Gluey crumb with flying crust
I was ever so pleased with the appearance of this loaf, after my recent efforts (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/43124/bettershaped-loaves-avoiding-overproofing).
I thought the tension achieved while forming the boule was fine and despite it looking and sounding cooked, I gave it an extra five minutes and left it to cool for well over an hour before cutting.
What I found were massive holes in the crust and a very gluey, damp texture to the crumb.
This was a 65% hydration sourdough loaf weighing 880g. Clearly it was not baked long enough despite 250°C for 20 minutes in a La Cloche and 230°C for another 25 minutes.
I need to do some reading-up on flying crusts and work out why I didn't create sufficient tension before it went into a banneton.
Thoughts, as always, appreciated. Happy baking. Colin.
A bit more working of the dough can even out your crumb and help discourage bug bubbles. Looks tasty.
Hi Southbay. Many thanks for your suggestion. I am beginning to think that I didn't degas the dough before shaping. I'd started with 10 minutes in a KitchenAid, then 3 lots of stretch & folds at 20 minute intervals. The dough was proved seam-side up, but I suppose I might have incorporated some air when forming the boules. It was tasty, anyway, and enjoyed with some freshly made tomato soup. Thanks for your thoughts. Happy baking. Colin.
and bake to 210 F - Even though that isn't fool proof either.
The step many bakers skip is the pre-shape. this gets rid of half the big air bubbles and the final shaping gets rid of the rest.. Newbies tend to be too delicate with the dough thinking it will kill the holes but this is not so, You will get the hang of degassing dough before it is pre-shaped and shaped.
As long as it taste good the bread was huge success and the holes have no taste whatsoever.anyway. If they are too big the good stuff on the inside of the sandwich falls through them anyway - so big holes are a pain.
Happy baking with normal holes
I just read this recently, and it seems to make sense to me - as water, your hydration in the dough boils at 212/100, and you may reach your target internal temp. That may be misleading, as your bread may indeed temp at 205 or 210, let's say, but still be retaining a lot of moisture. So just using a thermometer may not be as accurate as one may think.
Yes, I agree that preshape is an essential step, and if you look at a lot of videos - of course I mean the "trustworthy" baker videos, you will see that some do degas the dough even before the final shaping. Whether or not that is a missing element of your process, only you would know.
Even if you've seen it before, watch again and pay attention to how Mr. Hamelman and Mr. Philip shape baguettes and batards .
alan
Thanks Alan, For some reason I don't like the idea of sticking a thermometer into a loaf while juggling things in and out of the oven. I wonder whether I need to get better at sensing what a "hollow" loaf sound like, and what the weight of it should feel like in the hand, relative to size. I have a feeling that I omitted degassing and was a bit too gentle with the dough on this occasion, Many thanks and happy baking. Colin,
Thanks Dabrownman, I did preshape the dough, but I think you could be right that I was a bit more gentle with the dough than I should have been while shaping. I was reminded of something I read on here the other day to the effect that when a loaf looks cooked, leave it in the oven for another 10 minutes. It tasted fine, but the gluey texture was definitely not something I was aiming for. Thanks and happy baking. Colin.
Another thing you might try is docking your loaf. When you think it has risen enough during the final proof (but the dough still feels tight and springy.) Wet a skewer or toothpick and poke it into your loaf over half way in to release big gas bubbles. Space them about an inch apart all over the surface. The loaf first falls a bit but slowly not like over-proofing. Let the dough continue to rise just a little more before baking.
Hi Mini Oven, what an interesting idea and it makes perfect sense. Thank you for suggesting it. Happy baking! Colin.