Why is there a gummy crumb at 68% Hydration with Levain and zero Gumminess with commercial yeast at 75% Hydration
Hi,
This problem has been a source for a lot of frustration. My Sourdough breads have a fantastic crust, but the crumb turns out to be gummy. I thought it was a Hydration issue and reduced the Hydration of my breads from 85% to 68% and yet the Gumminess pervades. When I made a bread with Poolish (from Ken Forkish's FWSY using commercial Yeast) and used 75% hydration, the crumb was beautiful and had Zero Gumminess. The flour for both the breads (Sourdough and Commercial Yeast) came from the same batch. My Levain is 10 months old now, and has been used extensively. It's well fed and rises in 4 hours to 2.5x (although it has been sluggish off late, but I will attribute it to the rains and the cooler weather), it also has a nice tangy aroma. Can anybody shine any light on how to resolve this issue? The Gumminess cuts through all flours (APF, BF, 00) and through all the Hydrations I have tried (85%, 75%, 71%, 68%). The problem isn't with my Ovens, since they are brand new and are top of the Line Bosch and Siemens. The breads are baked in a DO at 250C for 20-25 minutes and 20-25 minutes at 210-220C (depending on the caramelisation). I use no additives like DMP or VWG. The ambient temperature out here is in the mid 90s, so Bulk Fermentation is approximately 3-3.5 hours. Then a rapid chilling of the dough (for 15 minutes) and then shaping. Then it is placed for retardation at 3C for at least 12 hours. I use the poke test to ensure the dough isn't overproofed. Can anybody help?