January 10, 2022 - 5:17am
Delaminating?
Is this loaf delaminating? It has a massive ear and reasonable bloom, but it didn’t necessarily bloom up. It looks more like it just peeled open.
Any ideas? Poor gluten development? Poor shaping? Poor scoring?
This is a 15% WW loaf at 68% hydration and with a 4% inoculation. Four sets of bowl kneading spread out over the first two hours of bulk and then three more sets of bowl folding during bulk. Bulk fermentation = 11 hours at 76 deg F, Final proof = 2 hours at 76 deg F, and overnight cold retard for 8 hours. Baked on an oven steel at 440 deg F for 10 minutes, 425 deg F for 7 minutes, vent oven, 425 deg F for 13 minutes. 204 deg F final temp.
Thanks for any ideas or insights!
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My semi-intuitive explanation for when I got similar looking breads was that the hydration was a little too low for the flour. Then the "ear" is so large and thick. Did the dough feel quite stiff?
Let's see what others say, perhaps someone knows for sure.
Thanks Ilya. The dough was a little firm. Pliable and no issues working with it, but it felt “strong” from the first set of bowl kneading.
That's a lot of expansion, which hints at the loaf needing just a bit more proofing before baking.
Paul
Thanks Paul. Will grab a crumb photo when I slice it and see how it looks.
Troy, when you say 4% inoculation do you mean 4% pre-fermented flour or that the levain weight was 4% of the total flour?
I've had those thick ears when the hydration was too low for the dough (trying to get 100% whole red fife. not to spread) and when scoring too deeply. It is possible that the dough was under fermented, hard to be sure without also seeing the crumb though.
Benny
4% of total flour.
Sounds like maybe a combination of low hydration and underproofed.
All that being said, that still looks like a great bake Troy, hopefully you're happy with the taste which is the most important.
Benny
of melted garlic butter over it, grab a towel and plunk myself down with a brew & movie. :)
I like the way you think!
Yep. A little underproofed. Could have used another 30 minutes.
Troy, I actually don’t think that the crumb is particularly underproofed. Sure if you wanted a more open crumb then perhaps a bit more fermentation could be added, but that isn’t underproofed to me, I think the crumb looks great. So regarding the ear, score a bit more angled and a bit less deep. That appears to be a very deep score to me. Also increase the hydration a touch. In fact that is a good looking crumb.
Benny
Agree with everything Benny said!
Benny and Ilya,
Thank you for the comments. I have not paid a lot of attention to the depth of my scores to-date. I’ve been more focused on how the scoring affects the final loaf shape but haven’t paid attention to the depth. Will have to do some reading and watch a couple videos.
On the plus side, the crumb had a nice chew to it and made excellent grilled sandwiches today at lunch. 👍