bread consistency changing - need advice
Hi,
I've been successfully making Leader's Country Hearth bread to the delight of my family for a few months now. I make this using his straight dough instructions, with the poolish OR by replacing poolish with refreshed starter. All with very similar results.
Of late, my bread, particularly that made with ww flour, has been very dense and not rising well. I do not seem to get much oven spring. I generally bake in loaf pans, just to make things easier for lunchboxes for the little ones. When I slice the loaf, it seems very dense around the edge of slice with a more "normal" airiness in the center of the slice, only. Also, the loaf is not rising as high as it used to. My dough is proofing in similar times as before, fyi.
Any tips on what could be making this difference all of a sudden? Could increased hydration be making a difference? (I recently noticed that Leader uses fl. oz. for water and that I had been under-measuring in normal oz.) Type or age of flour?
Help! My daily bread is failing!
Thanks,
MommaT