The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

underproofed?

loaflove's picture
loaflove

underproofed?

Hi fellow bakers,

I'm back at it again.  Trying achieve that lacy crumb.  And big ear.  This was a big fail in that respect.  Is this underfermented or maybe the oven wasn't hot enough?  It still tasted delicious.   Any feedback is greatly appreciated.  

Thanks

LL

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

crumb for the flour (ingredients) and oven you are using whatever they are. (Any reference links to previous posts?)

You are most likely to find your desired tweak somewhere in the rising & shaping of your technique.  

loaflove's picture
loaflove

Thanks Mini.  What do you mean by “rising”?

I always use Rogers apf and 5-10% ww.  5% ww for this loaf. Recently,I’ve been doing a preshape into a boule , rest, then final shape into a batard.  I never used to preshape. Do you think I’m over handling the dough by preshaping? Idk it’s so hit and miss for me.  A couple of times I got pretty nice ears but don’t know what I did right. 

in the morning when it hasn’t fermented enough in time  for me to shape. , I retard it and when I get home from work I take it out and proof it until it reaches the 7 cup mark on my Tupperware bowl. I wonder if that has any affect on it.  I mean retarding it then continuing later. 

lve never let the top of the hump go past the 7 cup mark.  Do you think I should push it to the 8 cup mark to see what happens? And I'm never quite satisfied with the oven spring. 

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

or bubbles grow through the sides of the container?  This can be very helpful.  Cells start out small in the biginning of bulk rise maybe no bigger than a pin point and as fermentation progresses, show a wide variety of sizes as some cells break into others.

Lets try this:  Draw a one inch square on the side of the bowl or tape a window.  Draw the same size square in your notes and observe the dough as you go through your routine making a running capture of how the dough cells look as time goes by. Before folding,  maybe ten minutes after folding, etc.  the more drawings you make the more you can compare.  Draw the bubbles as carefully as you can so you can or take photos.  Be sure to take note of the spaces between the bubbles.  Watch how the gas bubble shapes change.  Do they move or rise? 

loaflove's picture
loaflove

Thanks Mini.  But I'm a bit slow , and don't quite follow 🤪 .  What will this tell me?  When to stop the bulk?

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

what the dough tells you.  If you can't see the bubbles through the container, take a sharp knife and quickly slash the dough to see what is going on inside the dough as it rises.  Then slap the cut edges back together.  I wouldn't want to spoil the learning experience for you. Would be nice to post some of the drawings or pictures.  :)

loaflove's picture
loaflove

I can see through the translucent container.  Ok I’ll try! Thank you😊 

loaflove's picture
loaflove

Thanks Mini.  Just reading it now but will have to read it again.  My fav SD book has S and Fs as optional.  It'd sure be handy to not have to do S and Fs.  My bagel dough is : knead for 5 minutes then bulk it.  the crumb is tight though, not what i would want for a SD loaf.  

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Bagel is a low hydration dough but if you find it really stiff, it might need a littl more water. One certainly would have difficulty folding too stiff a dough.

it is still a good exercise to watch the gas cells filling in the dough.