The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

More progress with 1-2-3 Sourdough

Colin_Sutton's picture
Colin_Sutton

More progress with 1-2-3 Sourdough

I'm still working on the same dough to see how my skills improve.  Last week I thought I'd made some progress.

I was delighted with this week's attempts, which used the same formula, adjusted for the fact that I had a 100% hydration levain, rather than 58%.

Variations this week were:

  • Bulk fermentation for four hours at 24°C (75°F);
  • Shaped the loaves, placing one loaf in a lined bâtard-shaped banneton, the other in a lined round banneton;
  • Retarded the dough at 4°C (39°C) for about 21 hours;
  • Scored and baked stright from the fridge;
  • Baked on a pre-heated oven stone, using bottom heat only, starting at 250°C (482°F) and dropping to about 220°C (428°F);
  • Provided steam from a cast iron dish on the base of the oven.

Photo of final baked loaves

Observations from this run:

  • Next time, reduce the bulk fermentation to about 3 hours;
  • Scoring with a lame was much, much, easier straight from the fridge;
  • The bake is too dark for me - the loaves coloured fairly quickly in the oven;
  • The crust of the round loaf must have set too quickly, as a little raw dough squeezed out of a crack near the base.
  • The crumb was fairly open, considering this is a 65% hydration loaf (using an European strong bread flour);
  • I was delighted with the oven spring, but still no gaping slashes.

It definitely feels like I'm making progress.  I think I'm baking at too high a temperature (the oven said 280°C, the thermometer inside was about 225°C - this new oven thermometer is accurate, as far as I know).

I liked the flexibility of an overnight cold retard and will use this again, as it fits really well with my work schedule and general need for sleep.

As ever, thoughts and comments always appreciated.

For those who are interested, I also Tweet my bakes (and other stuff) from @ctwangel.

Happy baking!  Best wishes, Colin.

drogon's picture
drogon

yea, overrated - not! :-)

Looks good on the inside though, but like you, I think it's a bit dark on the top. I usually down the temperature to about 210C after 10-12 minutes in my ovens. Are you sure the top element wasn't on? (I'm assuming it's a fan-assist type oven with top + bottom elements? Mine are fans with the elements round the fans...)

I'm sure you'll have a happy weekend munching though :-)

-Gordon

Colin_Sutton's picture
Colin_Sutton

Many thanks for your recommendations, Gordon (and for the follow on Twitter).

My oven has control over fans and back, top & bottom elements, so I can select whichever.

I pre-heated on all three elements in there, but baked on bottom heat only, without fan.  It is a new oven, and I'm still figuring out how the temperatures differ between the settings and the oven.  I am sure that I was using the right setting, but now I think of it, pre-heating with the top element on could mean that the top was very hot at the beginning of the bake (another learning point!)

Sleep is definitely not overrated. I need loads of it at the moment.

Happy baking! Colin.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

at times.  For some reason the bottoms look less brown than the tops do?  I usually preheat to 500 F and bake with Mega Steam for 12-15 minutes at 450 F then take the steam out and bake at 425 F convection.  Your stone will lag the oven temperature by 15-20 minutes so once the oven beeps and say it is at pre heat then let it sit another 15 minutes to get the stone up to that temperature.  That should cure the bottom not browning as much as the top.

Not enough steam or over proofed for the the bloom problem.   I would start with not enough steam since the loaf did spring and the crumb looks OK  - Use Mega Steam

The crumb looks grand and it has to taste great.  Well done and happy baking - you are getting closer to being there with each bake.

Colin_Sutton's picture
Colin_Sutton

Thanks, Dabrownman. I preheated the stone for 45 minutes (long after the oven claimed to have come-up to temperature). I think my issue was the amount of top-heat from the oven - the top element had been on high immediately before it was set to bottom heat only and the bread was loaded, and so it browned too quickly.

Next time I think I will bring the oven up to temperature & then set to bottom heat only for a while before baking.

I have to say that I love the oven, but I am yet to trust the temperature settings on the oven, which are significantly higher than a reliable oven thermometer placed inside.

I've noted-down your very helpful suggested temperature settings, which for we Europeans using Celsius (to the nearest 5 degrees), are:

  1. Preheat to 260°C (500°F);
  2. Bake with mega steam at 230°C (450°F) for 12-15 minutes;
  3. Bake without steam at 220°C (425°F) convection.

Many thanks for your help, and happy baking! Colin.

alfanso's picture
alfanso

"but I am yet to trust the temperature settings on the oven, which are significantly higher than a reliable oven thermometer placed inside."

I'd guess that almost all new ovens have a facility to adjust up or down the oven thermostat.  Check the oven manual to see whether you have this feature.

Also, oven baking stones will take a long time to reach your desired oven temp. after the thermostat reads so.  Smaller stones and metal plates will heat up faster, full deck sized stones and plates will take longer, and then the thickness of the material will also count.  A minimum of 45 minutes is usually recommended.

Think of it this way - if you place a casserole into the oven at the same time that you turn the oven on, don't expect the food to keep pace with the ambient oven temperature while the oven is first heating up.  Same with the stone.

Colin_Sutton's picture
Colin_Sutton

Hi Alan (and apologies for the delayed reply).  Thanks for the suggestion of checking to see if the oven thermostat can be adjusted.  I will certainly have a look.

The baking stone I'm using is definitely a 45-minute pre-heat version, it is big and thick (and makes a good dent in the kitchen sink if you happen to a bit clumsy. Oops).  I think my problem was a very hot element in the top of the oven before I switched to bottom-only heat.

Many thanks for your suggestions, as always, and happy baking.  Colin.

FrugalBaker's picture
FrugalBaker

Please let me apologise on the oversight of the size of your baking stone and preheating duration. My bad, sorry :) 

 

Regards,

Sandy

Colin_Sutton's picture
Colin_Sutton

Goodness me, Sandy, no worries, and thanks for your suggestions, which are so helpful. Happt baking! Colin,

FrugalBaker's picture
FrugalBaker

Hi Colin, another good looking bread you have there although I have to be honest the crust was a tiny too dark for my liking. Though, the crumbs are looking just fine. Well,done. 

I too, purchased a new oven (for temporary basis as I am expecting to give my kitchen a makeover sometime next year but afraid the current one would break down out of a sudden) last week. Everything was working fine but the top heating element has been way too hot compared to the bottom. 

If you have such concern about the top heating element, may I suggest you to put your bakes a deck lower if possible? Also, I think pre-heating the baking stone at 240dc for 20 mins will suffice as opposed to your current practice. Not only that you will save a few bucks on your utility bill, the crust of your bread won't be forming 'prematurely'. I had such experience with my old oven and most often than not, oven springs were affected. Though, I am getting away with such problem ever since I got my Dutch oven....it is godsend! 

Colin_Sutton's picture
Colin_Sutton

Thank you so much for your kind remarks and encouragement, Sandy. The crust is definitely too dark for me in appearance too (though it is tasty!)

Interesting to hear that you too have noticed a very hot top element in your new oven.

Thank for the suggestions of reducing oven pre-heating to 20 minutes and using a low shelf. I was using the second-lowest, as I had to get a cast iron pan on the floor of the oven.

I was wondering about placing another stone on the top shelf too, as demonstrated by Maurizio on The Perfect Loaf: http://www.theperfectloaf.com/baking-with-steam-in-your-home-oven/

I've been using a round "La Cloche" for most of my boules, but didn't think that a bâtard would fit, and I wanted to see how this dough worked on a stone.  Glad your new Dutch oven is working well.

I wish you much success with your new oven, and planning the kitchen re-fit.

Happy Baking! Colin.