The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Crumb control and finally some decent loaves

kendalm's picture
kendalm

Crumb control and finally some decent loaves

After a couple of weeks of really dismal results dealing with change of season and change of yeast - back in the saddle with some nice loaves and the kind of crumb structure I am always striving to produce. I'm a smaller bubbles type of dude and like to see the inside looking more like this. The last few batches had overproofed while trying to find a good balance of ady verses the usual fresh yeast that has become so consistent for me. For the record this recipe which started as 600g T65 at 69% used .9g of ady as opposed to the usual 5g. That's less than a 5th when most conversions say 1/3. So it brings up an interesting point as to how accurate that conversion is. Could just be that the fresh yeast I have been using is maybe a little more active than the standard base that these conversions work on. All I know is that when I first converted to 1/3 is that I saw much faster activity than normal - dough was puffing up to triple size in just over one hour. This recipe relies on fairly slow rise followed by cold retard and based on experience turns out much better the slower the yeast is moving - usually after the first rise at room temp if the dough has less than doubled I know I am on the right track. That was the case here and maybe a little slower than normal, so, just goes to show how important, especially as a home baker the attention to reading the dough really is. And now off to defile these guys :)

Lazy Loafer's picture
Lazy Loafer

I'm finding the season kind of messed me up too. For many of my breads that take ADY I've had to cut down either the amount of yeast or the time at room temperature, and things are even overproofing in the fridge. It kinda sneaks up on you, doesn't it?

Now that you've got those perfect, it's almost time for the weather to change again. :)

Wendy

kendalm's picture
kendalm

We had a pretty intense heat wave last week and as you mention even the refrigerated dough was rising fast - crazy what a few degrees does to your routine !

jimbtv's picture
jimbtv

Good info kendalm.

I seem to be chasing the same issues you noted above - everything developing much faster than expected and consistent overproofing because I just cannot process fast enough. Tomorrow I am making a batch of baguettes and I will follow your recommendations.

It's funny because I used to produce baguettes with great grigne and an open crumb, and lately I have been noticing a degradation of both factors.

Really nice baguettes by the way. Next time you shoot photos would you please provide a cross section? I'm curious about the "roundness" of your bagettes :-)

 

 

Skibum's picture
Skibum

I haven't baked a lean loaf like this for a while. That is truly beautiful crumb! I could eat 5 or 6 of those loaves right about now. You sir, have inspired me to get busy and bake some bread.

Happy baking! Ski