Uncooked Cavern in Brioche
I thought I'd share this to humble myself a bit. I'm obsessive about 18th century brioche, so I mill my own soft white wheat, laboriously sieve it (using boar bristles and #70 mesh) into "white" flour, shun the use of milk, only use ale yeast to leaven, etc. But I recently started experimenting with different/shorter proofing times, and this is the result I've had twice in row now.
The first time I thought maybe it mostly was a shaping issue, since I've never had an undercooking issue with my brioche. But having been very careful this last time + taking a closer look at the shot here, it seems there are two interrelated issues. The first is that the dough is not getting warm enough in the proof, after I shape the dough from the fridge. The shorter timeframe doesn't let the warmth penetrate. The second more significant issue is the cook time is too short and the temp is too high. The proof time is actually probably near-correct, as the volume is about +120% of the shaped volume and it looks like there was only a little channeling of air at the very top of the loaf. But I think a lower oven temp and, a foil tent, and another 8 minutes or so should fix this. We'll see.
At least the cooked parts tasted spectacular. Semi-edible mistakes are among the best kind.
that your picture doesn't show up.
Weird. I was seeing it. Should be there now. Thanks!
I can see it now and that is one huge cavern!
...Have you checked its calibration recently? This loaf has probably not been baked long enough at the correct temperature. It looks like your setting is too high, with the crust browning and outer portion baking before the middle has had a chance to heat sufficiently. With all enriched doughs (any dough, in fact) it's worth investing an a digital probe thermometer. That way you can check that the middle of the dough is cooked (88-89℃/190-192F). Enriched doughs have to be baked at lower temperatures to avoid browning the crust too quickly (with all those different sugars you've added from the milk etc., it's easy to do).
Oh, and using volume to check proofing with brioche doughs can be deceptive. In my experience anyway. I've found that the dough feeling soft and puffy to the touch is a much more reliable indicator that it is ready for the oven.
I'm thinking you ought to pipe some chocolate ganache in there and pretend like it was done intentionally.
I had this exact result in November with my first brioche loaf. No picture, unfortunately. Glad to know it is not just me ;-)
I just received Modernist Bread as a birthday gift and they document this problem when using no commercial yeast and only levain with greater than 50% butter. So pull back a bit on the butter and add 3-4% vital wheat gluten to shore things up.
BTW - Modernist Bread is the most amazing production. It is beautiful beyond words. If you have the means (or a large group of friends who will chip in) I highly recommend it.