This is my 4th loaf or so, and my best one yet, even though it's still pretty flat. The intact crumb doesn't look that bad fermentation wise, apart from the gaps at the top which I've had previously from underproofing? I'm just trying to identify which one is my issue, fermentation, dough strength, the proof or shaping. Anything, really.
I'm also not that happy with the crust colour/crunch, even though I baked it for nearly 50 minutes, is that oven temperature?
https://tartinebakery.com/stories/country-bread Tartine country bread recipe. Bread flour protein 12.8%. Folded and stretched 6 times as per recipe. Proofed in the oven with the light on, but still really cold in my house, so I estimate 20C. I kept a little dough sample until it doubled, which took 8 hours from the point I added my starter. Dough felt tight, gassy, very bubbly. Preshaped, rest for 30 minutes, shaping was a bit difficult, was scared of degassing but made into a tight round. Proofed for 1 hour in oven again before fridge retard (temp??) for 15 hours.
Oven preheated to 550F (max) with a pizza stone preheated for 1 hour, and preheated cast iron pan underneath. Slid the loaf onto the stone and poured boiling water into the tray before closing door. Turned heat down to 450F. Steam removed after 25 minutes and baked for another 25 minutes.
Thinking the pale crust might be due to lowered oven temperature from the water? Maybe shouldn't have turned it down like that.
Help please! I'm keen to learn <3
I get Imgur page not found.
Your link has some extra spaces included in it so it isn't working correctly. However, I took a look after removing them and the proper images can be seen HERE. https://imgur.com/a/Yjtwio4
You identify that you are not happy with the crust color / crunch of the bread. Your methods seem sound, although I'm guessing that you are not generating enough steam and it's causing the crust to set too quickly to get a really nice oven spring. It looks like where you slashed your loaf (you did slash your loaf right) set before it fully opened. Also the fact that your starter is taking 8 to get the bread going might be another point to look at. How fast does your starter double when fed? Ideally you want it to double or more within 4 hours of feeding. That said, I'm glad that you recognize that fermentation is important and that you can't go by just a time point to judge if you are ready to move to the next step.
Do you have any way to cover the dough once it goes on the stone? An inverted pot could work for this. You would cover the tough and leave just a bit of the pot off the side of the baking stone to allow steam to go up and inside. Alternatively, you could try using a dutch oven, combo cooker, or the like on the rack (keep the steel below but remove the stone).
Thinking about your fermentation schedule. You might be over doing it with all of the proofing.
My schedule would look like this:
Mix all dough together
Do stretch and folds every 30 min or so until the dough passes a windowpane test.
Move dough to a proving container...level the dough and mark for 50% growth.
Once it has hit that mark, turn out and do a preshape.
Wait 5 min
Do a final shape, move to the banneton, cover with a plastic bag and put in fridge.
Bake the next day after being in the fridge between 15 and 24 hours. Absolutely no need for all of the extra proofing. I don't even bring the dough up to temp out of the fridge...just bake it directly (it also makes scoring the bread much easier).
As for temps. I bake my bread at 230c for 40 min covered in a dutch oven...then another 15 minutes on the rack to brown the crust.
Hope some of this helps. Sourdough is a challenge but a super rewarding one. If you haven't found it on youtube, Sune at FoodGeek does a lot of experiments with sourdough and has some really good techniques. You can learn a lot by watching how he handles the dough and his methods. This video of his master formula is a great starting place. Good Luck!
Oh, also this might be helpful for your starter as well. :)
I've fixed the link in the OP, never used imgur before so thanks for that!
I agree my steam set up was probably poor, I'll keep experimenting but if all else fails, I might just get a dutch oven/combo. I did 'slash' my loaf, but with scissors (no razor), it didn't hold very well and I think this has something to do with the extra proof, since it was strong while shaping.
My starter readily more than doubles in 3-4 hours :) I get so happy when I see it. I feed it 1:3:3 from the fridge 2-3 times before building a levain. As for fermentation, I'm going by the sample jar, taking advice from The Bread Code (also Yt), who I've seen leave bulk fermentation for up to 12 hours because it's so cold. My dough didn't feel overproofed when I took it out, and had risen about 70% volume when done. Will definitely get rid of that extra proof, I see there's no need!
I really appreciate the detailed length of your response, it will really help me in the long run. I'm a known lover of challenges so I'll keep going until I'm happy, thank you so much!
Sounds like you are really on the right track. Over the years I've been baking sourdough I've changed and refined my methods and continue to do different things. It's honestly a lot about practice and getting more experience. The fact that you starter is nice and strong is a huge start. For me, when baking "rustic" loves of bread, the use of a combo cooker / dutch oven has been a revelation for me. I can't imagine trying to go back to baking on just a stone with a pan of water (also not having to use a pan for water has also been nice). Keep going and keep baking...I'm sure it will click and feel more natural over time.
So, I make sourdough starting off with fed starter that has been fed the night before. So, this makes it quite active (important). I then make a pre-dough kind of concoction which is basically all of the water of the recipe, the starter from the previous evening and most of the flour for the recipe. This is considered the final feeding of my yeast and this goes into the fridge overnight after becoming quite bubbly. The next day after the pre-dough warms up, the remainder of my flour and salt goes in to stiffen the mixture to a workable consistency. And, my process is pretty much the same as your stretching, degassing and folds. I have to say that the third day where the extra flour goes in is best described as another feeding. It makes the yeast active enough to give me a great rise when in bulk and again after it is divided and in its final rise.
For baking, I use a 235C oven with 1cm thick steels that I warm up ahead of time. My loaves are quite giggly before they are slashed and placed into the hot oven onto the hot steels. Now, there is a fine line between giggly and collapsing from over proofing.
Now, I have to say, every once in awhile I forget to add steam to the oven. The result is white, pale loaves versus nicely browned loaves when I steam. To steam, I simply throw ice cubes into the bottom of my oven. About a dozen medium oblong pieces or so. Now, if you have a nice oven, don't do this. Throw the ice cubes onto a baking tray that is heated with the oven. The constant throwing of ice into your oven will ruin the metal on the bottom of the oven. Also, I highly suggest a convection oven.
Now, between the steam, the screaming hot steels, convection oven and the giggly quality of the loaves, you will get a great oven spring. Hope some of this helps.