A crusty problem
I've been trying to get this natural levain sourdough thing down for over a year now. I can say that I finally got the starters right and I'm getting better at working with softer doughs. And the proof is right (as big as it can be and still firm enough to handle. Hurray, it's been a long road.
But no matter what I try, I can't get the oven spring to make those airy deep pocketed loaves everyone shows off all the time. I tried a dutch oven 20 minutes later I take the lid off a dark brown brick the same size as it went in. Maybe my DO is crap? Who knows. The lid does wobble a bit.
I have a sheet cake pan full of 6lbs. Of lava rocks in the bottom of the oven. When the bread goes in so does the water, quarts of it, boiling, cold, hot tap the results are the same.
I turn the loaf upside down for that "natural split", I leave it right side up and give it a criss cross, a tic tac toe board, a cesarean. It doesn't matter. The crust seals tight in a minute or two. Nothing splits or expands much. I've tried temps from 400-525. What am I doing wrong?
By the sheer number of questions like yours that appear on this site (and also from a bit of experience), I think the hardest thing for a new baker is to get fermentation correct. Maybe I am misunderstanding, but from your description, it seems that your loaf is very fragile when you go to put it into the DO. During the final proof, you do not want it to be as big as it can, because if it is, it won’t spring. I’m not trying to be snarky here, as I said, it is difficult know when proofing is done. Bread dough is actually quite hardy and should be able to take a bit of handling without deflating, depending on many factors, of course.
You also said that your scores close up within a couple of minutes. Three major factors could affect this. The first is fermentation, as described above. The second is dough strength. You need to develop enough strength in the gluten so that it will hold its shape. If you do not, it could sag and fall. The third factor is shaping. During shaping the goal should be to stretch the outer gluten sheath around the dough. Think of it as a balloon. The outer skin should stay intact and not tear while you stretch it. Since it is stretched, it will pull apart during the bake rather than closing in on itself. There are many shaping videos around that may help you.
It may be helpful for you to post your recipe and technique. Also just as an aside, if you use a DO you don’t need to generate a lot of steam in the oven. The DO will contain enough steam, even with a wobbly lid.
-Brad
thanks. I will give the things you mentioned a closer look-see. Although the proof still springs back right away when I give it a poke. I will do some more research.