Scores not bursting
Hi,
I’ve been baking a bit more in the last month, and doing more bread. Recently I’ve cooked some Peter Reinhart recipes, which have generally come out very nicely. For example, I’ve done the french country bread twice in the last week, and in this bread, plus others, I’m not getting the scores to split open properly.
as you can see in the photo, the score just sort of opens up, it doesn’t burst at all. The crumb is also not quite as irregular and big-holed as I would like, although it is very delicious and soft.
I have made the scores with scissors, or a razor blade, at different depths and different angles, but with no change to the final effect.
I have a Siemens steam injection oven, and I have also tried adding more steam with a cast iron pan at the same time. I don’t think this is the problem, but is it possible to have too much steam??
It’s not a massive problem, as the breads are all still highly enjoyable to eat, but it makes me wonder what I’m doing wrong, and could it be even better?
Thanks in advance for any help here.
Here’s a photo of a Pugilese I made a couple of weeks back. Again, very good to eat, but holes not really big enough and no bursting at the seams:
C098941E-FC58-4787-A759-A094B24CC2F9.jpeg
7E6A7B90-FFE1-4DA8-AC2B-DC8C5006311A.jpeg
In my experience, if it doesn't burst open like in those artisanal breads, it usually is because the outside crust sets too fast, which happens when the air in the oven is too dry. When I bake my breads without any cover or so, they look like above.
However, if I bake them in a Dutch oven with lid on, they burst nicely open.
Your crumb is also very even with small holes, that gives me the idea that is rises very evenly and more gentle.
My logic might have some flaws and this all presumes your proofed dough is good and strong. But to me it is clear that a Dutch oven with lid contributes greatly to oven spring and bursting of the score - at least with my breads.
Interesting. I suppose I need to make the same recipe again and cook it in a Dutch oven to see if that makes a difference.
I sort of thought that if it wasn’t expanding properly in the oven then the crumb would be tight and dense, which is very much not the case. But I could well be wrong.
Can it be that your steam injection oven gives so much steam that the bread can rise with out breaking the skin of the dough?
yes, I have wondered that. I've never heard of it happening before though?
Can you give me a link the the oven you have?
I am interested which oven it is.
Some day I gone buy a new one and a oven with steam injection sounds cool.
This is what I have,
https://www.siemens-home.bsh-group.com/uk/productlist/CS658GRS1B
Looks like this specific one is out of production, I assume there is an updated version now.
How many minutes do you steam your oven? Do you then vacate the steam?
Getting a good "burst " of expansion also seems to depend on slightly underfermenting the dough, so that there is some last minute fermentation going on in the oven.
Also, baking right from the refrigerator, no warming up, helps some people.
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update: Another important step is to develop a tight gluten skin or "cloak" as some people call it. During the final proof, I try to wick-away as much moisture as I can. That way, once in the oven, the skin stays tight, not expanding, and that forces expansion to happen along the score lines.
10-15 minutes, then I turn off the steam, vacate it (and remove steam pan if present), turn the loaf and shut the door again.