April 20, 2009 - 9:44am
sunday night 100% sourdough bread
just cant seem to get the appearance id like. i think i am cutting too deep and not making a clean slice. accidently baked too long as well and i think i overproofed.
Share
sunday night 100% sourdough bread
- koloatree's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
Comments
Maybe it was under proofed! Try a hotter oven stone! Hard to tell what method did you use baking/steaming/slashing?
Sylvia
hi,
i slashed lengthwise as / as i could go. however, i find my self using more of a scratching technique as suppose to doing a 1 clean slash like i see in the youtube videos. i think i need a better lame? i placed the bread on 500 degree baking stone, mist with water, and then cover with large alluminum lid. turned down temp to 480 and removed alluminum lid at 12 minute mark. i baked the sourdough after a 2 hr rest from the final shaping.
basically proof till dough batch doubled(~10hrs), divide and loosely shape then 1 hr rest, final shape and 2 hr rest, bake. previous bake from last week, i believe i only did a 45min rest from the final shaping and it seemed to give really good results.
if one shapes and bakes correctly at the optimum time, does applying steam and covering lid really make a huge difference? im thinking i am spending too much time on the extras and not enough time with proper shaping and proofing(knowing when the dough is ready) etc...
*sylvia, BTW your breads are really awesome looking! they must taste great too!
I can see the scratch type slashing you were using. Your right it's time for a new lame. Everything else seems fine...but then Im a novice myself. I have never tried baking under the foil...but I have heard only good results from David's write-up about using it...I highly recommend steaming for a nice crust. Thank you,koloatree, I have been having some good results and like you it takes a lot of your judgement how you want your loaves to look and work towards that goal...I think we are our own best critics.
Sylvia
Hmm. I'm not an expert either, but my instinct says you've got the oven too hot. I've baked breads that look like this following the temperatures as given in some books, and only get good results by lowering the temperature---no higher than 460 for lean white breads and 440 for whole wheat hearth breads (for enriched breads, it's 325 convection). What happens when it's too hot, is that the outside sets very quickly, creating a shell that prevents further oven spring. And then the loaf gets too brown before you know it. Ovens are different, so your mileage may vary :-)