Those damn big holes!
Hello everybody. It's me again...
I am still on the quest for big holes, as I am still not getting much result.
I had one bread which I proudly posted in here, but I found that further into the bread, there really was no big holes.
So any suggestions for what I could try?
I have consistently worked with 75% hydration.I have tried varying salt amount.
- with and without salt.
- AP flour, bread flour, and all brands of flour I could find.
- kneading on machine for a short while for underdeveloped gluten, for 5-10 minutes, and for over 20 minutes until I got "spiderwebs" of gluten on the mixing tool.
- 3 hours Autolyse. Autolyse with slap and fold, and 15-20 minutes of slap and fold.
- leaving it to ferment with 3 stretch and folds, or with no stretch and folds.
- Tried focusing on trapping air in the dough when kneading (still the one I believe in the most)
- with poolish, cold leavened with yeast, sourdough, slow rise with yeast.
- baked freestanding on baking steel. Moved to clay pot with baking paper sling, baked with nothing but a preheated oven, baked non-preheated, baked with pizastone on top rack, baking steel, and steam from 2 bowls with lava rocks.
I get fairly decent oven spring, and I get a fairly airy loaf with a nice soft crumb, but it is a irritatingly perfect SANDWITH LOAF, and absolutely not even close to being anywhere in the ballpark of that nice rustique large-holed open crumb I am looking for :(
So a last little desperate attempt.. Any suggestions for what I could try?