July 13, 2015 - 10:55am
(Problem) Mushrooms style crust
Can you please provide an explanation for this mushroom style bread I consistently get when mixing-fermenting-baking in the same day, without retarding in fridge? When the loaf is retarded overnight the problem doesn't occur or is greatly diminished.
I get this annoying split whether or not I make an vertical or horizontal, deep/shallow slash.
The dough is properly developed and the proof time varies from half an hour to 2 hours (at about 27 degrees celsius).
The bread receipt is Hamelman's Whole Wheat Levain (bread flour-ww flour 50-50%).
Thanks for your attention and please do provide your impression based on the attached photo.
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I had visions of a panned loaf with a over exuberant top before I saw the photo.
I take it the recipe is on page 168 of "Bread." It starts out with a 12 to 14 hr poolish with sourdough.
The problem may lie with shaping and because of the improvement with a retard, I suspect it may need to ferment cooler (desired dough temp is 24.4°C) or need a few folds before the final rise. Could be the poolish has fermented too long at the higher temp. so the dough is loosing it's shape sooner.
I might try a short poolish of 8 hrs or beginning the ferment of the poolish in the fridge to finish off later at room temp. or using a smaller amount of levain culture to inoculate the poolish.
What does the bottom of the loaf look like? Crumb shot? If the crumb shot shows a lot of large bubbles pushing up the top, then the fermentation was cut short and it needed to proof longer before shaping.