Degassing vs. Not degassing?
Has anyone tried an experiment with two doughs, one where you degas after rising, and one where you just let it rise once? Some styles of bread like ciabatta and alot of time also sourdough, is not degassed in order to preserve the big open bubbles. On the other hand, breads like sandwich bread and burger buns are alot of the time degassed. I know that degassing will result in a more even crumb, but i was wondering whether it would have more volume as well?
I have a theory: When you degas the dough, you split all the larger bubbles into smaller ones. This means that there is less strain on every cell, and could because of that retain more gas inside the dough without overproofing? So in short: Degassing would result in an airier loaf of bread with more volume.
But that is just my theory, and i am even doubting it myself, because breads like ciabatta are most definitely airy, but i am not sure whether that comes from the fact that it is not degassed, or because of the high hydration.