Finally a grin I can be happy about
After almost a year away from sourdough baking, I am starting up again. I have been trying to get a good oven spring. Looking at notes from last year, I might have been slightly overproofing. I built a new starter that was bubbling up to twice its height reliably. The recipe I would like to perfect is Maurizio's Fifty-fifty Whole Wheat https://www.theperfectloaf.com/fifty-fifty-whole-wheat-sourdough-bread/ [1] But, decided to start with a lower hydration and less whole grain recipe first and get a good grin, crust and crumb before moving on to the more difficult ones. So https://www.theperfectloaf.com/beginners-sourdough-bread/ [2] it was. And here is the result. The loaf on the right is the tallest I've ever produced with sourdough. The fact that the one on the right retarded for about two hours less than the other seemed to support the overproofing theory. Also, my scoring on it was a little more confident than on the second. It was very heartening to get a good result with at least one of the goals accomplished. I still need to address issues of crust being thicker and chewier than I'd like. Will try baking on a sheet pan with a metal bowl over, instead of baking in an enameled dutch oven as I did here. Lastly, I have no idea how the crumb was on my tall loaf, because it was a gift for my child's teacher. :( The crumb on the left one was ever so slightly undercooked (or maybe it was a bit gummy as Maurizio points out it can be, using predominantly bread flour.)