January 21, 2014 - 11:43am
What went wrong with my loaf
Hi,
After nearly 1 year I baked a Tartine country loaf , I followed the exact instructions provided in the book and the end result is that the crumb is dense and loaf is a bit heavy. It tastes good when toasted.
please provide me some inputs on what went wrong and how I can achieve a loaf that is not dense in the crumb and has a crunchy crust.
thank you
regards
sasi
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with an open, glossy irregular crumb. What are you comparing this fine loaf of Tartine bread to? The crust won't stay crunch long after it comes out of the oven depending on your humidity and how much vapor is left in the bread but taking it out of the DO 5 minutes after the lid comes off and finishing it on the stone will help especially if you let it sit on the stone with the oven off and door ajar for a few minutes after it hits 205 F on the inside.
You might try some a little more water and gentler handling to get some bigger holes.
Thank you for your input, I wanted a lighter crumb with more holes, I am under the impression that the loaf needed more gluten development and i baked it in DO at 450 F for 20 mins with lid on and 25 mins with lid off and the internal temp of the loaf was 208 F.
What is the significance of a glossy crumb?
indicates that the internal temp was high enough for the starches to gelatinize, its desirable. Also I think that a beauty of a loaf, woulda loved to see the outside as well.
I think it looks great, just add soft butter and enjoy :)
I would be pleased with that loaf…but I am not able to judge taste and texture. By "less dense" are you thinking less chewy? The crumb does not look "dense" to my eye. If you find it too chewy, use an All Purpose flour (lower protein) instead of bread flour and the crumb will be softer (perhaps your "lighter crumb")….but you may loose those nice big holes.