Tartine loaf over or under proofed??
Just started baking sourdough last month using the Tartine recipe and right out of the gate was getting incredible results. But now a month on I’m starting to run into issues and I’m not sure if I’ve just started playing too fast and loose with the method? Or if something else is the culprit. My main question is whether it seems like I am under or over proofing my loaves? This loaf was at about 71F with bulk fermentation time of around 5 hours and then into the fridge overnight for a very long final rise (12+ hours??). The loaves seemed small and dense out of the fridge and as you can see I got some oven spring but it’s a little lackluster at the bottom.
I baked two other loaves last week at the same room temp and bulk fermentation time(5 hours) but baked that evening after 3 hour final rise at room temp and had basically the same issues.
Looks like under-proofed to me. I also found that with the arrival of winter and cooler temperatures my pure sourdough loaves take longer. (Any hybrid, such as the Field Blend #2 from FWSY, will still go at about the same pace because of the presence of instant dry yeast.) A kitchen temperature of 71 F sounds warm enough, but is still just enough cooler than a summer temperature of 78 F to require extra time.
My suggestion is that you recall what the dough looked like at the end of the bulk fermentation during the bakes that you liked. (Photos are a great assist on things like that, and I routinely take photos at each stage so that I can look back later and see what was happening.) Let the dough go until it looks like that and then remove from the mixing container and do the pre-shape.
Another seasonal adjustment that you should anticipate is the arrival in the spring and summer of humidity. That will require paying attention to the amount of water needed to achieve the right hydration. Lower humidity in the winter means you can add water without fear of going over the limit, so not to worry for now. In the spring, think about holding back some water.
Let us know how your adjustments work (time-wise and any other).
Happy baking.
Ted
My kitchen has been cooler than yours (more like 67-68 degrees), but to compensate I've dropped the levain percentage to 10% and done my last few bakes using an overnight bulk ferment of about 11 hours and it's worked great and been much easier for my schedule! The change in temperature can certainly throw off your baking. I read that the bulk fermentation time roughly doubles for every 15 degree drop in temperature. That helped me realize that if I was doing 4 hour bf at 80 degrees this summer, at 65 degrees I'd need a bulk ferment closer to 8 hours.