The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Troubleshoot my bread

Tonz57's picture
Tonz57

Troubleshoot my bread

It seems I’m getting too much oven spring. I’m not getting the ear.  Started bake on preheated stone at 475 with steam.  Then reduced temp to 425 (convection) after 10 min. 

Abe's picture
Abe (not verified)

Where are the coils in your oven? It looks like there's a lot of heat coming from on top.

Tonz57's picture
Tonz57

That could be it. My “fancy oven” uses both elements to preheat and has steam injection. I will make sure the heat is coming from the bottom. I was wondering if the convection is the problem as well. 

Abe's picture
Abe (not verified)

Unless the steam is very effective the fan will be an issue. Unless you can turn the top coil and fan off for the first 20 minutes for the steam to do it's job and the dough to oven spring then switching the fan and top coil on (but you might need to lower the temp) for a good finish you'll need another way. 

Can you bake inside a pot or atleast cover the loaves with an upturned pot for the first 20 minutes then take the lid off for the remainder? 

mutantspace's picture
mutantspace

looks like too much heat from above...

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

With the exception of the dark tops and light bottoms, I think they look great. Looks like they bloomed well and have risen to the occassion.

If you notice your bread over browning on the top you can lightly cover the bread with a piece of aluminum foil. The bread will continue to bake but the browning will cease.

The other 2 replies look right. There seems to be something going on with your oven.

Looking forward to the crumb shot.

Dan

tgrayson's picture
tgrayson

How can there be too much ovenspring? The cuts would probably open better if you didn't proof so long,  although it's possible that the crust is setting too fast.

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

Somewhere I read that underproofing can result in excessive oven spring.  When that happened to one of my loaves, the bottom was not flat but rather curved, and the loaf was almost symmetrical across the equator.

tgrayson's picture
tgrayson

Underproofing usually results in cracks in the crust. I'm still inclined to say that excessive oven spring isn't possible, unless I see good evidence to the contrary.

kendalm's picture
kendalm

hints that there's more potential for rise - that single score could be wider and just looks (as others said) that crust set before the loaf reach it's full spring potential. How long was the first phase before you dropped to a lower temp ? Did you bake these simultaneously ?

Abe's picture
Abe (not verified)

Of these loaves?