March 15, 2011 - 7:50pm
How to get light tender crumb in sourdough
I like my sourdough pretty well, but the crumb is usually heavier and more chewy than some of the sourdoughs from top local bakeries (Acme, for instance). Today I had some excellent sourdough in a restaurant. It had a nice chewy crust, but a very airy, tender melt-in-your-mouth crumb. I'd love to be able to replicate that texture.
I use a fairly low protein white flour (11.5%) and about 15% whole grain. I usually follow a process and formula similar to that of Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough. I mix by hand. Any tips to getting a lighter crumb?
Thanks.
Glenn
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Was the crumb open and irregular, or was it uniform and on the tight side?
If you were asking me, the crumb was open and airy, and quite irregular, but no huge pockets.
Glenn
Hi, Glenn.
i find that lower hydration SD breads like the Vermont SD or PR's San Francisco sourdough are pretty chewy. On the other hand, those with higher hydration like the SFBI miche or the Tartine Basic Country Loaf, while chewy when first cooled, have a more tender crumb the next day.
If you don't want to work with higher hydration, you could always sub some milk for some of the water.
David
I thought higher hydration might be part of it. I also thought maybe a lower protein flour might be a factor. Do you think the intensity of the mix would affect the tenderness of the crumb?
Thanks.
Glenn
I never use flour lower than 11.7% protein for bread. However, gentler mixing might result in a more tender crumb. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that. You are hand mixing, and it's hard to over-develop the dough that way. You do need to develop the gluten enough to contain the air cells.
When I started making SD bread, I mixed with my KitchenAid. I believe I tended to under mix, following PR's mixing time recommendations. My crumb tended to be dense and doughy.
I really think your answer is either higher hydration or adding an enrichment - specifically milk - that tenderizes the crumb. Alternatives would be to add fat - butter or olive oil - in small amounts. Another tenderizer is mashed potatoes. They, in effect, lower the gluten and raise the hydration of the dough.
David
Are they using any dough conditioners, flour improvers or enzymes in their formulas?
Occabeka makes a good suggestion. Adding milk powder to your formula or using a small percentage of potato flour will also make for a more tender crumb.
Syd
The tenderest, airiest crumb I've ever achieved is with txfarmer's asian fruited barm loaf. It was a pretty wet, silky dough. It has butter in it for tenderness, but the lightness is mostly due to mixing until a very thin windowpane is achieved. The degree of development right before incorporating the butter was about where I usually stop for my sourdough loaves.
The kneading allowed the bread to triple, almost quadruple in size without collapsing in the oven, and resulted in a very light texture.
I appreciate the help. I don't think the bread I had yesterday was enriched. First I'll try higher hydration and working the dough to a better windowpane, and see what happens.
Glenn
Hi Glen, I don't have any experience baking sourdough bread, but quite a lot of experience eating it. Just wondering if the commercial bakery setting with their excellent steam injected oven might have a lot to do with a lighter crumb, with the early expansion thing going on. Mabey a tender crumb would also result. Ray
I just baked a loaf with just the crumb texture I was trying for. Tender, airy, moist.
It seems it was indeed high hydration that did the trick. I baked the Tartine Country Bread (80% hydration) for the first time, and I'm in love.
More to follow on my blog.
Thanks for the advice!
Glenn
Right now, the honor of my favorite bread is a toss-up between the BCB and the SFBI miche.
Looking forward to your full report.
David
did you use the water roux? I am wondering if I can do it too :)
and, um, do you have a modified tartine recipe that I can try? I won't need a mixer, will I? I don't have one.
You nailed it. Looks very nice indeed. Ray