Flat whole wheat miche - ideas anyone?
I tried Daniel Leader's recipe for a whole wheat miche over the weekend, except that I doubled it as I like massive rounds. OK, I also added a little bit of fine rye for taste (~7% bakers percentage). The first rise of my dough was quicker than what he described and it formed a nice round. In the basket it proofed very well and might have increased a bit more than double. When I turned it out, the size was still good. But when I tried to score it, the round collapsed a bit. Usually this is not a problem as the oven spring sorts it out (Genzano country bread for example). However, this round had very little oven spring and did not really open up on the cuts. The crumb was quite dense and the bread felt heavy for its size. The taste was good.
Was it overproofed? I was a bit rushed and turned the oven up high, but the internal temperature was correct. Are whole wheats just so much heavier that it cannot get up at this size? Any ideas would be appreciated. I'll try and get a photo if there is anything left at home ;)
I'm no expert, but I think if it collapses when you score it, it is over-proofed.
--Pamela
Sounds overproofed. I normally don't let the last rise double in a basket (banneton) for that very reason. It is hard to tell just what doubled is. Is it doubled from the original fresh mixed dough size or double the shaped loaf size? Forget double, better to use a "poke test" and do it often and watch the clock. Lightly poke the dough with a wet finger, the dough should have a little resistance, if not, oops, overproofed. The trick is not to let it get that far. Should it become overproofed, then it would be better to reshape and let it rise again than to bake a deflated loaf.
Mini
Thanks for your comments. I'll be trying another one soon and I'll be sure to keep my eye on it.
Willem