Questions related to gummy bread
I've been having some trouble with gummy, underproved breads lately. I do a 45m autolyse, 4hr bulk ferment, shaping into a boule, and then a 12hr final proof in the fridge overnight. I have made some genuinely fantastic loaves this way, but lately they've been coming out dense and gummy, even though they have a pretty good oven spring. Very discouraging.
Two questions:
- Can the activity of my starter at the time of the leaven build have anything to do with this? My leavens always pass the float test, so I assume they're okay. But they don't always look super-bubbly or expanded. Can an underdeveloped leaven contribute to gumminess, etc? The dough often rises decently, and like I said, the oven spring is pretty good.
- Can my scoring technique have something to do with it? I score in a cross shape, and generally it's pretty long---edge to edge on the boule. Should the slashes not be quite as long? Should I keep them more to the center of the loaf? Or is it acceptable to scour from edge to edge?
Thanks!