Proofing
Hello, I’m new to sourdough bread and I’m hoping to seek some help here. I would really appreciate all of the comments :)
I think I might have some proofing issues. My bread has huge air tunnels on the top and looks a bit gummy and translucent. The whole bread feels dense and heavy. I’ve read from many people that this is an indication of under proofed. After seeing this for my first loaf, I added another 2hrs of bulk fermentation for the second loaf but it still looks the same :/ the weird thing is that I live in a hot and humid place so under proofing shouldn’t really be happening if I follow the timing in the recipe right?
I’ve attached the photos my two attempts below and this is the recipe I followed https://youtu.be/jJpIzr2sCDE
thank you in advance!
Yes, this is still underproofed. But this can have many reasons. Quality of flour and water, age and activeness of your starter (how old is it), a cold draft etc etc.
I see. My starter is around 2 months old now and it looks very active. Sometimes it can even triple in size. I think I could use some water that's boiled and cooled down next time, this should kill off the germs. I'll also extend the time of bulk fermentation. How much longer do you think it should be? I'm afraid of over proofing it
Is your water chlorinated or contains any other additives?
About how long you should proof...I would say, as long as it needs. Even though I use the same recipe and the same conditions, sometimes my dough proofs for 2 h, sometimes for 3 h.
Your dough is ready when it feels noticeably lighter, but still strong (given you have done enough stretch & folds). It should have grown in size, but not crazy (60-70% size increase is enough). You can also see these signs in Joshua's video.
Also make sure the loaf has grown when you take it out of the fridge.
Oh I just checked, the water is chlorinated. I didn’t know that and just used filtered tap water.
I think this might be a cause of the problem. I don’t see my dough grow in size and feel actually but I still went ahead since I thought that with the hot weather here, it shouldn’t need to be proofing for that long(and the extra 2hrs for the second one). I guess I really should be focusing more on the dough than on the time!
Most (maybe all) filters that are designed to make tap water more drinkable remove chlorine. So your filtered tap water should be fine.
I see thanks :)