Hey,
This is my latest bread. The famous "puck" shaped issue. I've been baking with some pretty good consistency but this one took me by surprise.
It's a 75% hydration bread ( 20% spelt, 10% whole whear) and I added 20% levain, 2% salt.
Absolutely basic recipe: autolyse a few hours, add levain, add salt, stretch and fold 4-5 times - lamination once. IT looked pretty good though it was really lose.
I bulk fermented for 4-5 hours ( big gas bubbles were starting to form on the surface which is usually my cue...honestly, have no clue when to end the bulk. I use the gas bubbles and time cues but if anyone has any other tips would be appreciated!), pre-shaped , shaped and 12 hours in the fridge.
Shaping was difficult, I am sure I did not do a great job.
I think the started was weak or I underfermeneted. IS there any chance I overfermented?
I don't know..and I know it's very hard to diagnose over the internet but any idea could help.
Thanks!
To my amateur eye it looks underproved and under baked.
I have a method of "Pinching the crown" which is not stealing the crown jewels. To give a final lift right before baking. You take a finger pinch of dough from as low as you can and pull it up and wrap it over the centre. Holding the pulled strip down with your thumb, pinch and pull with one finger from the top centre and pinch into the strip on your thumb. Rotate and repeat until it resembles a crown. The sides will have lifted. Commit to heat immediately.
Got a point there, 5000. Sourdough often needs the skin tightened during the bulk rise. If you kept track of how long it took, try it again but add some folds (like shaping but don't be too rough) during that time to add "body" to the dough. This stretching (many ways to go about it) of the dough should help develop the gluten and help out. Look up: stretch and fold, folds, S&F, bowl folding, foil folds, letter folds on the site search, top of the page.
What was the other flour used in the recipe?
I think it's absolutely run of the mill cheap bread flour ( type 650 here in europe).
I am usually trying to tighten the skin during bulk and I do a lot of SF and F..and even a lamination! Maybe it was underproofed, I really hve a hard time telling when this happens!
Thanks, I'll check those out!
or something to give the dough a shape during the final proof?
Have you tried reducing the water? The crumb looks like cake which might mean it needs more n
kneadng to develop the gluten in the dough.