Help! My bread is too flat!
Hi Everyone,
I was hoping someone would be able to help me with a constant problem I have been having. I am relatively new to baking bread (I have been baking breads for about 6 to 8 months) but have always had success with every bread I have tried, whether artisan or simple, to a point. The problem I keep running into is really wide bread.
Let me explain: Every time I make a round loaf my bread gets wider instead of getting taller (it gets tall to a degree but i still end up with a larger shorter round) causing my slices to be about 8 inches long but only an inch and a half or so tall. Is there a way to avoid this and get more of a fully round loaf? Do I need to use a mold in order to achieve this? I thought that I would be able to get a round free form, but it hasn't been working so far. Is it possible that my bread is just too slack? I think its possible that the dough is too slack but it seems odd that it would happen to all my different types of bread and recipes I've used.
I currently have a poolish sitting out and would like to make some bread when I get home, so any tips would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks for any help you can give!
- Laura