height of baked loaves
Hello,
First I want to thank all of you for posting your recipes, tips, etc. etc. on this forum (I have been lurking for two years.) It has been so helpful in my quest for the "perfect" artisan loaf--which I now get with some consistency.
After much experimentation (200+ loaves), I am now using 20% rye, 60% Prairie Gold (both flours homeground immediately before mixing), 20% Dakota Maid white unbleached bread flour, 89% hydration, and a homemade wild grape sourdough starter (100% hydration).
My question is this: what height do you get in a boule that starts with about 970 g of dough? The best I have gotten is 3.5 inches (including ears). I am not unhappy with this as the texture and taste are wonderful, but I am curious about what others get.
Thanks again for all your help. It has been a fun learning experience. I have made "regular" bread for 40+ years and have never before had such a good time baking.
Well the height of the final loaf would depend of a variety of things. Using too large a proofing bowl you'd get short loaf. Too high of a hydration for said dough can do the same thing. Too little gluten development. Overproofing.
Share more of your formula/process and maybe we can see what the culprit is.
Cheers
Josh
Hi Josh,
What I am asking is what is the starting weight of an average loaf for you and what is the final baked height?
I am very happy with what I am getting--decent sized holes, nice texture and great flavor. I am just curious what others get for final height. My only comparison (I live in the middle of nowhere in Minnesota) is with a small commercial baker whose loaves the size of mine are only 3" high and not even 50% whole grain and have no large holes.
it is too bad that I can not post picture while commenting
i started using Dutch ovens and getting really good hights for boules
Hi Kobali,
What do you consider a really good height and how much dough do you start with?
To measure, I cut my loaves in half and measure with a ruler.
without being your recipe and knowing your technique that its pretty hard to speculate. It could be anything. My most recent discovery was the Rule Of 240 which helped my calculate my water temperature and made my 100% Einkorn 1 kg loaf to spring from 3 to 4.1 inches (yes I'm very satisfied with it, it towers over all my previous loaves). Preheating my oven and French Oven to 500 degrees F and gently laying my dough into it and quickly closing the lid made my loaves spring from 2 inch to 3 inch. There are plenty more details that can be refined.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your specific answer. But could you clarify a bit?
1) do you start with 1 kg of dough or is your baked loaf 1 kg?
2) do you mean that your loaf starts at 3 inches and rises to 4.1 or it gains 3 to 4.1 inches in height due to oven spring? If the latter, what is the final height of your loaf?
1) My initial dough is 1kg
2) 4.1 inches is my final height, for Einkorn that would be like a skyscraper since it really does not rise well. Most of the Einkorn loaves I've seen at this weight online have a final height in the 2.5 to 3 inch range.
Thanks! That is exactly the information I am looking for.
So probably 3-3 1/2" for a loaf half that size is not bad.
Do you grind your own grain?
But is low for regular wheat. I haven't started grinding yet because I'm trying to perfect this recipe. Once I'm happy with it I'll start grinding and put in the time to learn that process.