Crumb troubleshooting
Hello bakers
This is my first post on the forum, so I would like to acknowledge this wonderful community for sharing its knowledge and experience with everybody - it has been instrumental in my bread baking journey so thank you all!
I have been baking whole wheat sourdough breads for a couple years, but recently I have switched to white wheat bread to learn something new.
I am trying to master Chad Robertson’s basic country bread, but I am struggling to maintain consistency in the crumb between each bake.
I often get a mixture of dense areas with larger air pockets, for example:
Above bread was baked according to the recipe in the Tartine Bread with couple exceptions:
* Starter: 100 g (100% hydration, 85% bread flour, 15% whole rye)
* Flour: 450 g strong flour (le 5 Stagioni gold), 50 g whole wheat flour
Dough temperature during fermentation: 79-81F.
3 ½ hr bulk proof with 6 s&f, 1 hr counter final proof, overnight retard in a cold fridge (1C / 34F), bake directly from fridge.
Is the above crumb a result of under/over-proofing or very strong flour (14% min. protein)?
Should I let the final proof go for 2-3 hours before placing the dough in 1C / 34F fridge for overnight retard?