Bench flour and bubbles under the gluten sheet
My understanding of baking is slowly improving but there are two questions that I'm at the moment most struggling with and was wondering whether anybody here could help me get some insight on these:
- I started out with Laurel's kitchen's Loaf for learning. In that recipe they tell you not to use bench flour so that you can get a better feel for the dough plus avoid the risk of adjusting the flour amount too much. That sounded reasonable. So after I switched to BBA, I've been doing the same. Problem is wvery time the dough sticks to my hands quite badly. It gets better the more the dough is developed but it stays sticky all the time (also after fermentation). When I tried to add bench flour, it was worked into the dough and back to being sticky within several kneads. Is it me or the dough which is to be blamed here?
- When I shape my dough, I always have bubbles trapped right under my gluten sheet. How do I prevent these?
Oh, I made challah for the first time today. I know I baked it too dark but I think it is still quite ok for my tiny oven. Next time I'll have to scale down even alittle further.
Forget the instructions and do use bench flour -- just minimize the amount. Use only a slight dusting -- that will not make a noticeable difference in the hydration and you will be able to knead better and to form the loaf better. If it works for you, it cannot be wrong!
The challah looks good, though dark. Check your oven temperature. Don't bake by the clock but by the bread. Check the interior temperature. If the interior is about 200°F, the loaf is done.
Ford
Thanks for the advise Ford. I sometimes tried to use some, but as mentioned, it works for a few kneads, and then it's just back to relatively sticky. I have been wondering whether my dough itself needs adjustment, but since I'm still rather new at this, I have no feeling yet what the dough should feel like. As noticed in different threads, 'tacky but not sticky' and similar descriptions are difficult to work with when you have never seen them before.
I do know the bread is baked too dark, and I really have to start measuring the actual temperature in my oven. I'm afraid though that this is only part of the problem in my case. My oven is so small that if I put it in the bottom of the oven, the bottom of my bread burns, and if I put it in the middle, oven-spring brings the top crust too close to the top. I'm still learning the right balance between dough size, time and temperature.
By the way, didn't know until just now how bad a picture I attached. I guess I'll also have to work on that :)
- Ruud