Crust is too dark and thick
I dont have a picture and wish I had but I am baking again tonight so I am looking for some advice.
I am baking a Norwich from yest spotting.
I preheat the oven using convection until it reaches 550 (Need to verify what the actual temp is)
I then add 6 ice cubes to a cast iron pan on the bottom of the oven
I lower the temp to 425 Convection and at 17 minutes I check the internal temp of the loaf. I have had to bake closer to 21 minutes the last couple times but the crust is dark and carmel colord. Last night trying to slice into the loaf it was very thick and difficult to eat.
Before I was using straight baking and not convection but would do 500 to 425. But I would always get very blondish loaves.
Can someone suggest a new method to help me. I have 3 loaves in the fridge ready to bake tonight and would like to get it right.
H, ct.
Do check your oven temp. It sounds like it's running hot when on convection bake. Generally, using convection is said to increase the effective temperature by 25ºF. So 425ºF would be like 450ºF conventional bake. That's a very reasonable temperature for the Norwich sourdough.
Now, what bothers me is your 17-21 minute bake time. Thats a short bake, even if you are making baguettes. I figure a 500 g boule of Norwich Sourdough baked at 450ºF should give you a medium blond crust, maybe with a reddish tinge, since you retarded the loaves, in 30-35 minutes. A bâtard might take 30 minutes.
I think your most likely problem is your oven temperature.
Also, the convection setting will dry the crust more and may make to thicker and harder. I use conventional bake settings for the first part of the bake when I want steam. Once the crust starts to color, I switch to convection and lower the oven temperature by 25ºF.
Hope this helps.
David
I did punch in 425 to the convection which is 400. You are right the thermometer is 25 degrees hotter then the display. I like how the loaf turned out color wise but crust depth wont be figured tell the morning when I open a loaf.
PS to make sure I got that 7/8th rise out of my dough I left the dough on the counter for the first time. The loaves have much better initial rise to them but not as much oven rise. The scored opened about 1/2 inch wide. They look incredible.
https://picasaweb.google.com/113340401276525864862/MyPictures#5576716264866968370
I am interested to see how thick the crust is this time. I will be mad if just 25 degrees was the issue.
I'd say your crust is on the light side of what I prefer, but if you're happy with it, that's all that matters.
The liquid bread, on the other hand, looks perfect!
David
OMG the beer is perfect. I am have a problem because the just bottled beer has 11 more days of bottle conditioning before I do just a taste. Well at least I can wait tell Thursday to brew again.
Yea my preference to have a softer crust. I am missing two front teeth because of bone loss so I dont mind soft crust.
I took a look at your image and corrected it for daylight. It looks pretty nice to me.
If you want softer crusts, I suggest perhaps another formula with some fat (oil, butter) milk and or eggs also make softer crust. You could start with an Italian bread here.
That's a good thread about all things Italian.
Eric