October 4, 2017 - 10:05pm
Feedback is appreciated
Hi Bakers
I made these 2 loafs using this recipe:
• 740g Bread Flour • 110g Whole Wheat Flour • 50g Rye Flour • 690g H2O • 19g salt • 190g Sourdough starter that is fed 4 hours earlier and has almost doubled in size.
The loaf tastes good. I wish I could get it to be more sour but I have never been able to get the sourness to increase. Crust is good. the holes are just really big this time. This time I decided to retard ferment (14hours) before shaping (well it was 1am and I was tired). After shaping, I let them sit in Banetton 2 hours till dough had risen 25% and poke test left some indentation.
I just want some feedback to help me make better bread,
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My first reaction is to wonder what you have in mind that you make the bread "better". If you want to eliminate giant holes, then pat down the large air bubbles before final shaping.
Curiosity question: Did you bake one in a Dutch oven and the other on a stone? (I do that.)
I will try the patting down before final shaping next time. I baked both in dutch oven but I scored them differently. I baked the one on left first. Then I thought the second one will be proofing too long so I kept the on on the right in the fridge fro the 45 min that the first one was baking.
the crumb pattern points at under proofing during bulk, but I can't know for sure!
Bulk fermentation was 3.5 hours. At the end of Bulk fermentation the dough had risen about 20%.
To make it more sour, and also give it more time to bulk ferment (and get more rise) try reducing the amount of starter and then letting the dough bulk ferment at a cool room temperature (instead of in the fridge) overnight. Then after scaling, pat the dough gently into a circle, poking your fingers into it to chase any big bubbles to the edge and pop them. This will also redistribute the gases a bit better throughout the dough ball. Pleat all the edges into the centre and pinch it together, then let the ball rest for 15 minutes or so. Round it into a tight ball, put it in the banneton and let it proof for another hour or so, then bake.
I'd definitely try that. thanks
Some sourdough starters are more sour than others. Ischia sourdough starter is one of the most sour that I've tried. Perhaps experiment with it or a different starter?