Why poor oven spring?
Hello,
Please offer thoughts on each of the following possibilities as to which are MOST LIKELY to be the cause of poor oven spring:
- Starter not fed and brought to high activity before adding to autolyse (I often just use it right out of the jar... it does always activate and ferment the dough though)
- Overproofing (I tend to use the poke test but my last two loaves have shown poor oven spring)
- Boule too small for a large dutch oven / insufficient side support (I'm using a 9-inch banneton, loaves don't rise to the very top, and then are baked in a 5-quart DO)
- Underheated dutch oven (I bake at 500 degrees, but how much preheat is needed? I typically preheat for 30 mins)
- Not doing bulk ferment or final proof in fridge (I always use the countertop)
- Insufficient humidity in dutch oven (I used to use a pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven before moving to a DO)
Something else? I realize that any or all of these could be factors, but I'd like to see if they could be prioritized or ranked -- as in the one(s) that would DEFINITELY cause poor oven spring. I sort of lean toward thinking I need to activate my starter and get it super frothy before I begin (?)
I typically make doughs of at least 75% hydration, often up to 100%, and always with strong white flour with very little rye (from the starter) for flavor.
But my oven spring is very hit or miss.
Thank you!
I'd guess either overproofing (so needs less bulk), or not enough tension/structure developed during bulk (so needs more folds and tighter shaping). Can you share a crumb photo?
1) Insufficient oven preheating, and /or lower-than-thermostat-says oven temperature. Buy oven thermometer.
2) Shaping with insufficient tension in the dough. Practice makes perfect.
3) Scoring. Again, practice.
4) Severe underproofing. Check and check and check your dough and room temperature after mixing, before every fold and compare to what's said in the recipe. Check in the recipe what's the expected volume growth during bulk in particular.
Buy inexpensive digital thermometers for your room and fridge and an inexpensive BBQ thermometer. Temperature control with instruments was key for inexperienced bakers like me. And log temperatures and consult said log before the next bake (same recipe).
5) Severe overproofing. This one is easy to call as your loaf will collapse flat when you get it out of the proofing basket and /or you score it.
6) Starter: Honestly if it doubles in 5-6 hours, with a 1:2:2 feed, to me (go figure ;-)) , it's good to go.
Learn to watch your starter: just refresh it with different feeding ratios (1:1:1 / 1:2:2 / 1:5:5) and measure how long it takes to peak and how long it stays there. AND the starter and room temperatures during the whole process.
All of these worked for me.
Thanks for the tips. Today’s bake was substantially better as I “primed” the starter the night before AND shortened my bulk ferment. I think I’ve been over proofing... very happy with this oven spring, crust, ears, and superb flavor... dough was very strong this time and less extensible but I plan to up the hydration to open up the crumb on the next bake...
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