September 6, 2015 - 11:14pm
Starter Health and Crumb Relationship
Aloha Bakers, another question of yeast health hidden deep in the forum unavailable to a quick and lazy search.
Could poor starter health result in a tacky and dense/wet crumb with poor oven spring? Given everything else in the process is normal and correct, that is.
I notice my last few batches have had the above conditions and I have been caring for my starter less and less due to time constraints while also not discarding excess. I remember my starter would triple in size before baking, now it only bubbles helplessly.
i suppose not wanting to throw away extra starter whilst not giving ample amounts of flour given the size of the poolish has finally caught up with me.
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Mini
Mahalo Mini
:) Try inoculating 50g flour with 5g starter and let it peak out. Mix it to your favourite consistency, cover and watch. Wait. Let it rise, level out and fall back a little before dumping or using most of it. (if you need more than 80g for a recipe then make more of it but use a 1 to 10 starter to flour feeding.) Take what is left over (about 20g of starter) double the volume with water, then stir in enough flour to thicken. Watch it and when it's about 1/3 risen, pop it into the fridge. Give it several days before using some of it to inoculate more flour and water for a recipe.
That did it. Culture is back to life and just pulled out some loaves from the oven. Amazing I dont get lazy with my beer yeast, dont think i will ever treat my SD starter so badly again.
I use 500g of starter to 2500g flour usually. That just got me five 1,000g loaves. Although one loaf was 1200, a batard. Boules are 1,000g for me lately
When the routine bread misbehaves, look closely at the starter.
How did the bread come out?
The loaves were ok, light and airy crumb but no oven spring. Two things that went abit funny were the proofing times and temp in the wood oven.
My proof was abit long for my normal routine due to working and baking at the same time, about 2.5 hours. The dough was so healthy it started to rise up and over the baskets. Probably can use 800g instead of 1000g next time.
I also did not consider the hear absorption from such large loaves and lost too much heat for a really good start, i think anyway. Basically went from high 500's to 400f by 30 min in.
*heat absorption, not hear absorption.
Anyone ever think about putting an editing feature for this place? Or am I not seeing it? I only see reply and report.
There is an edit button on the bottom of my posts.
Edit: Like this
Edit: You can change a message that has a response.
oh, interesting. Im really looking hard here, only have Reply and Report. and i have to keep doing verifications! super annoying.
It is immediately to the left of the Reply button. May be a browser setting, I don't have to validate every time either.
been faster as the starter was back up to snuff. Is there a "soaking time" on WFÖs to trap the heat when it is high to prolong the baking time?
Maybe you get an "edit" button with a first blog?
Sending you a private message.
yes on the soaking time, i just got a reply from Derek in the wood oven channel about this. His comment below...
"
The amount of time that a fire temperature is maintained is quite important with a wood fired oven as you require solid heat rather than just flash heat. The thermal mass that the oven has built into it will also have a huge bearing on that heat retention. When filling the oven with relatively cool dough there is going to be quite a draw on that stored heat. There is always a bit of a balancing act but a good solid fire burning for a good few hours is necessary for that heat to penetrate the bricks so that it can be radiated out again during the bake.
regards Derek"
So i will have to incorporate this teaching on the next firing this week. Baking for 21 monks gives me so much practice!
If i have to start a blog to get an edit button, then I might attempt that. But wow, that would be kind of odd.
to see if you have a message. A little number appears by "messages" in your site name line. It could be you are just too young to have an edit button. Take that as a complement. :)
I tried to send you a message the normal route. I went to your home page to scroll down but no info is there. Must be in your settings. It's been so long since I've messed with this stuff... check the box for fancy stuff and extra do das or whatever they're called. Or just scroll up to the site search and enter: edit button how to get
Edit... that didn't work, only got Floyd's comment that there is a software that keeps folks honest in their replies. Once someone replies to a comment, it can no longer be edited. I would look in your settings and play around a bit.
You can change a post after someone responds to it, see above where I edited a post that had been responded to...
unless it lets you edit a response with a response, but not a top level message with a response. Heck, that would be silly.
Edit: Sorry we are trying to solve this in your bread thread!
lol no problem. My bread threads are only beginning and I think i brought it up!
rgconner or the avatar, I get his home page and right under his avatar there is: Send this user a private message
When I click on Natyam or the avatar, I get a lot of blanks. Wait, I get some favorite books. OK... there must be some kind of setting farther along...or on another page so that one can send and receive messages...
Mini I read your reply and added a bunch of stuff to get my street cred alittle higher up, maybe that will help :)
Maybe you have to wait until a month has gone by. I must confess, I have no idea what one has to do to earn an edit button. It will happen when it happens.
I have noticed that on my comment box, just below it, it says: Disable rich-text
I think its clear, Mini. To receive the blessings of the Edit button and further privileges (intuitive spell-check and others), I must complete 100 perfect loaves. Loaves must have perfect oven spring, with a crisp crust that crackles when cooling, but is not difficult to slice. The crumb must be open and airy, with perfect pockets (size of a US dime).
Only then can I enter fully, and have elite status to edit.
I guess right now I dont have permissions to view private messages sent to me or edit anything other than my original post. Oh well. No big wup
ok everything works now. I can edit my post's and comments and it looks like i dont need verification every time.
...must have been that 100th batch this morning...
Thanks Mini, I suspect filling out my profile did the trick. I am not a bot.