I have tried sourdoughs, plain white breads, and poolish. My ultimate goal is a crunchy crust and soft, holey crumb. Poolish recipes have gotten me the best results for the least complexity, but the loaves won't rise "upwards". I spray the hot oven with water to get the crust crunchy; I let the preferment sit for 12 hours; I allow long slow rises with folding in between. I let the dough "rest" after the first mixing, and before shaping. The dough rises nicely, but becomes slack after I shape it. After the shaping, it never retains the nice oval or ball-like form I've given it. What's up?
If you could post the recipe you are using we could help better:)
hi! I used this:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/european-style-hearth-bread-recipe
But used active dry yeast instead.
Poolish preferment fermentation is roughly approximated. Some flours ferment faster than others. Try only 8 hrs. for the poolish preferment or reduce the pinch size amount to much less for a 12 hr ferment. Temperature plays a big role.
Mini
Are you placing it in a basket or bowl for final fermentation to give a little vertical bracing?
watch this video about how to make a baguette. It might help you.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YA3-xFLfZ-k