June 18, 2020 - 4:55pm
Raw flour in crumb
I am a new bread baker and need help. In all the instruction videos on bread baking that I have seen, the baker sprinkles flour on the work surface and dough, and then kneads or folds the dough for proofing or shaping before baking. When I do this, my finished loaf has a vein of raw flour running through the crumb. What am I doing wrong and how can I avoid this?
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If you are noticing a vein of flour in your dough, I suspect the dough isn’t being kneaded thoroughly. If that is not the case you are using way too much flour on the counter.
How are you kneading the dough?
Are you familiar with an autolyse?
We can help you with this.
Danny
My guess is you are using too much flour during shaping. Try with less flour and especially on the seam side of the dough. Keep the flour on what will be the outside of the loaf.
Agreed
When I do this to myself it is because I forgot to brush the raw flour from the top of the dough during folding, although it can also happen during shaping as already pointed out. For me the "gotcha" is in folding though.
I try try to keep a pastry brush by the board when I fold, and use it on the top of the dough after each movement. Right side over the middle, and brush. Left side over the...
When I don't remember the brush, I see veins of raw flour in the loaves later.
Best of luck with it
OldWoodenSpoon
Thank you all for the quick and helpful advice. I think my problem is not with the kneading, but with the folding and shaping. I am using wet dough and putting flour on my counter and on top of the dough ball to prevent sticking. This is probably the four that is not dissolving and incorporating itself into the dough and appears as the white vein inside the loaf. I have thought of rather than using additional flour on my counter to reduce sticking, I mist the counter with water or oil, but am concerned that the water will change the hydration %, and the oil would form a barrier preventing the folded portions of the dough from merging with itself into a uniform, not layered mass. Any suggestions?
Oil will solve the sticking problem, but your fear for the oil would be the risk, and my reason for not going there. You really can use flour, as long as you use moderation, and "clean up" as noted above. Water will work too. It is a technique used a lot for extremely wet doughs like foccacia, pugliese and the like, and a good misting would not seriously impact hydration, but all of these choices demand moderation in order to avoid negative side effects.
Best of luck
OldWoodenSpoon
Thanks. I will try water on my next loaf, and flour with a brush on the one after that, and compare results.
I tried using water rather than flour in my kneading and proofing. No raw flour vein in final loaf, but almost no oven spring either. Dough was sticky and didn't form a skin. When scored, it didn't spread but resealed the cut. Obviously, I am doing something wrong. Any suggestions?
Share your formula and steps. is this yeasted or sourdough? could be wrong hydration, flour type, bad yeast or starter, poor gluten development, over proofed...
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup warm water 390 gms
1/3 cup olive oil 71 gms
1/3 cup honey 77 gms
2 teaspoons salt 12 gms
1 tablespoon wheat gluten 9 gms
4 – 4 1/2 cups high protein flour 500-565 gms
1 ½ Tsp Diastic Malt Powder 1 ½ Tsp
2 tablespoons instant yeast 19 gms
Seeds (Poppy, Sesame, onion flakes)
All ingredients blended in mixer, then kneaded with dough hook for 10 minutes.
Rest for 10 minutes then transfer to work surface and stretch and fold till smooth
proof on baking sheet for 1/2 hour then into preheated oven @ 450F on pizza stone for 25 minutes.