To much yeast....?
To start this you kneed to know what I did. I modified a recipe to start with a sponge. Used half the flour called for and all the liquids. Only half of the called for yeast. This sponge started to fall back in about five hours. So I added a cup of flour. It was like watching pasta water trying to overflow. When making the bread i added the rest of the yeast. Loaves didn’t rise well and fell in the oven. I have dense but nice tasting bread.
My guess is by adding the remaining yeast I starved it out. Am I guessing right or is there something else at play?
If I do this again should I start with even less yeast? Not add any more when adding the remaining flour? This is for a sponge meant to sit for 8+ hours. Should I use less of the called for flour to start the sponge?
Yes I know I can find directions. But i'm a guy. And I've been told I have a habit of not reading directions. It's more fun to experiment. Besides, as long as I can eat my results it's a win win situation. : )
Thanks!
You've asked where you've gone wrong but say you don't like to follow instructions. Nothing much for me to add but read at your peril http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/54099/bakers-math-trying-use-sponge
When your sponge started to fall, you should have used it then. Next time, use less yeast. As for the rest of your problems....there's no telling from your data. My best guess is that you overproofed your dough.
I love to experiment. Find out what does what. How it works. It's easy to follow directions blindly. I've made great bread that way. But i wan't to know and understand more. I followed directions and made a bread that took three days. It fascinated me to no end to know that actually worked. I was expecting to pull back the towel and have some fuzzy thing looking back up at me. Grow my own pet. : ) I want to know how far I can push a sponge. How little yeast is not enough. I'm kinda sure I know how much is to much. But even over proofed bread tastes great. So if I want bread just for bread then it's recipe 101. If I've got bread for the week those next two loaves? Time to play "So what would happen."
I made one bread that called for a sponge. So I took a bread that i'd made before and started it with a sponge. It made that bread taste different. A better flavor. This was well before I read in a book that that's possible. Every part of a recipe is a chance to experiment. Every slight or major change makes a different tasting bread. I made bread for the first time that called for powdered milk. This bread had a thick crunchy crust. Tasted very much like good pretzels. I have made bread that calls for milk. Didn't taste anything like that. Crust was nothing like that. My guess would be the lack of milk fat. So I'm thinking of adding both to a batch of dough. See what happens. If anything it's fun.
Thanks for the link Lechem. I've bookmarked it for future reference.
Thanks Tgrayson. I'll remember that. I thought I could extend the yeast activity by adding more food. I will try this again. But this time without adding the rest of the yeast. Or as in Lechem's link, only a small bit more.
Ds99303, and being a guy myself I can honestly say if it wasn't for experimenting, stretching out and pushing things to their limits we wouldn't have all the breads we enjoy today. : )
Thanks!