June 22, 2022 - 3:07pm
Deflating on the scored side
Hello,
I’ve been working on my sourdough baking lately and I’m finding that I can never get that nice oven spring. Although many of my loaves have had a nice crumb and texture, they don’t seem to expand from the score but rather almost deflate. I’ve attached some pics of my loaf today. I’m thinking it may be slightly over proofed? Or it’s a shaping thing but I did feel like I built plenty of surface tension.. any thoughts?
78% hydration, it came close to doubling before an hour in the basket proofing and then overnight in the fridge. Baked on a pizza stone, sprayed with water with a metal bowl over top.
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The bottom looks blown out from this pic. Did a skin form on the top overnight? Or perhaps it set too quickly in the oven (top element on?).
The biggest issue I see for you is that the upper crust is hardening too early and thus expansion is having to come from below. You’ll want to look at your oven set up. How are you positioning your dough in your oven, how low vs high. Open with steam vs in a dutch oven. The shape of your loaf tells this story of a dough in which the top crust forms too soon.
Benny