Hi all, it's been a while since I've posted here. I've been keeping up with my baking, trying to get that perfect loaf, and I think I came pretty close today! I would like some insight however, on what you all think of my proofing (judging whether my bread is ready to bake is still my weak point).
This is a 66% hydration sourdough (10% rye, 90% Gold metal BF). Starter was taken out of the fridge on Sat morning, levain was built, left to rise until around 9pm, then mixed with the remaining flour, water and salt. 4 sets of S&F about 45 mins apart each (didn't really keep track of time), then the bread was pre-shaped and immediately shaped at around 1230am, I didn't think I managed to get much tension because 66% is wetter than I'm used to and it was a bit sticky, so I half-panicked. It then went into the banneton and into the fridge until Sunday 530pm, then left to warm up on the counter for about an hour and a half and baked in a 300C oven with steam for 20 mins, then another 20 mins at 230C.
This is, I believe, my best loaf so far. I'm 99% happy with it, just that there's a few weirdly shaped holes that I'm wondering about. Do these indicate proofing issues, or are they down to my lackluster shaping?
Thank you!!
Very nice. The handful of larger holes are probably a shaping issue, but they really aren't very large. Which is good...a lot of large, gaping holes means that you don't have much crumb in a slice of bread, which misses the point of having bread in the first place.