small levain tweak and big difference?
So on my last loaf following the tartine recipe I got my best results yet..big open holes, thick crust and mellow sour flavor. I decided this time around that I wanted to punch up the sour flavor some more so I made my levain about 4 hours earlier than normal (about 7PM) and left it out in a warmer room (about 69F instead instead of 64-65F). I also let this levain mature much longer at that temp too from about 7PM to about 9AM instead of about 10PM to 6AM. The results I got were much much different. I followed the standard Tartine recipe. 200g of levain, 900g of white flour (KA Gallahad) and 100g of KA whole wheat, 20g of salt, 750g of water. In any case my crumb was much denser and my crust was very thin and smooth. In fact my baking time ended up being much shorter too..after the initial 20 minutes covered in my Lodge Combo cooker, the loaf was starting to burn at 15 minutes as opposed to 25 on the previous bake. I was starting to think I was starting to understand a thing or two and then this..the bread tasted great and had the flavor I was looking for, but asthetically it was really weak. I feel like I am still struggling to understand when to guage that bulk fermentation is complete and when I am properly proofed on the second rise. Does this loaf look underproofed? I read somewhere a dense crust with a few large holes could be a sign of underproofing. I have been doing the finger poke, but am still unsure if it is springing back. The video below is the finger poke before loading into the oven (the link is http://youtu.be/gAyMjz8KfMY). Any help on the levain, the bulk fermentation and proofing would be greatly apreciated. Thanks!
Glen
Poke Test