Hello friends and fellow bakers,
A newbie on the sourdough scene, I have baked a few successful loaves, only to move house down the road and suddenly they're not working.
Instead of the lifting, caramelised crust I'm left with a smooth solid lump with a dense doughy inside.
My starter doubles and floats. I still leave it overnight in the fridge so can't imagine temperature is the problem. I use the same recipe from the Clever Carrot blog.
Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Louisa
New oven ?
Hmm different oven. Not new, and slightly dirty. Going to try giving it a good clean and buying a thermometer. It did feel plenty hot enough though. Thanks for the suggestion.
If the stove is electric , check to see if the oven is switching onto bake , if the bottom element is coming on as well as the top one , I have had that problem with an old stove , and the bread seems to have been akin to yours.
The issue turned out to be a failing switch that was easily replaced .
Perhaps you have not proofed the formed loaf for a long enough period. Let the dough tell you when it is proofed, not the clock. Use the finger poke method. If you lightly poke the dough and the indentation comes back rapidly, the dough has not sufficiently proofed. If the indentation remains, it is proofed. It also helps to use steam in the oven during the first fifteen minutes.
“The essence of baking is patience. The essence of sourdough baking is patience squared.” (Mike Avery)
Ford
I am also very new to sourdough bread but I do make both komucha and kefir (beverages made with live cultures). Both types of cultures need time to adjust when their environment is changed so the first couple of batches aren't any good. Maybe that is what is happening for you?
Ann