Over or Underproofed?
Hi all!
I am a sourdough newbie--started out last year with a starter gifted to me by a friend, had one success and a couple of major flops, then life got in the way and I neglected my starter. Long story short, I've decided to start again, and grew my own starter this time based on Maurizio's instructions in The Perfect Loaf ( https://www.theperfectloaf.com/7-easy-steps-making-incredible-sourdough-starter-scratch/ ). The starter is pretty new, about two and a half or three weeks old, but is consistently tripling. I feed it twice a day at 100% hydration. I live in Texas and it is HOT indoors these days--ambient temp around 82-84 degrees in the mid-afternoon. I've got my starter on a pretty good schedule with colder water and 15g carryover starter to 100g flour and water.
I did my first bake yesterday, using Maurizio's beginner's sourdough loaf ( https://www.theperfectloaf.com/beginners-sourdough-bread/# ). I let bulk fermentation go on for a full four hours, even though it was around 82 degrees, because I couldn't see many bubbles (wasn't using a clear container so only had the top to go by), and I was terrified of underproofing. Had some issues shaping so the loaf is a bit lopsided. Retarded in the fridge for 16 hours. I'm happy with the bake for a first try--it tastes great and got some oven spring, more than had happened with a couple of the loaves I tried last year--but I noticed some density issues with the crumb. Parts of it are really holey and open, and other parts feel packed tight, and I didn't get as much rise I would have wanted (although it didn't seem to collapse and spread out, either). Problem is, for the life of me I can't tell if it's over- or underproofed, and can't decide if next time I should cut bulk fermentation or add to it! The heat makes me think I let bulk go on too long, but I just can't tell for sure.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! I'm including some pictures of the loaf for reference.
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