Gluten Soup
Hello!
I was making a loaf of one of my favorite breads: A semolina and rye loaf with cranberry, pecan, rosemary.
It was my first time making this loaf in France, and French flours are much softer than U.S flours. So the dough already felt much more hydrated and delicate than it feels in the U.S.
But after a vigorous mix and a few coil folds during the bulk fermentation, the dough was feeling pretty good.
That is, until I added the additions...
I soaked some cranberries and chopped pecans in orange juice, then mostly drained them before folding them into the dough.
Or at least I tried to fold them into the dough... After one or two coil folds, the dough turned into GLUTEN SOUP
Oh la la!☹
My theory about what went wrong is that the cranberries (which had added sugar) released their sugar into the orange juice (also full of added sugar), and then all that sugar destroyed the gluten networks of the fragile dough.
I'll make the dough again with organic cranberries, soaked in water.
Any thoughts on what could've happened?
"I soaked some cranberries and chopped pecans in orange juice, then mostly drained them before folding them into the dough".
However much you drain a soaker you'll never drain all the liquid out. Better to build the dough around the soaker (after doing your best to drain it) then to add the soaker to the dough. This way you can work up to the correct hydration.
Sugar can impede gluten development by competing with it for water, but it isn't going to destroy a network that's already developed. I fully agree with Abe that this is a hydration issue.
When I add dried fruit to my breads, I usually don't pre-soak them. Instead, I increase the hydration of the dough to compensate, and the fruit absorbs the excess moisture, tightening up the dough over the course of the bulk fermentation.
When you add pre-soaked fruit (or anything significantly wetter than the dough, like a tang zhong or a porridge), the same thing happens in reverse, so you need to start with a drier dough to get the right consistency by the end of the bulk fermentation.
Hello!
Thanks for your response. I decreased the hydration by 3% and the dough felt great. But when I added the soaked cranberries and nuts, the dough fell apart again. Womp womp.
I'll try adding the cranberries and nuts without soaking them and seeing what happens.
At what point during the bulk fermentation do you typically add nuts/fruits to your dough?
Thanks,
Pat
I personally don't autolyse, so I mix my flour, water, levain, and salt and let it rest for an hour, then I would add my inclusions. In general, I would recommend doing it whenever you would normally do your first set of stretch and folds.
Looks like hydration issue, you said that with the french flour you felt the dough more hydrated, you should use less water in your recipe.