Hi all,
I am having some trouble with my sourdough having large holes at the top.
The recipe I am following is:
100% strong bread flour
78% water
17% starter (which is 100% hydration). I have had my starter since November and it is very healthy and active.
2% salt
Autolyse flour and water 20 mins. Then thoroughly mix in salt and starter. Rest 5 mins. Slap and fold 5 mins. Rest 5 mins. Slap and fold 8-10 mins until passes window pane test. Bulk ferment until double in size (using a clear square container so I can see the exact rise). Preshape. Rest 5-10 mins. Final shape and place in banneton or tin to rise. Second bulk ferment until finger poke takes 3-4 seconds to pop back up leaving a small indent. I have done second bulk both in the fridge overnight or on the bench at room temp for approx 2 hours, using finger poke rather than a specific time to see if the dough is done. I have tried scoring and not scoring the bread pre-bake with the same results.
Bake at 250C for 15 mins then 220C for 20 mins. Before loaf goes in the oven I put boiling water form my kettle on a tray on the bottom shelf. I am baking the bread on a baking tray only.
When I take the dough out of the banneton and put it on the tray it spreads out like a lot. There is some oven spring but it does not open up am ear on the loaf. I baked a loaf in a tin at the same time made from exactly the same recipe with the same proofing time/everything else followed exactly and it turned out well so I don't know what the problem is.
I'm not sure if the issue is hydration, shaping or maybe even rising time? Any help is appreciated.
If possible, I will attach pictures of the holey crumb, the loaf (which always looks kinda flat too) and the tin loaf made under exactly the same conditions.
Your loaf has a type of [i]flying crust[/i]. Search this site for that term and good luck!
Thanks Petek. I was curious because it only occurred in the round loaves I was trying to make on a sheet pan and not the loaves made in square tins - even under the exact same conditions. Anyway, looking at the advice on http://artisanbreadbaking.com/problems/ was helpful. I think because I have been doing the final proof uncovered, the film being created on the bottom side of the bread during proofing/before turning out to bake might be the problem.
I'm going to try a 70% hydration bread today and make sure it's covered during all proofing and see if I have better results. :)