July 24, 2014 - 2:35am
Not sure if this is where to post but help please.
First post. I'm just a student trying to get better at bread making. I understand the concept and process, but cant seem to execute. I have yet to master basic yeast flour water salt bread.
I do a 65% hydration dough. Throw it all together and knead til windowpane. I've done it in the mixer and by hand with the same result. I let it rise til doubled, shape, then let it double again. I think my fault is in the shaping. My crust comes out shaggy, uneven and ugly.
As you can see the crust is thin and sad. The loaf has no spring. This makes me sad :c
Help?
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Sounds like overproofing to me. Perhaps knead shape and double.
Your bread does not look as bad as you describe, in fact it looks pretty good.
If you can give more information about EXACTLY what your recipe is and how you execute it then more help will come your way. Do not forget to include oven temperatures and baking time.
Jeff
If I make yeasted bread I do no let it proof longer than 30-45 minutes or it will * for me * be over proofed .
Best is to dip your finger in some flour and than gently poke the loaf, if it dents and slowly springs back it is ready to bake.
The clock , for me is only a helper but I go by the touch of the loaf to see if it is ready.
I am a fan of the type of bread you show. Since you are not, I suggest not proofing as long. You will get the texture and spring that you desire.
I think the crumb looks great. I don't have a great view of the crust, so I don't know quite what you dislike about it. Part of it may be shaping (the words "shaggy" and "uneven" support this), but I suspect there's more to it. It'll be easier to figure that out once we know more about your problems and procedure.
That said, I think mastering "basic yeast flour water salt bread" is a tricky thing that many people spend a long time trying to do. When I give people a bread lesson, I usually start them with enriched pan loaves, since those seem to have a higher success rate in a short amount of time with a result that people generally really enjoy. Lean hearth breads are a more advanced project, so I think your results look nice.
Are you happy with the flavor?
Thank you everyone for the comments and feedback, I do agree that the crumb is what I want and the flavor is there. Its just the crust! Also, I have done many pan loaves and I love them, which is why I am trying to move onto this kind of bread :). I'll show another picture and explain my process.
I weigh out everything and just mix it all together, 100% flour, 65% water, 2.5% salt 2.5% yeast. I try my best to do the stretch and fold but in the end I just knead until windowpane. At this point the dough is still very sticky, so I flour it a bit and try my best to shape it into a rough boule. It usually just ends up as a shaggy mess because It's so sticky and my technique is not very good. I put it back in the mixing bowl and let it rise. Now I think all of you are right about the overprooofing, I usually go and do something else and come back to a strong alcohol smell. But, I just try my best to shape the sticky mess with a bit of flour into a boule and let it rise again before putting it into my hot oven. When it looks doubled, I attempt to slice it, and it usually just deflates and sticks to the blade. I am hardhearted but still put it in the oven with some ice cubes. it does not spring up, it just unevenly browns but I take it out at an internal temp of 190.
http://imgur.com/m0pCIy9
Ta dahh! The inside looks similar to the other pic, but here is the crust. I am going to go ahead and try to time my proofing today and I'll be back with results. Thank you!
What kind of yeast are you using? 2.5% seems rather high, unless you're using fresh yeast, in which case, it's only somewhat high.
Hey guys! Back with good results. I let this dough rest overnight in the fridge and I watched the proof carefully, testing with the poke test. It came out great! Manageable and crusty. Thank you everyone!
I would reduce the salt to 2% and the yeast to 1%. This will slow down the entire process to where it will be happier and so will you.
Jeff
Thanks, I'll try this!