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Help-having issues with my new dutch oven, the bread came out very chewy and thick bottom crust

Chicagomelrn's picture
Chicagomelrn

Help-having issues with my new dutch oven, the bread came out very chewy and thick bottom crust

Hello, I am new to sourdough bread baking. I have had pretty good success with using a flat pan, and adding hot water to a pan underneath when baking my bread. I had read how great a Dutch oven can be for baking and made two loaves in the dutch oven the other day. They looked marvelous, nice rise, pretty crust.... But the crust was very tough and chewy, also difficult to cut on the bottom, the bread itself was extremely chewy, not pleasantly chewy. I was so disappointed to have two loaves ruined. 

I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Hopefully I will use the correct terms for everything. I made my dough, bulk fermented for 3 hours, knocked it down, shaped my loaves, left them sitting out covered approx 45 minutes (i am finding i get a better rise that way) then I put in the fridge for about 12-14 hours overnight. The two loaves ibaked on the baking tray came out tasty, but the ones in the Dutch oven were as I described. I baked the loaves in the dutch oven with the lid on for 30 minutes and an additional 5-10 minutes with the lid off. 

The recipe (makes 2 loaves) 

800 grams strong flour (I have King Arthur’s bread flour)

10 grams salt

460 mls water

320 grams sourdough starter.

Abe's picture
Abe (not verified)

The salt amount is correct? It's very low.

Chicagomelrn's picture
Chicagomelrn

https://www.ilovecooking.ie/features/sourdough-bread-masterclass-with-patrick-ryan/#

10 grams is what is listed in his recipe, also he says the same amount in his video. I have bumped it up a little to 12 grams which did enhance the flavor. 

The breads that were not made in the dutch oven had a really good flavor and decent texture. I have been sticking to the sane recipe and playing with timing and ways to cook it to get the best loaves. Then I hope to try some new recipes. 

How much salt do you usually use for a similar amount of flour. That recipe makes two loaves. 

 

Abe's picture
Abe (not verified)

that is strange. There must be some typo/error.

Normal range for salt is usually 1.8 - 2% of total flour.

  • 800g strong white flour
  • 10g salt (?)
  • 460ml water
  • 320g sourdough starter

So total flour is 960g. Which will put the salt range at 17g - 19g.

British standards for salt in breads being sold is 1% of total dough with no discernible difference. This will put the salt at 15.8g (call it 16g).

Try upping the salt to 16g and see if that makes a difference. Or try another recipe.

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

Did you check the internal temperature of the loaves in the Dutch oven before taking them out?  If they were not at least 205F then you might have removed them too soon, which would result in a gummy crumb.  It looks like the crust is not fully baked.  As for the bottom of the loaf, if your Dutch oven is too near the heat source (typically the bottom of your oven), move the Dutch oven up a level in your oven.

The shape of your loaf looks fine.  I also agree that 10 g of salt for that much flour seems low.

galacticbrain's picture
galacticbrain

Start preheating the dutch oven an hour before you plan on baking. Try preheating at 500, then lowering to 460 after loading the oven.

Remove the lid after 15 minutes. It will probably take another 30-35 minutes uncovered for boules of ~800g. 

If your dutch oven is black cast iron, you may need to protect the bottom from becoming too dark.

If your starter is 100% hydration, then 2% salt for your recipe would be 19.2g, which is what I would use.

Chicagomelrn's picture
Chicagomelrn

Hello, it is a black cast iron pot. Could I ask how to keep the bottom from over cooking? I will also check on a thermometer, Maybe it was not cooked enough. 

Chicagomelrn's picture
Chicagomelrn

I will up the salt to 16-17 grams and see what happens.

Doc.Dough's picture
Doc.Dough

From the light color of the finished loaf, it looks like the oven was not hot enough or the DO was not pre-heated long enough.  An hour at 500°F is a good preheat.  For a one pound loaf others are having success with 20 minutes with the lid on and 20 min with the lid off (at an oven temperature of 470°F).

If the bottom is too dark, take a piece of aluminum foil that is a little more than four times as long as the bottom of the DO is wide.  Crumple it into a ball then un-crumple it and fold twice into four layers with the shiny side out and put it between the DO and the rack it is sitting on.  The crinkles will form pockets in what is known as multi-layer insulation and act as a good insulator to reduce conduction and convective heat transfer to the bottom of the DO.

Tyler Dean's picture
Tyler Dean

My best loaf was the only loaf I ever forgot to add salt to, it came out perfect, except no flavor because no salt. I know it wasn't the absence of salt that made my bread come out perfect, but it's proof that salt isn't necessary for structure and rise therefore the lack of will not change the crust.

I was using an enameled dutch oven instead of cast iron black, and I moved it up as high as it would fit with a lid on in the oven, lowered the baking temp by 10 degrees, and when I took the lid off after the oven spring, I moved the dutch oven up another rack since it now fit higher without the lid, where it remained until finished - all in order to avoid my bottom from burning. Try these methods to eliminate your undesired bottom crust, or try a pizza stone like I now use, with a roasting pan upside down on top to trap steam. Good luck :)

Oh almost forgot! Also, too much flour on the bottom of the loaf will definitely make a cruddy bottom crust. You don't need any flour or oil when baking even the highest of hydration doughs in a preheated dutch oven or on a preheated pizza stone. If it cooks properly it will not stick. You might need to use a spatula to pry it off but it won't stick. I used to get too much flour on the bottom when shaping it and it would ruin the bottom crust. The less flour on the loaf when it goes in the oven the better the crust! I switched to rice flour as well. Good luck, again :)

Southbay's picture
Southbay

With the King Arthur and the Dutch oven, that looks about how I would expect because I’ve made a whole bunch of breads just like that in my Dutch oven using King Arthur. You could take it completely out of the cast iron for the second part of the bake and shorten the first part of the bake so the bottom doesn’t get so toasted. Try to find the proofing sweet spot where you maximize rise without sacrificing oven spring to get the lightest possible texture, since that seems to be what you’d prefer. Some will come out more perfect than others.

Preheat the cast iron well for good spring. Leave it in there during preheating and maybe let it go another several minutes to really get hot before you put the dough in. Then try 20 minutes covered at 450 then 20 minutes out of the Dutch oven at 350. Or 20 minutes covered at 450 then maybe 13 minutes out of the Dutch oven at 450 for a faster, crustier bake. We like the chewy texture in my house, and I oil and salt the bottom of the Dutch oven before the dough goes in. It turns the bottom crust into a kind of glossy salty tasty bit. I attached an all King Arthur Dutch oven bread pic that seems to resemble yours. 

Chicagomelrn's picture
Chicagomelrn

Thank you for all of the feedback and advice! I will try again and see how it goes! I did order a thermometerso that I can check the loaf temp.