KAF COUCHE
How many of you have a couche for proofing baguettes? If you have the KAF couche, can you tell me about it?
Do I really need this item? Probably not, because I afterall do not have a "real" couche and my baguettes have done fine by improvising with other things like parchment paper; reusable parchment which is a fabric or I'll use flour-sack tea towels. The question is, might I want one?
I admit I did buy a ceramic bread mold some time ago, a brilliant idea when I bought it, ridiculous when put to use. It's hidden in a cupboard way above my head where I only need to face that shame a few times a year...
I think it might be nice to have a good-quality couche, but as some of you may know, I do have an aversion to mono-tasking tools in the the kitchen, unless it's truly extraordinary and makes life easy.
An example being my pie-crust protector rings. I haven't come up with a secondary use for those, but I'd miss them if they were gone.
I'd love to get some input: To buy or not to buy...
GinaG.
Tags: couche, forming loaves
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Replies to This Discussion
- Reply by Mike Nolan on February 17, 2012 at 8:19 pm
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I have one, but haven't used it very many times. I think it takes several times before it loosens up enough, the fabric is fairly stiff at first.
There is a knack to getting the baguettes off the couche and onto the pan without deflating it. Having a flip board might help: http://sfbi.com/wooden_peels/boards/35_hand_peel_flip_board_for_baguette...
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- Reply by GinaG on February 17, 2012 at 8:29 pm
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That is a very nice board, Mike, thanks...I think a sturdy piece of cardboard would be safer in my house because I have a very creative father who'd find another "use" for it.
Did you get your couche from KAF or another source. The reviews on the site are pretty mixed.
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- Reply by Mike Nolan on February 17, 2012 at 8:42 pm
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I bought mine at the KAF store when we were there. If I used it more often and it loosed up, it'd probably work better.
I've tried stiff cardboard as a flip board a few times, I think a flip board with a beveled edge would work better. But a 27" wide flip board might be a bit wide. The episode of the French Chef with Prof. Calvel transferring baguettes from the proofing box to the baking sheet makes it look SOOOOO easy.
There are a few other things on the SFBI site that tempt me, one of these days....
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- Reply by tarrka1089 on February 17, 2012 at 8:47 pm
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Mike - I just bookmarked the site. OMgoodness! Now to "see" what I can't live without.
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- Reply by GinaG on February 17, 2012 at 8:59 pm
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That's interesting, because I've been under the impression that a stiffer fabric is better, but never having had one, I'm only going by what I have seen on videos.
I hope you get around to treating yourself to something on the SFBI site "one of these days" sooner than later.
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- Reply by Mike Nolan on February 18, 2012 at 11:42 am
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I think (but am not sure) that what you want is for the couche to be fairly loose in the direction of the linen weave, so that you can fold it easily, but stiff transversely so that it doesn't wrinkle, giving you a smooth surface on which to proof your dough.
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- Reply by GinaG on February 18, 2012 at 6:39 pm
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I wish I knew what the feel of the fabric was so I could just go to a fabric store and have a piece cut and bound. Never having seen one in person, I haven't a clue.
There's an artisan bread bakery in Chico...Do you think it would be intrusive of me to go ask them if I can see theirs? Or would that be another item we'd add to the list of "How you know you have been bitten by the bug"?
If it's the latter, I might have "proof" in that I really feel no reluctance to do so, but I also don't want to be the audacious nut-job, either. LOL!
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- Reply by Mike Nolan on February 18, 2012 at 9:28 pm
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Flour sack towels are a little more likely to shed lint on your dough (been there too many times) and they don't always hold a fold cleanly, ie, without wrinkles.
The local fabric stores here seem pretty clueless when it comes to using fabric for cooking. They don't know what butter muslin is, they don't know have much in the way of cheesecloth, either. Be sure you get unbleached linen. (If they don't know if it is unbleached, don't assume it is.)
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- Reply by pammyowl on February 18, 2012 at 9:38 pm
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I have never had trouble with lint, but then I do have older ones that have been around for awhile! I used to use a pastry cloth for pie crust. No longer, but if you have one of those, I think it would work, too.
Gina, I'll send you my couche if you want it!
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- Reply by GinaG on February 18, 2012 at 10:49 pm
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Mike,
I hear you on the fabric personnel issue. It used to be the people in stores were the ones who knew, now, you are expected to know before you go in.
The smaller, family-owned fabric and upholstery stores in the city (SF) would be more where I'd think to look and ask first. I want to see in person up close and personal what I'm looking for and how it may be different from butter muslin used for cheese-making, which you can pick up for a song. I'm a lousy online shopper because I'm such a tactile person when it comes to making my decisions.
I do want quality and I do want something larger than the dimensions of the KAF couche.
I found a few food grade fabric suppliers to contact on Monday. I'll ask them to send me samples of what they have.
I may still go ask that bakery to let me see theirs!
Pammyowl, that's very sweet, but no thank you. Keep that couche for when business is booming and you get a monster order for baguettes.
Gina
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- Reply by Mike Nolan on February 18, 2012 at 11:10 pm
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When I asked at the store about cheesecloth, the clerks didn't even know the thread count of the cheesecloth they had. I looked at it, it wasn't very high, not much different than the stuff I can get at the local kitchen supply stores.
My wife was a technical theatre major (costume design) in college when I met her, she probably knows more about fabric than most of the clerks at the store.
A local award-winning cheesemaker says to get butter muslin from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. I figure she knows her cheese.
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- Reply by Mike Nolan on February 18, 2012 at 11:20 pm
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No, a couche is made from unbleached tightly woven linen (eg, made from flax), not muslin, which is a loose weave cotton fabric. Flax does not absorb water quite as fast as cotton, so it doesn't wick as much moisture from baguettes. (Which is why I can't understand making dish towels from linen.)
Flax fibers are also longer than cotton fibers, so linen is a bit less likely to shed.
BTW, as you might guess, one of our favorite shows is Project Runway.
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- Reply by GinaG on February 19, 2012 at 12:13 am
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I know you like project Runway, you mentioned that on the "cooking shows" thread when we all talked about reality TV. I did see the 1st 2 seasons and enjoyed it.
Thanks for correcting me on the linen, I got my fabrics twisted. There must be different grades of linen and I'm thinking it should be on the heavy side.
I work with high-hydration dough and it just would be nice to have a neat and tidy singular place for multiple loaves and rolls to fit nicely, rather than what's going on now which is alot of moving around and adjusting. If I have multiple breads and loaves going, it quickly starts looking like an urban development and planning project. It's time to get more organized!
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- Reply by pammyowl on February 19, 2012 at 12:54 am
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Use their cotton weave kitchen towels as a couche. It is not unheard of, so I was surprised, that's all. Just another way to improvise using what you have. I, too, could not find the correct cloth at a fabric store, They would look askance, "what, cloth made from flax?"! As far as I know, linen is made from flax, so obviously they were clueless!
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- Reply by GinaG on February 19, 2012 at 1:22 am
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I apologize, I misunderstood. I thought Mike was just giving input on his experience in using flour-sack towels and why he doesn't prefer them is all. At any rate, I do appreciate hearing how people do things; what they like and don't. It's what I asked for! LOL!
I suppose it's better for someone to admit they don't know what we're talking about than lie about what they're selling! That would be a problem!
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- Reply by GinaG on February 19, 2012 at 4:10 am
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Placebo,
PERFECT!!! Thank you very, very much, that saves me a ton of searching and leg-work. I was ready to make an untold number of phonecalls and have samples sent...This way, one-stop shopping.
I'm a very strange girl: I hate shopping. I just like to buy what I want to have without the "work."
Again, many thanks.
~Gina
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- Reply by Mike Nolan on February 19, 2012 at 9:27 am
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I have tried to use cotton (flour sack) towels as a couche, I found the fabric was a bit slack and that may have affected how well it worked.
I've also tried it with linen dish towels. The biggest problem there is the size, and also the fact that many linen dish towels have something printed on them or have been dyed.
I've only used my linen couche a few times so far, and it was a bit stiff, but I think it would loosen up some with use. (The main reason it hasn't gotten used more is I haven't made baguettes very often in the past year and a half.)
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- Reply by GinaG on February 19, 2012 at 12:08 pm
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Well Mike,
Your experience has been consistent with mine. I wish I could make the towels work better, they just don't behave the way i want them to.
I have a nice stack of heavy, white, pure cotton dish towels I strictly use for food prep like pasta; draining spinach, etc. Even if well-pressed and creased, they just don't offer the support I'd like to have and I too feel limited by their size.
I have to use too many at once; it's getting arduous and too make-shifty. I find that a triple-fold layer of freezer paper lined with parchment works better for me because I can fold it, it has body, offers firm support and it's much closer to a size that works for me.
I'm really grateful for all your insight and input, the more we chit-chat, I think the decision has been made that a good quality couche is in order. It sounds like SFBI would be the place from where I'll adopt.
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- Reply by MattieO on February 21, 2012 at 4:50 pm
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Hi- I'm getting ready to order some couche fabric from SFBI (been meaning to for awhile). In the meantime, I have been using 2-3 linen place mats that I bought a few years ago. I lay them vertically up against my bread board and they work great! So well that I have been putting off the purchase. Stiff enough to hold shape and with plenty of flour, they roll onto the board perfectly. Until you get your couche, I'm sure you have a few suitable placemats you can use in the interim. -All the best!
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