can see how the dough stretches . The first 2 times took
both hands . Came together and I was able to snap a picture if how it looks at this point .
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All stretched and coiled on itself .
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You can see bubbles starting to form .
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Cover and rest 80 minutes . When the time has passed , cover the top with flour
so you can turn it out on a floured surface . Don't miss any spots ,
and don't deflate .
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Flour the surface heavy , and dump the dough out .
Square it up the best you can , but don't punch it down .
Take a bench scraper or a sharp knife and rip in 2 along the length .
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Then cross cut each half into 2 pieces .
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Transfer to parchment paper and let rest uncovered for 2 hours .
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Pre heat the oven at 475 with a baking stone for 1 hour before the
bread goes in .
Place the stone in the bottom 3rd of the oven . Bake the bread on the stone 2 at a time for 15 minutes ,
then move to an upper rack for another 15 or until it's done . These are like pillows . You'll need
a peel or rim less baking sheet to move .
First 2 baked off .
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Got all 4 baked off and resting . I didn't temp these , just went by
looks and smell . Hollow sound when tapped on the bottom .
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Bottom looks good .
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OK . Fully cooled and finally time to take some slices .
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This seems like a lot of work , and it does take some time , but it's really worth it .
This came out fantastic . Great chew and texture . Has a fermented pizza dough taste to it .
Doing this again , no doubt about it . If you're interested in trying it the video on King Author baking
will show all the steps . I would suggest watching it .
This got long , so thanks for looking .
 
I've made 100% hydration a few times before...it can be a bit messy, but the crumb is worth it.

Try retarding the dough overnight (this or any dough)...the taste is even better!
 
Looks great Rich, Your time and effort paid off big time.

Point for sure
Chris
 
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Looks great there chop, everyone like bread (if you can eat it)
And major less expensive than meats.
 
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Really nice looking bread Rich! Big like!
Give it as shot Steve . It's worth it . Thanks for the comment .
I've made 100% hydration a few times before...it can be a bit messy
No issues with this . Super easy to work with .
Try retarding the dough overnight (this or any dough)...the taste is even better!
This is perfect as is . I will ferment pizza dough over night at room temp or up to 7 days in the fridge .
 
Looks awesome Rich! Just not sure if I want soft butter or a bowl of soup! Great find!

Ryan
 
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Last edited:
That bread looks fantastic Rich, nice work! And a lot of time and work it appears to be, well worth the effort. RAY
 
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Looks great Rich! I would be a bread junky if it was not for the diabetes. A bread like needs nothing more than butter and I could eat all four of those loaves.
 
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