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Underfermented fools crumb?

sourdough.burr.ead's picture
sourdough.burr.ead

Underfermented fools crumb?

I am having trouble deciding if this is a good crumb or fools crumb. I have underfermented breads before and they were very dense, but this loaf was not dense. Light and airy. It just has a unique pattern of bubbles. The bulk ferment was 4.5 hours at 76F. Followed by a cold proof for 14 hours. Any feedback or tips would be great. Thanks

Comments

Breadifornia's picture
Breadifornia

Seems like there are some proofing issues here by the look of the crumb.  Do you recall the % rise of the dough at the end of bulk ferment? I've found that keeping track of the rise and feel of the dough is more reliable than time/temp when it comes to bulk proofing.  Normally 25%-30% rise before it goes into the fridge is about right for my bakes.  Cheers. 

sourdough.burr.ead's picture
sourdough.burr.ead

Yeh this is something I need to figure out better. It seems like it was about 25% risen. I am not completely sure about this though. I have been looking for texture and bubbles mostly. I will let the dough rise a little more today and see the difference. 

Benito's picture
Benito

I is a bit underproofed I’d say and perhaps also you could do a bit more degassing as you’re shaping by lightly patting down the dough to disperse the larger air pockets that develop during stretch and folds etc.  Bulk Fermentation is difficult to determine when to stop and when going by rise, our containers may be hard to read the % rise.  Have a look at this post about the aliquot jar I posted a while back.  The aliquot jar is a simple tool you can use to help determine % rise.  I’ve been using it to great effect when baking lately especially in instances like this bake where you know it was a bit under.  If you used an aliquot jar and knew that the rise was 30% this time, then next time you know to increase it say to 40 or 50%.

Benny

Hotbake's picture
Hotbake

I think the crumb is good. Just need a little more strength, add 5 mins of slap and fold or mixing one step before the salt and/or one more set of fold might be what you need.

The giant bubbles are often created by handling rather than fermenting. Pop the large bubbles in between folds as you go

sourdough.burr.ead's picture
sourdough.burr.ead

I added a slap and fold for 10 min instead of mixing in the bowl and it worked great. Thanks for the recommendation!