April 24, 2009 - 12:52pm
Too much Oven Spring
Does sourdough bread typically have more oven spring than yeasted breads? I'm wondering because every time I bake with my starter I get out of control oven-spring. I shape them nicely, score them well and still get grossly disfigured loaves. What could be causing this? Here is an example of my deformed loaf.
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wanna post your recipe????? qahtan
This is the recipe I usually use.
9 oz. starter
6 1/2 oz. water
13 oz. KA bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
I shaped it into a 14 inch baquette and scored it with 4 diagonal slashes just before I put it in the oven. I then sprayed the oven with water 2 times in the first 10 minutes.
That's a lot of starter for only 13 ounces of flour. Where did you get this recipe? I suspect your blow-up problem might lie in the huge amount of starter in proportion to the flour.
--Pamela
Looks more like a scoring issue - from what I can see (which really isn't much from the photo).
Did you intend to score the sides? Where you place the scores affects the shape of the bread. Check out David Snyder's tutorial
My best guess without full details of the recipe is "underproofing".
Jeff
After mixing the dough, i did three stretch and folds at 45 min. intervals then shaped it and it proofed for about 4 hours before baking. Do you still suspect underproofing?
That loaf looks as if it hit the oven with too much spring left in it so yes I still suspect underproofing.
Whether 30 minutes, 3 hours, or 3 days, the loaf is properly proofed when it is properly proofed. The loaf, and not the clock, will tell you when it is ready.
Jeff
If only people would forget the clock, bread is ready when it's ready, qahtan
Remember that when we are new to baking, the clock is of great help to us. It's easier to forget the clock once you've had some experience and can go by tactile and visual guidelines. :-)
Do you know the hydration of your starter? Is it liquid?
Your dough (without the starter) is 50 percent hydration.
I don't know the actual percentage however it is fairly stiff definitely not liquid.
Tam,
I wish I had that much oven spring from my wild yeast-only breads. To the underproofing theory, I would throw in improper seam sealing as a possible cause for the grotesque shape. Make sure you seal all the folds during the final shaping of your baguette and that the seam is in the bottom when you bake. If the seams are not sealed properly, the force of the expanding dough may be too much for the two dough interphases to hold on to, and so you see "bursts" in those compromised areas.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Excuse me but now I need some butter and a cup of coffee