June 30, 2020 - 1:53am
Tartine Country Loaf - flat outcome, what is wrong?
Hi guys,
Could you please help me understand what I do wrong so that my bread did not open at all and got very flat?
I'm basing on the recipe from this link https://www.theperfectloaf.com/tartine-sourdough-country-loaf-bread-recipe/
I did it twice and in both cases the outcome was not quite as I expected. The taste was good but the loaf completely flat without any spring.
EDIT (fixed album link) https://imgur.com/a/QqVCfJW
Any help appreciated!
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Do you have a crumb shot? It's very hard to judge without seeing how the bread looks inside. A completely flat loaf that still tastes good and has a fluffy crumb is usually overproofed — e.g. higher temperature or more active starter than assumed by the recipe. If it's dense and gummy, it's underproofed (e.g. starter isn't active enough).
Sorry, by accident I've put a link to single photo not an album, here it is: https://imgur.com/a/QqVCfJW
Don't have the crumb of the second bread as I still did not cut it
Yeah, that looks like it might be overproofing, but otherwise nice loaves! Other possible culprits could be weak flour + not enough strength in the dough to hold shape (defined by folds / shaping).
Thanks,
therefore I will try to cut down the bulk fermentation time. Also after folding the dough still seemed a bit sticky. Does this could also be caused by the flour type or rather gluten development?
Different flours will handle hydration differently. it's better to go with a bit lower hydration until you're comfortable working with that flour. Do the window pane test after your folds to test for gluten development. if it's tearing easily, you may need another rest and fold.