The Fresh Loaf

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Wild crumb - how to?

carnophage's picture
carnophage

Wild crumb - how to?

Hello I am in the search of my “holly grail” - the wild open crumb with large pockets, but usually my crumb is too tight. I’ve tried so many things - more hydration, less hydration, bulk ferment longer/less, different temperatures at bulk ferment, cold retards at 2/3/4 degrees C. The kneading I do is rubaud method or slap and folds, followed by lamination and 3 coil folds. I shape and bake directly at 100% volume increase or I put to cold retard for 12 hours at 20% volume increase. The results are more or less the same.

The percentages are:

100% strong white flour with 14% protein

70-75% hydration

20% starter 

2% salt. 

My starter seems active and triples in size in 3-4 hours. 

The results are always similar: