The Fresh Loaf

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SPRINGLESS

probably34's picture
probably34

SPRINGLESS

I was wondering if anyone has ever experienced this.

Today I made some standard white, yeasted,  milk bread, which i do almost every day. Combined the ingredients in the mixer, everything seemed normal. The dough was coming together fine, but I kept testing for a windowpane and I wasn't achieving one that was as strong as normally get. I kept mixing. The windowpane seemed a little bit better but the dough seemed to be getting a bit stickier, which is, from what I understand, a sign of gluten bonds breaking and the dough becoming overmixed. So I stopped mixing and I fermented the dough. It rose fine, practically tripling in size. I divided and shaped, panned, and proofed. In the oven, there was absolutely no oven spring, perhaps even some shrinkage. There was no ripping on the surfaces of the loaves, there were however, on a couple of the loaves, some dents on the tops, as if they had been overproofed, but I know that they weren't. I've heard of little to no ovenspring as well as shrinkage in Ryes and whole wheats, but this was straight white bread flour. Perhaps I missed the ideal kneading point and in fact overkneaded? Why then would it ferment and proof fine? Did I break too many gluten bonds and the dough could'nt hold up to an ovenspring? Anyone?

cranbo's picture
cranbo

I'm guessing this is your problem:

It rose fine, practically tripling in size.

This is likely a sign that the dough was overfermented; by the final proof, it had no life left. Usually bulk fermentation should be done for dough to slightly less than double, so that you can be certain for the final proof and oven spring that there will be enough yeast and bacterial activity left. 

as if they had been overproofed, but I know that they weren't.

What suggests to you know they weren't overproofed? Poor oven spring is usually a key indicator of this. 

probably34's picture
probably34

I know they wern't overproofed by the their size and springyness

I dont think more than doubling in a bulk fermentation is necessarily a bad thing especially using commercial yeast.

cranbo's picture
cranbo

I dont think more than doubling in a bulk fermentation is necessarily a bad thing especially using commercial yeast.

Agree to disagree on this: I'm no expert, but I haven't seen many (if any) suggestions that allowing your dough to triple during bulk fermentation is a good idea. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong, and point me to some resources that suggest otherwise.

I don't disagree that overmixing might have something to do with it though. How long did you mix for, and if mechanically, at what speed? And what's the hydration of your dough? 

I'm curious, did anything else change in your recipe? Humidity? Different flour than normal? 

 

jcking's picture
jcking

I agree with cranbo. My addition is; possibly by mixxing the dough so much it's temp rose higher than normal causing the yeast to grow faster than normal and burnt itself out. By the time the loaf got to the oven it ran out of available food (sugar).

Jim