December 20, 2008 - 5:06pm
Bread tastes great but came out rather flat
Hey all,
So I baked my first two loaves of sourdough bread today and they taste great. They even have nice holes. One problem: they ended up spreading out quite a bit. They were more disk and less loaf. Any ideas what I can do? More kneading? Less wet?
E
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Maybe more folding? Or shaping them tighter and giving them some support while rising? Did they spread out while rising or in the oven (or both)?
Eusebius of Caesarea? The Ecclesiastical History is awesome. I relied on it heavily when doing my thesis, which was on Origen.
I read Eusebius during my theology program and really liked him. :) Few people seem to have heard of him...
Thanks for the advice. I will definitely try folding more. I was relying on Peter Reinhart's recipe. The dough was rather droopy before I placed it in a proofing basket. I retarded it over night in the refrigerator. When I placed it in the cloche, it was very much a blob. There was a small oven spring. I was prepared for a disaster, but it came out with nice holes and a moderate sour taste. :)
I'll try again before x-mas so I'll post what happens.
E
I just recently posted about my batards spreading.Sounds like you have a similar issue with rounds.
What I now do:
1.Make sure I have good gluten development-I use the stretch and fold method-works beautifully. This is when I really roughly handle-slap-stretch-fold the dough.
2.After the initial rise to double-handle the dough gently! Don't punch it down!Dump it out of the bowl gently.No kneading the gas out of it.Gently stretch it into a rectangle and fold like a letter. Then,gently form it into a nice round-pulling the "skin" taut. Keep it moist-mist a little water on it when done shaping it.
3. Proof for only 30-45 min at most. Don't worry about rising til double-oven spring should take care of that. The trick is to start baking when the gluten has relaxed somewhat so that it can stretch in the oven but not too stretched out so it won't hold a tall shape.
4.Spray with a little water and either put it in an absolutely cold oven (it works great-just takes a little longer in the oven) or if your oven is warmed up, use either a little steam or cover with an aluminum roasting pan for the first 10 min of baking then remove.
I hope you have the same success I had.
Clazar,
Thank you for the advice! You are right, I need to fold more. Can you give me a sense the timing for your folds? How long in between and how many times? I proofed mine in a basket and let it retard in the refrigerator over night. Reinhardt's recipe says to remove it 4 hours before placing it in the oven.
Again, thank you for the advice!
E
Clazar123,
Well, I watched the video you recommended and took your advice. The bread was fantastic! It looked beautiful, tasted better, and impressed everyone at Christmas dinner. I think the big trick was to refrigerate overnight after mixing the dough and letting it rise a bit first.
Thanks for your help!
E
My batards still seem somewhat slack but the lesser proofing time is where I believe the true improvement came. They now seem to consistently spring up in the oven.
Take a look at the videos offered on this site and at this link:
http://northwestsourdough.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/shaping-and-slashing-dough-videos/
Notice how her loaf spreads out almost immediately after shaping-she shapes her loaf twice to try and achieve the tightness needed.
As for how often to fold.I am finding it may depend on how fast the dough works itself.My kitchen is very cold today and I'm finding it is taking a LONG time for my dough to warm up/wake up.
I am quite rough when I first mix the dough,basing my technique on Richard Bertinet's style found here:
http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/video/2008/03/bertinet_sweetdough
After parking it in the frig overnight,I take it out and let it sit for about 1 hour at room temp of about 65-68F then do my first gentle stretch and fold. I put it back in a plastic container in a warm place for about 1 hour. I usually do2- 3 folds. Then I shape,proof and bake.