Is this underbaked?

Toast

I was trying to convert a yeasted raisin cinnamon loaf recipe to one using a starter. Either my math was off or my starter was having a really bad day...

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Original recipe: 

  • 180 g whole wheat flour
  • 180g all purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp yeast
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 350 ml room temperature water 
  • 50g walnuts
  • 50g raisins

Modified recipe:

  • 1/2 tsp sourdough starter (100% hydration)
  • All other ingredients same

What I did: 

  1. Mixed flours, salt, cinnamon. 
  2. Added in walnuts and raisins.
  3. Dissolved starter in water and added it in
  4. Bulk ferment at rtp (28 degrees) for 12 hours, with 2 S&Fs in the first hour
  5. The next day, preshape dough and bench rest for 20 mins
  6. Pre-heat oven to 250C. Place dough in loaf tin and bake for 60 mins
  7. Slice loaf after cooled.

Issues faced: 

  1. The dough was too wet throughout and I was unable to develop tension adequately during preshape. (I did not flour my work surface, only sprayed it with water to prevent sticking.
  2. Although placed on top rack of oven, the crust failed to brown, even after an hour.

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When sliced, crumb was VERY gummy. After slicing a few slices, I placed half of the uncut loaf back into the oven in hopes that it will bake through fully (to no avail). Also, the few slices that was already cut was placed into the oven to dry. However, it only made the surface crisp but the interior was still gummy. After these slices have cooled, they hardened into bricks. I don't think they can even be repurposed into croutons. :(

 

Where oh where did I go wrong? P.S. I've baked the yeasted version before and it turned out great!

It was under-fermented. You will need to use your starter to build a levain. 1/2 teaspoon of sourdough starter does not contain enough microbes to raise the bread.

Something is way off.

Original recipe: 

  • 180 g whole wheat flour
  • ¼ tsp yeast
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 350 ml room temperature water 
  • 50g walnuts
  • 50g raisins

At 180g flour and 350ml (same as 350g) water the hydration is 194%. Can’t be right...

Dan

Hi Dan!

Apologies for my error there. Total flour weight is 360g, 180g whole wheat + 180g AP. In that case, how much levain should be used? The dough rose after 12 hours but did not double in size. I assumed that it was because of the whole wheat flour, not due to the amount of starter in the first place.

Thanks!

Xela, I still don’t things add up. 350 water + 360 flour is a hydration of 97%.

We are going to sort this out for you...

Can you send a link or take a picture of the recipe? Once we get the basic formula right, we can suggest a levain build.

Dan

Xela, I’m not sure about that formula. In my opinion, although I haven’t baked it, 350g water with 360g flour (97% hydration) sounds way too wet. I don’t think the raisins will soak up enough water to make the dough workable. I could be wrong, since I have no experience baking it. If it were me, I’d look for another formula/recipe.

If you are open the another formula, let us know what type of bread to want to bake. If raisins and walnuts in a sourdough are what you want, we can help.

We just completed a Community Bake that featured Jeffrey Hamelman’s Swiss Farmhouse bread. It is a favorite among many bakers on The Fresh Loaf. It uses yeast water for levain, but we can give you instructions to use your starter in the place of the yeast water. See this link. http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/60907/community-bake-hamelmans-swiss-farmhouse-part-2-bake

 

INGREDIENTS (for your bread)

 

  • 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups (180 g) whole wheat flour
  • ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) yeast
  • 1 ½ tsp (7.5 ml) of salt
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) ground cinnamon
  • 1 ½ cups (350 ml) room temperature water (more if needed in 1 tbsp increments)
  • ½ cup (75g) walnuts
  • ½ cup (75 g) raisins
Toast

Hello, as Dan say the ratios are a little bit off. The 360g flour weight can be your top line. I'd imagine your want a hydration percentage of around 65% or 234g. Are your raisans dry or pre soaked as this can have a effect of the amount of moisture your bread will hold. As from a levain point of view I'd suggest around 25% to flour weight to start with this would be around 90g. The bread looks doughy and stodgy because there is no development of gas due to the lack of activity. If you get it right I'd imagine it will be a lovely loaf. Good luck