November 1, 2014 - 9:53am
my loaves are too flat
My loaves are pretty and the crumb is decent but they are too flat -- little more than 2 inches thick at the center.
My favorite recipe is 50% rye and 25% each spelt and kamut, hydration about 76%. I bake in a cloche for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 20 minutes.
The flours are home milled, "fine".
I'd appreciate your suggestions on how to improve the shape.
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Are hey SD? What do you proof them in? 100%whole grains with that much rye need some kind of support.while proofing. Spelt is delicate and the gluten weak too. I would be tempted to up the hydration to 80% and put it in a tin.
Yes, I'm using sourdough. I see what you mean about supporting the dough, though I prefer the more classic artisan shape. What about stretch-and-fold? I'm not sure how much I need to work the dough to build up strength. Normally I do s&f three times but I wonder if that is enough? In each s&f session should I work the dough just a few times or more?
thanks!
Dabrownman is right, the reality is that if you have a high-hydration loaf with lots of rye and whole grain it won't hold a tall shape without the support of a pan. It's just the nature of your recipe.
Either put it in a pan or modify your recipe, otherwise your loaves will likely continue to be flat.
it's the nature of the beast with your recipe. What you could do is cut down the rye, spelt and Kamut to 20% each and add in 40% whole wheat and up the hydration to 80 % for this 100% whole grain bread.. That way you can slap and fold it for 8, 2 and 1 minute sessions on 20 minute intervals and then do 3 sessions of of stretch and folds. then put it into basket and retard it for 12-20 hours until it proofs 85% and then bake it in a DO after slashing it or with mega steam in the oven on a stone.
Or you could follow this same gluten deveop,ent proceedure but with your with your current recipe but put it in a basket seam side down to proof in the fridge for 8-12 hours then bake it in a DO or on a stone with steam without slashing, still colds from the fridge and seam side up. I think I would give that a try first and see if that will give you a better loaf.
I like the bake-without-slashing tip as I am rather hooked on the flavor of this recipe -- so delicious with marmelade!
Slap-and-fold is a technique I'm not familiar with yet but I'll investigate that. I bake in a Lodge Combo Cooker and a homemade version of the cooker, so steam seems to be abundant. I'll be baking tomorrow afternoon and will report on the outcome.
I really appreciate your help.
videos on slap and fold - and e everything else it seems:-) Don't forget to rice flour the basket well, or what ever else you use to proof the dough in or it will stick like crazy with your recipe.