TOO much ear?
Hello everyone - long time reader first time poster. I’ve been baking bread for a whopping two and change months, and I’m making exactly one kind of bread: a sourdough boule (25% whole wheat, 75% white bread flour, 70% hydration). So far, I’m liking the results but I have one really weird persistent problem and that’s that...I get a really high “ear” at the top of my loaves which then scorches a little and gives the loaf an odd shape. Picture above (I hope). I know ears are desirable but this is a bit extreme, especially for a round loaf!
I’m bulk fermenting this dough for like 8 hours around 75F, folding every 45 min for the first few hours and then leaving it, and then proofing overnight in the fridge for maybe 14 hours or so. Baking in an old cast iron Dutch oven at 450F for 25 min, then 15 or so with the lid off. The crumb is nice and soft but maybe a little close? It tastes great. I just want it to not do that crazy ear thing. Maybe it’s just a scoring thing? My starter is pretty active but I keep it in the fridge bc I only bake once a week or so. It’s 80% hydration half and half white bread flour and whole wheat. No rye.
Anyway all suggestions welcome, with my thanks!
EDIT: forgot to add a crumb shot, in case that's helpful:
you can try different scoring patterns and also up the hydration to, say, 75%. Patterns with more cuts will not generate this high flap you are complaining about. Try some criss crossing
I’ve been scared to try a new scoring pattern because I’m not the most confident scorer and I feel like it’s a real point of no return - but I’ll try some more crosshatching, or maybe a simple cross on top, and see what happens!
When you proof in the fridge, is your loaf in an airtight bag or container?
Sort of? I put it in a wood-fiber proofing basket both lined and covered with a linen cloth, and that is wrapped loosely in a plastic shopping bag so that it doesn’t dry out in the fridge.
I see nothing wrong with that beautiful ear. However, if it offends you, try a vertical slash with a knife or lame where the blade is straight and not curved. The slash should spread evenly each way, as opposed to giving you that beautiful ear. I will say, an 8 hr bulk fermentation at 75 degrees seems really excessive, but your results look really good. Why not cut the fermentation period in half, shape, give the loaf maybe 45 min proof at room temp and then retard overnight? Save you a bit of time, unless the 8 hrs hrs favors your schedule better. Generally you don’t let a dough go for more than 90 minutes without degassing to keep the yeast from going to sleep. But as I said earlier, gorgeous loaf and beautiful crumb, so maybe if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But try scoring differently.
Yeah I let my dough bulk for a LOOOONG time after having realized that my early bakes were showing signs of being underproofed. I dunno what the deal is (slightly weak starter?) but as you said, it ain't broke and leaving it to basically sit around all day does in fact work with my schedule, so I'm going to try and only fix one thing at a time! I tried doing a 3-slash cross pattern and it didn't rise up quite so much. I don't mind the ear itself necessarily, just the scorching, and I was really curious to see what folks said because I searched and searched and couldn't find anyone else making loaves that did this exactly!
I’d suggest to up your hydration by 10% and then you won’t have such a large ‘ear’ when it bakes. The burnt edge is really nice to eat though!