April 10, 2017 - 6:17pm
Crusty film on my proofed bread
Hello,
I'm about a month new to sourdough bread. I've had pretty decent success so far, however, I have run into the same crusty film each time.
This film forms over the top of the levain, and I just stir it back in. No biggie. It then forms on the top of my loafs during their final proof overnight in the fridge, making slashing the top difficult, as the film catches on the knife and moves the whole top of the bread. The bread also doesn't break open like I'd expect.
Is there something I can do differently? Where am I going wrong?
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with a lid and your loaves in the fridge with a plastic bag? Your words "crusty film" makes me think that the surfaces are drying out.
You might want to try to dust your loaves with a bit of flour before slashing them. It might help form a skin that is easier to score.
upside down? In a floured cloth lined bowl or floured banneton? Then the crust would be on the bottom after flipping out the dough and not bother your scoring.
"...It then forms on the top of my loafs during their final proof overnight in the fridge,..."
I'm covering the levain with a kitchen towel. It's almost a leathery film.
I did try to raise the dough upside down, which did help prevent the film, but the slashing still didn't tear open like I'd expect.
Thank you for your comments!
want to keep the surface from drying out. lightly oiled plastic film also works on the surface. Slowly peel off when ready.
caused by too low a level of humidity. You need between 75% to 80% humidity to prevent a skin from forming. The level of humidity depends on type of dough. Refrigerators are designed to remove the humidity. That's the purpose of the evaporator. Unfortunately there's no way to adjust an evaporator on your fridge.
but you can takes steps to determine the humidity levels and create some humidity if its too low.
my ex was into cigars. Preserving cigars means humidity control in the humidor. I use to maintain his humidor. There's a gadget called a hygrometer that is placed inside the humidor to monitor the humidity level. You can get one with a digital display for about $20. Just google "hygrometer for humidor".
Place the hygrometer in the fridge on the shelf you normally use for proofing. After 24 hours, check the humidity level. If it's below 75%, place a clean wet kitchen towel in the refrigerator, then check humidity level after 24 hours. Make sure the towel is wrung out really well. It doesn't take a lot to moisture to raise the humidity level. Keep repeating the humidity check and wet towel use until the humidity is where you want it. You may need to leave a damp towel in the refrigerator when you are doing the final proof to maintain the humidity.
the surface of your levain and dough are drying out. I know that with the extremely low humidity levels here, that covering any part of the process with just a kitchen towel would leave me dealing with a dried out, crusty surface too.
Rather than faffing about with trying to change the humidity of my kitchen or my refrigerator, I just use a plastic container with a lid for my levain and for bulk ferment (there is enough moisture sealed in to prevent the crust forming) or seal it with plastic wrap if resting the dough in a mixing bowl that doesn't have a lid.
As Danni3ll3 mentioned, placing the entire banneton with the shaped loaf inside a sealed plastic bag works just fine for keeping it from drying out while doing a retarded final proof in the fridge. I place a strip of lightly floured plastic wrap lightly resting on the surface of the loaf (so that condensation from the dough doesn't stick the bag to it) and have had no issues at all with it drying out. Using a light coating of oil on the plastic wrap inside the bag instead of flour would do even more to prevent a crusty film forming.
Hopefully all it will take is a simple change to covering your levain and your proofing loaf into something airtight to prevent the same issue in the future.
Good luck!
I too proof in the fridge and had dry loafs at first. I now place a bowl over my brotforms as the dough proofs overnight. This protects my bread from the fan in the fridge as well as allows the dough to create a sort of microclimate inside the fridge. I often find droplets of condensation inside the dome in high hydration doughs. As for your levain do you have it covered while fermenting? i use a largish mason jar and place a coffee filter over the top secured with a canning ring. the only time i get a crust is if i get distracted and let it run too long.