May 19, 2019 - 10:51pm
How to fix unenthusiastic ear and weird slope-y shape in an otherwise OK bake?
I've been getting a better handle at how to control for certain factors in any given bake. But I keep getting a consistent problem with these meh ears and weird, sloping shape of my batards.
Some notes:
- Used 20% levain, and way after it already past peak/fell.
- Threw the whole dough in the fridge for a few hours to bulk proof when I had to run an errand, then returned to wrap up bulk proof and folds. As you can see from the pic of the scored raw dough below, I think the fermentation went well.
- Oven was at 475. I probably let it preheat for 45 minutes before throwing the dough in.
- Performed cinching method, but the dough was still a tad slack, so I turned it 90 degrees and cinched in that direction as well (this probably explains why the crumb is a bit tighter and even.
- Bake on pizza stone, with an upside down aluminum roasting pan over it, along with ice cubes next to it. Finished the setup with lava rocks, poured hot water into the vessel full of the rocks. Baked for 20 min at 475, then 20 min at 450.
What am I doing wrong? Should my oven be even more hot, or should I let it preheat for even longer? I feel that 475 is already pushing it—see how charred the top looks. That's why I'm hesitant to go even higher.
Appreciate any tips!
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first impression of first photo is that it looked borderline over-proofed to me or too relaxed. The second looked too deeply scored. And the third looked scorched, too hot oven (246°C) or too long baked for that particular bread. The shape from the side makes me again think the dough relaxed too long before or after shaping and too much heat coming down onto the top of the loaf. The bottom crust looks lighter in comparison.
Crumb looks very open, dough chased the score, pushing out (little resistance) the lower shoulder under the score. can see swirl of smaller bubbles layered with larger ones. This might mean the dough had uneven temp when flattened out (bottom different from the top surface) or outside edge cooler or dough worked more than the middle of the dough... ah, the cinching.
I would try first shortening the bulk ferment just a little bit and dropping the oven temp after the initial oven spring. But that is just me. Someone else might have another opinion.
Thanks for the observations!
I think my oven is a bit uneven. I tested it by rolling out a dough and baking it on a baking sheet. Some parts of the dough were underbaked, while the edges were singed.
I think I also jump the gun at putting the bread in the oven. I don't let it preheat for much longer than 30 minutes. It seems like an hour is more appropriate.
And you're right, I think this loaf was a tad overfermented. And I read more about good slashing practices. It seems like I might have deflated it/discouraged it from springing with my deep slash.
I tried this past weekend with another loaf, taking your review into consideration. I got a bit more even oven spring, but still less than I anticipated, given the activity of this ferment (you can see from the bubbles in the slash that it was quite happy).
I think the lack of spring had to do with the oven temperature. Again, I don't think I preheated it enough. This bread, unlike the bread I posted at the beginning of this thread, was cooked in a Dutch oven, which shows in the even color around the crust.
I don't like the crust that a Dutch oven results in, but I think I may have to stick with this method for more-consistent results, given that my oven is quite uneven in temperature.
Reviews or thoughts welcome!
The outside is already overdone in places - you definitely wouldn't want to go even hotter, unless the inside is also considerably overdone and you're sharply reducing the time. (Which I don't expect would be the case.)