Advice on Sourdough Crumbs Obserations
Hi everybody,
I have baked chocolate chip sourdough (70% hydration) using KR AP flour (90%) and Oat flour (10%) today. While the bread has a fairly good overspring, the crumbs, on the other hand, doesn't seem right. First of all, I did an overnight autolyse with salt and the starter was added the next day. The bulk fermentation is done at an average temperature of 80 degrees F (30mins for the first 3 folds and 60mins for next 2 folds). What I noticed was the dough after autolyse is soft and smooth but after adding the starter (100% hydration) and chocolate chips, the dough, though still wet and sticky, has become denser. In fact by the end of the 3rd folds, the dough was able to hold its shape and it doesn't spread a bit at all. Folding at this moment can be difficult. Nevertheless, I proceed with the bulk fermentation with the last 2 folds at 60mins interval. I decided to end the bulk fermentation when I notice that the dough has become less sticky and pre-shape is really easy.
Looking at the crumbs,
1) Based on the photo with 2 red circles below, is this an issue with folding? If this is an underproof case, the entire bread should look the same.
2) If this is a folding issue, does it mean that I should do a little bit of kneading and perform windowpane test before adding the starter?
3) I supposed that with overnight autolyse, the no. of stretch and fold can be reduced because the gluten would have been formed. But I realised that uneven density of the crumbs like below will happen if I didn't do an extensive stretch and fold. In this case, I merely do folds only because Im working towards achieving open crumbs.
4) By right, at the end of the bulk fermentation, the dough should feel soft and aerated, like balloon. If I have not even reached this stage, should i continue and wait at the risk of being overproofing the bread?
5) This time, I did cut a small piece from the dough and place it in a separate measuring container. I can see the small dough has increased its size by 30%/40$ but thereafter, it seems that there is not much activities but when I press it, it didn't deflate or feel airy. Does this mean that my starter has lost its strength now?
Appreciate your precious advice. Thanks a million in advance.
Why make such a bread?
Could be the inside of the loaf wasn't baked long enough. Try a lower temp longer to avoid burning the chocolate on the outside. It does look a little underproofed but only in spots. Combining starter with the soaker might have needed some good old fashioned kneading for a minute to distribute the yeast throughout the dough. Was there a thicker dryer surface on the overnight soaker, that might have something to to do with denser dough areas. If so, cover the surface completely during the night.
For a more open crumb, there is little danger of over mixing the soaker with the starter. No gas has been developing in the gluten matrix so there isn't anything to pop or destroy, yet. Folding is as you say, is to develop gluten strength and in this situation, folding may be not enough to mix the dough.
Salt. From what I understand, the salt was in the soaker with the AP flour. The reason for adding salt in a long soaker is to control enzymes that are most abundant in whole flours, those flours that contain the outer parts of the wheat berry. With refined sifted wheat hflour, salt is not needed and may be keeping the soaker from blending well with the starter. Salt also tightens protein bonds. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that the toughness of the mixing is coming from these tough gluten bonds resisting your mixing. Try adding the salt after the soaker and starter are well combined and see if the blending becomes easier.