Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give any insight into what went wrong in my latest loaf.
Information:
100g levain
400g strong white flour (Shipton Mill)
100g strong wholemeal
10g salt
77% hydration
I autolysed flour with 360g water for four hours before adding levain and then salt after 20 minutes. Throughout bulk fermentation - which went for four hours - I gradually added a bit more water until it was at 77%. The flour seemed to accept this and absorbed it well. I did stretch and folds every half an hour. Preshaping and shaping were very easy with good tension on the surface. I've attached a picture - on the left is the 77% and on the right is another loaf with 70% hydration.
I gave it a 12 hour cold proof in the fridge. The dough felt pretty sloppy in the morning and was sticking to the banneton (even though I used a lot of rice flour). When it came out of the banneton it just collapsed into a puddle and dribbled off the baking paper when I tried to put it in the oven. I don't have a tin with me so couldn't bake it.
Does anyone know what might have gone on? It might be that I'm just not good enough at handling the dough, although I was pretty confident and it felt good. I made a 75% hydration loaf a few days ago which turned out really well, despite me having previously struggled with that percentage hydration. I'm also wondering if bulk fermentation went on a bit too long, although my kitchen felt quite cold (I don't have the exact temperature). I should say, I have no reason for pushing the hydration but I'm keen to learn and improve so I'm experimenting to see what me/my flour can handle and I'm just not sure exactly what went wrong here.
Thank you!
The wrinkles make it look like it's over proofed/fermented. Basically your gluten went South on ya. The times given wouldn't suggest over, but if temps were high, or higher than usual, and starter is very active, it can happen.