July 14, 2017 - 11:08am
Is this loaf overproofed?
I recently made a bread which after baking turned out quite dense and sticky. Is this a typical case of overproofing and over fermentation? It also smells / tastes a bit funky. I wonder if it was due to my starter or fermenting too long? It was retarded in the fridge for 24hr. My starter was smelling very much like ripe fruit / yoghurt / sweet, and not sour or acidic at all. The dough was pretty much smelling the same just before baking. I used 9% pre-fermented flour with 4h bulk + 24h retarding in the fridge.
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Even if 24 hours final proofing sounds too long. Usual timings will be 8-12 once the bulk ferment has been done at room temperature.
Seems well risen and not dense. If you're experiencing stickiness it could mean it hasn't been baked for long enough and/or you've cut into it too quickly.
Thanks, maybe it was slightly underbaked, but I measured the internal temp to be 99.1C. I'm more worried about the kind of funky taste - it doesn't taste like my typical sourdoughs. It's kind of similar taste if you have a yeasted bread and let it prove for too long..
This is a close up of the problem area. Some parts of the crumb are quite dense and did not expand much. The flavour seems to have mellowed a bit after sitting overnight and most of the funky taste is gone now.
warmer on one side more than the other. As the lower crumb appears an even colour, I'm betting the location in the refrigerator caused the crumb bubble size difference. Did you rotate the loaf as it sat in the fridge 24 hrs? The door side tends to be warmer if opened often.
Thanks. It was actually against the side of the fridge, which can get colder than the middle. I did take it out a few times to check the dough but I might have put it back in the same way. Could it also have something to do with scoring?
Still, it doesn't quite have that really open crumb that I was going for, and I'm not sure how to achieve that.
as opposed to more open but to get it more open, perhaps delay the final shaping and gently reshape/fold while retarding the dough, tightening the matrix for a better shape and then it may hold its shape better if proofing a bit longer. Folding during retard also helps distribute any warm spots in the dough and gives the yeast a little boost for more gas production during that final proof.
Hi ! . I am not sure if I understand you well . What Do you mean by delay the final shaping ? Also you mean that once the dough is in the proofing basket in the fridge we can gently reshape it ? And retighten it up ?
My problem is my starter / leaven is very active ,doubling up easily within 4 hours at room Temp .I follow the Tartine bread recipe step by step . The bulk fermentation takes 4 hours at room temp. ( including stretch and fold every 30 min x5 then leave it x 1h 1/2 hour the dough is nice and strong .-- I shape it and put it in a fridge in a banneton overnight , sometimes up to 36 hours in order to give the dough enough time to develop and also because I really seek to get this sour taste ( but I am still not getting it ) --
I always expect my proofing dough to double in the fridge ( 4C ) but unfortunately it hardly moves .il's seem like the activity stops . The oven spring is timid ,the score opens a bit but there is no tearing visible like we see on nice bread . The result often gives a slightly moist Bread with littles littles holes ,and unsufficient sour taste .
W hat do I do wrong ? Do someone has an idea ? Thank you ever so much for helping me . I need advices so badly .
For more sour, try storing the starter in the fridge to slow down the yeast. Fed it normally, then store in fridge for a few days, remove, feed, don't let it rise much, then back in the fridge. See if you get more sour after a week or so. I've seen this happen (especially with a relatively new starter) when kept warm. Bigger holes - I think that is about a perfect crumb. I look at big holes like this - what's a hole? Essentially nothing. And in that case, what does a hole taste like, and what does a hole hold? Nothing. But to each his own - good luck!
Hi Phaz ! This is what I do . I keep my starter (30 g ) in the fridge and feed it once a week ,the day I bake ...I take 10 g of seed ( keeping the rest for pancakes ) and give 3 refresh 1:1:1 or 2:1:1 or 1:2:2 .After my third refresh I keep 30 g which goes back in the fridge .The leaven is always active . Sometimes I go away for work and leave it in my fridge x 5-6 weeks and after a few refresh it is active again . Thank you so much for your reply ! --
You could try skipping the refreshes before baking and just toss the starter into you dough/preferment. My starter stays in the fridge, it comes out, maybe 1 refresh, then right into my preferment. But I don't like very sour bread, more of a slight, but noticeable creamy tang. I'm sure someone will chime in with a process to get what you like. There are folks here who like everything from mildly sour to pucker you lips sour and everything in between.