First bake with new starter...thoughts?
Hello bakers!
First time poster, long time lurker. I've gained so much from your wisdom here, so thank you. I am fairly new to sourdough baking. Oh, and I live above 5000ft, so bear that in mind.
This is my first bake with a new starter. It was around 2 weeks old when I used it for the first time. The starter is 100% hydration, fed with a mixture of rye and whole wheat flours. It doubles in about 6-8 hours after feeding 1:1:1. It's currently hibernating in the fridge, but when I am actively feeding it, it is kept in our home office at around 75F.
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The crumb is not as airy as I would like, but at least it is sort of uniform. Oven spring pretty good. The curious thing is that my dough barely rises during bulk ferment, maybe 10-20%. Bulk ferment was around 7 hours at 75F (4 stretch and folds during this period). Then:
- pre-shape
- 30 min rest
- shape/place in banneton
- 60 min proof at room temp
- 14 hour retard in fridge at 36F (no evidence of rise was apparent after retard)
You may be wondering why I didn't bulk ferment longer, given the minimal rise. Well, the poke test seemed to indicate that the dough was ready, and I was worried about over-fermentation. On a previous occasion (using a different starter but with similar characteristics to this one), I had let my dough nearly double and it turned into a sticky, over-fermented mess.
Verdicts? Is it under-fermented? Or maybe fermentation OK, but my starter just needs maturing? Any thoughts on why my dough rise is so minimal?
FYI, here is my recipe, which is about 77% hydration. I make two small boules from this recipe:
- 650g bread flour (actually I use all-purpose flour supplemented with vital wheat gluten to yield about 12.5% protein content)
- 487g water
- 130g ripe starter
- 13g kosher salt
- Bake at 450F, 25 mins in covered cast iron dutch oven, plus 25 mins with cover off.
I appreciate any feedback!