The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

flat boules

estherc's picture
estherc

flat boules

I've been baking sourdough for about 6 months. My starter is strong. My problem is my boules spread out as soon as I tip them out of the bannetons. I'm baking them in a hot cast iron pot. Most of the recipes I'm using are around 70% hydration. My crumb and crust are fine, just too flat. This morning's rye bread boule came out 9" wide out of a 8" banneton. Its 2 and 3/4 inches tall. I don't think it was overproofed, only one hour in a 69 degree kitchen and about half an inch of rise in the banneton. 

 

If I want big round 3 dimensional boules am I going to have to add commercial yeast?

Les Nightingill's picture
Les Nightingill

you didn't share your formula, but 1 hour is very short for proofing with sourdough, I wouldn't expect much rise in this short of a time. Also, you may not have developed the gluten sufficiently, which may be under proofing or shape/fold or slap/fold techniques. Tell us more about what you did.

brandonbart's picture
brandonbart

My kitchen falls to about the same temperature in the winter, and my sourdough proof time (if not retarded) at room temp is usually about 3 to 3 1/4 hours. Another variable could also be surface tension before they go into the banneton. Ive had a few rye and spelt boules come out a little flat as well.. but in my still limited experience, that seems semi normal.  Your bakers percentages would help if you could post them.

Happy Baking,

Bart

gerhard's picture
gerhard

I don't know if this is fact but it seems to me that sourdough benefits from long bulk fermentation, I don't know if it is just my imagination but it seems that I get both better standup and oven spring when the bulk fermentation is given lots of time.

Gerhard

Reynard's picture
Reynard

You don't say what flour you're using either... Just wondering if your dough is too wet. Next time hold back on some of the water - maybe take the hydration down by 5% - and see where you're at.

And there's no shame in baking your loaf in a tin either :-)

PetraR's picture
PetraR

I had that problem in the beginning, once I started to make sure that they where really tight boules before I put them in the proofing basket they kept their shape better when I turned them out on the parchement paper and in to the Dutdch Oven.

The call this tightening * tension pull * 

If you look at youtube , their are plenty of bread baking videos in which they do the * tension pull * it has helped me very much.

estherc's picture
estherc

I think I'm doing  a good tension pull. Same results rather I do one tension pull or do the Tartine method, doing a tension pull and then the 2nd step, don't know what to call it, folding it back in towards the middle after a rest. 

Perhaps just decreasing the hydration will work. 

 

GlobalTJB's picture
GlobalTJB

Can this occur from overproofing?  I have been having the same problem using the Tartine basic sourdough recipe and proofing in the oven instead of room temperature.  I think the oven is close to 105-110 degrees which is causing too much rise in the boule basket.

estherc's picture
estherc

I used this recipe, http://www.food.com/recipe/basic-sourdough-bread-1-2-3-method-453950 which made two small 1lb loaves. I bulk fermented at room temp and then shaped and put in the fridge overnight. I was hoping to take it right out of the fridge and into the oven but I had no rise at all. I let it proof at room temp for an hour and a half for one loaf and the 2nd one proofed for two. No real difference between the two. 

Nice crisp thin crust. Crumb could be more open but I'm happy with it as it is. They're 4 inches tall so much better loft.

GlobalTJB's picture
GlobalTJB

would over-proofing have the same result?  I have experienced this several times myself using the tartine basic country loaf recipe.

Les Nightingill's picture
Les Nightingill

This could also be caused by over-proofing. And there are quite a few other possible causes too: insufficient leavening due to weak starter, over/under proofing, insufficient gluten development during stretch/fold, rough handling during shaping, insufficient dough tension from shaping, insufficient steam during baking.

estherc's picture
estherc

Two more nice high boules this morning. Same recipe as above. I think the improvement is from overnighting in the fridge after shaping. Then I'm doing an hour at room temperature before baking in a hot dutch oven.

I think even with the hour at room temp the dough is still a little firmer from the cold fridge. 

 

The overnight 2nd proofing works better with scheduling.