Hi all,
Have been baking sourdough for 2-3 months now and still trying to understand if I'm over or underproving my loaves. Generally I BF for 3-3.5 hrs, bench rest for 30 mins post pre-shape, shape, and then rest in banneton for 30 mins before retarding in fridge. I tend to leave for work @ 6am and aren't back until 8pm some days, so generally bread goes in to prove the night before at around 10pm - that's a 22hr retard.
I've recently been getting crumbs like the pictures below, I get OK oven spring, but nothing that tears and generates a good ear - if I want an ear I have to underprove and then causes issues with gummy crumb/dense bread. My standard recipe is just a 100% strong bread flour @ 78% hydration, 2% salt and 20%, 100% starter.
I'm trying to understand the fine line between under/over proved and also enable me to get an ear as well as a nice crumb! Attached are some pics of my two most recent loaves that I am looking for critique or recommendations.
Cheers for your help all!
I think your crumb looks lovely! I am no expert so I'm curious to ready what others have to say, but often I feel like my ear depends more on my scoring and shaping ability than the proof. I'll shape two loaves and try and score them the same and the ears will be quite different! Clearly not a result of the proofing since it is the same exact dough. Not sure if this could be the issue for you...
Your dough doesn't have any of the clear signs of being under proofed and it's hard to imagine it is over proofed given your bf time is relatively short. What is the temperature of your kitchen? It would also be helpful to see photos of the outside of the loaf.
I would consider this “more proofed,” not over proofed. I really like a crumb like this because it is so soft and fluffy. You won’t get ears with a dough like this at that proof level, as you have discovered. Do you really want ears? They look cool, but are a little overrated in my opinion. Furthermore, a round loaf isn’t supposed to have an ear in any case.
If you want a loaf that is not as well proofed, try baking before you go to work rather than after. The bread doesn’t need a 22 hour cold proof. Really it does ok on 6 hours plus, in my experience. Give it a try and see how it works.