May 15, 2020 - 4:59pm
Longer Mixing -> Tighter Crumb; Why?
Why does longer mixing result in a tighter crumb? Is there so much strong gluten that the crumb can't expand?
Thanks
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Why does longer mixing result in a tighter crumb? Is there so much strong gluten that the crumb can't expand?
Thanks
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/63849/advice-why-my-sourdough-lacks-holes-and-stringy-texture#comment-456018
Gluten development is not quite the same thing as gluten organization. In general, longer mixing/kneading gives you a more "organized" gluten network that results in smaller holes and a more uniform crumb, but such breads can still be very light, airy, feathery. In other words the crumb can still expand, but it expands in lots of little bubbles.
By contrast a lot of time sitting around, and minimal mixing/kneading, can give a dough plenty of gluten development, but the resulting gluten network is less even, and the result is a less uniform crumb with some larger holes.
(I stress this is not a complete explanation for big/small holes, which seem to depend on a number of subtle factors.)
Thanks for the clarification on gluten organization vs development. The openness of the crumb in general does depend on many factors, one of them apparently being that someone other than me is doing the baking with high ww %.
Did you ever settle on a reputable, simple, plain formula to learn on, that will let you work on developing your skills?
It's really helpful to find a recipe that uses your same flour, with no mix-in, and that has a good video. Then, make that same bread repeatedly until you learn what the dough is supposed to look and feel like at each stage. Once you have a few successful bake under your belt, you will have a feel for the dough and you can start to branch out.
What are you baking these days? And with what flour?