Help to troubleshoot sourdough loaf, tasted nice but very flat.
So after failing many times before, I decided to go back to sourdough baking. Although I do have theoretical knowledge of sourdough, I considered this a first-timer experience on a practical level.
The recipe I used was from this forum: https://www.thefreshloaf.com/handbook/san-francisco-style-sourdough with one modification: I used pea-flower infusion which makes the bread slight greyish blue in color. This is just for the aesthetics.
The mixing and folding technique were from this: https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-make-sourdough-bread
I made use of these two pieces of equipment I own: scale and thermometer (old-school so not that accurate but good enough). I don't have a proofing box, but the temp in my room is pretty decent, 22-24degC. The final proof was in a baking pan with a cheesecloth treated with rice flour solution (extremely helpful for stickiness). I don't have a dough scraper.
I baked in a preheated convection oven at 250degC (with steam) for 10mins and at 200degC for 20mins. On a thick cookie sheet.
The flour I used was European standard supermarket flour with 11g protein, my starter was made using self-juiced pomegranate juice and ground whole rye berries I got from the local bio store. Later fed with bio AP flour and tap water. It is very active and healthy, judging based on various sources I found online and using my own nose + visual cues.
These are the pics of the outcome.
What went fine:
- All the procedures were ok, textbook mixing, BF, retarding.
- The bread came out great, slight tang, delicious soft crumb. Very satisfied with the result.
BUT, the problems !!!:
- Shaping was a bit clumsy, weirdly shaped because the dough was very relaxed. Why is it too relaxed for a 72% dough?
- The oven-spring was not great. Super flat, spread-out shape. Nothing beautiful like what I've seen here. You can tell by the flat ears.
Possible causes:
- The flour I used didn't have enough strength.
- The development of gluten is not enough. Bc of bad folding technique or handling of the dough.
- Bad shaping.
- Overproofing the dough.
- Oven too cold. Not preheated enough.
- Bad slashing before baking.
Of course, I'm just wild-guessing right now but I would like to hear some expert advice. Could someone help me out with some diagnosis for my next bake? Very much appreciated, thanks!!!
First, I think you’ve managed to get a nice open crumb! You’re going to get better oven spring baking on a pre-heated baking stone as opposed to baking on a cookie sheet. The spring happens quickly and the high heat on the bottom of the loaf drives this.
Thanks for the input! I will consider a baking stone in near future.
It looks like the fermentation is fine, I don’t see overt signs of over fermentation. You mention the butterfly pea flower infusion, if I recall I believe that using butterfly pea flower can increase the extensibility of the dough. I could be mistaken but that is in the back of my mind for some reason.
Another thing, your AP flour with 11% protein even at 72% hydration may be a bit weak unless you really knead the dough early on to develop the gluten. If the gluten is underdeveloped you may find that the dough is a bit weak and may be hard to shape and then spread when baked.
I’m not fully clear on your baking procedure. I typically pre-heat really hot 500°F and will either bake in a dutch oven (pre-heated) or on a baking steel/stone with steam (pre-heating with the oven). Then bake with steam at 450°F for 25 mins and then a further 25 mins or so until fully baked. If you baked with steam for only 10 mins you may have caused the crust to form too soon to allow full oven spring to occur. Based on time lapse videos of my recent bakes I have found that oven spring and bloom continue up to about 25 mins so I have extended my steam bake to 25 mins.
Benny
Oh that's interesting about the pea flower. I should look into it a bit further.
As for the flour, yes I think I might have not developed the gluten structure enough because I only did S&F without any prior dough slapping or kneading. I thought that the gluten will naturally strengthen itself, as seen in those no-knead bread recipes.
For the baking procedure. I preheated 250degC for 30mins, put the slashed dough in, poured boiling water into a tray at the bottom, shut it for 10mins before taking the tray out, and finally continued baking for 20mins.
It makes a lot of sense about your way of doing it. I will extend my steam time for the next bake and see if it improves. Thanks for the detailed answer. Cheers!