October 3, 2019 - 10:26am
Lopsided! But I did it
First starter. First loaf! Havent tasted or cut it yet, but I'm already happier than expected. (I was expecting garbage)
Going into the oven it was a flat pancake. I thought underproofed and overhydrated (recipe 75%). I scored it about 2h before baking and used a non-preheated Dutch oven. (My convection oven was preheated to 450)
Do you think the asymmetric/lopsided rise is because one side of my oven (closest to fan) gets hottest first?
Thanks
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Underproofed I guess. Gummy. But still edible. Next time slightly less water and longer proof.
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First, congratulations on your first bake!! One tip - you want to score right before putting the loaf in the oven. I believe you wrote that you scored the loaf two hours before putting it in the oven. Once scored, it should be baked within minutes. Otherwise I believe the dough will lose tension and start to deflate.
I know some people have success using a cold Dutch oven, but I'd definitely recommend pre-heating it next time.
Yes, that appears substantially under-bulk fermented. It probably wouldn't puff up that way if it were under-final proofed. Knowing when the dough is ready to shape takes experience, so don't be discouraged. You will learn that soon enough. If you are used to yeast baking, expect 50% longer with SD, if not more. Make sure you are fermenting in the mid-70s F, at least. Hamelman usually ferments at 76 F. This device is a godsend: https://brodandtaylor.com/folding-proofer-and-slow-cooker/.
The scoring should be done just before loading into the oven. I'm not sure if within the dutch oven it's susceptible to hot spots in the oven, but it never hurts to rotate. I bake on stone and I have to rotate my loaves, since the heat is concentrated in the back.
75% is very wet, especially for beginners. Coming down to 65% did absolute wonders for me, it's been a total game changer, you should maybe give it a try! the dough is manageable, I'm able to shape it properly so it holds its shape which results in tall, perfectly round loaves. The crumb is nice and light, it's not a very open crumb but that's totally fine actually, I can't be bothered to go through 700 steps to achieve an open crumb anyway. 65% is where it's at