April 19, 2020 - 8:29pm
Not getting any gluten development after mixing and folds.
I'm following a recipe that worked well for me about 1 month ago.
800 grams all purpose flour
600 grams of water at 90 degrees F.
Autolyse about 1 hour
Add 200 grams of starter.
Add 22 grams of fine sea salt.
Hand mix. Final dough temp 75 degrees F.
I'm getting poor gluten development after the mix and first two folds this time.
I did not do a float test on my starter and used it about 12 hours after refeeding.
Should the starter even matter with regards to initial gluten development? Shouldn't I be able to get some gluten development with mixing and a few folds?
Attached is a photo after the second fold.
EDIT: I mistakenly typed "22 grams of yeast" in my first draft, not "22 grams of fine sea salt" which is what I used.
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A few thoughts why it looks so wet:
What kind of flour did you use? Not all all purpose flour is the same. My Canadian flour can handle 77% hydration which is what your recipe is but a lot of flour in the USA or in the UK cannot absorb that much water. Try cutting way back on the water. You can always add but you can’t take away.
Where is the salt? You need salt to help strengthen dough and for flavour.
Not sure why your recipe has yeast in it unless it’s to speed things up.
By the way, to develop gluten, depending on your flour, you need to do a bit more work that just a mix and two folds. Look up French slap and folds or laminating bread dough. Those work well for developing gluten as long as you have decent flour.
All that being said, I think you need to cut back on the water. Try that first. Oh and don’t forget the salt.
Thanks fo your response!
Firstly, I meant to type 22 grams of fines sea salt up above, not 22 grams of yeast. I have fixed the error.
Due to COVID, I couldn't find my standard flour in any of three stores. I typically use eith KABF or KA All purpose flour.
I had to buy and use Pillsbury All purpose flour which I've never used.
I have a Mockmill attachment for a Kitchen Aid which I've used to mill wheat berries and add ~10% to my bread recipes.
Maybe it's the flour I've been forced to use!
Is probably at fault. Try cutting back on the water as suggested.