I've managed to get a few of the aspects of making a good loaf down, but I'm looking for the final touches. The flavor is great and the texture seems close.
I used the following recipe:
- 400g Bread Flour
- 160g Starter @ 100% hydration
- 260g Water
- 8g salt
- 40 min autolyse (flour water and starter)
- Added remaining water and salt.
- 3 hour bulk ferment with stretch ad fold every 30 minutes
- Shape and proof for about 14 hours at 40 F
- Bake at 500 F with steam for 20 min, then 450 until finished
After shaping the dough was a little loose but held its shape pretty well and was full of bubbles throughout. After removing from the banneton straight from the fridge, you could see the dough almost immediately start to stretch outward and continue a little while baking. Is this a gluten strength issue? Shaping? I would love to see some more oven spring because I feel like I'm almost there with this sourdough thing. Thanks in advance. For some perspective that loaf is about 2-3 inches high.
It looks great, actually! It's always nice when it tastes good too. :) At about 71% hydration it shouldn't be too loose, but there are a couple of things you can try. One, use the same proportion overall of flour and water, but put more of the flour into the starter. So, instead of 80 grams each of flour and water in the starter, try 100 grams of flour and 60 grams of water (adjust the dough flour and water respectively to maintain the same total). A firm starter is supposed to make for a stronger dough. You can also try putting the dough in fridge to bulk ferment (rather than a shaped final proof in the fridge), then shape it cold and do a final proof for about 2 hours. Finally, try a bit lower temperature. Try 475F to start then turning it down to 425F after 5 minutes. By the look of the scores I'd say the crust is setting before the loaf gets a chance to spring fully; something that can happen if the upper element is on at the beginning of the bake. Putting steam and wet dough into a hot oven will lower the temperature quite a lot, which can cause the top element to come on to bring the temperature back up.
Your loaf is similar to mine:
The difference being that I am getting a bit more of an ear than you are. The no knead approach did not work well for me, so I currently do 4 sets of 3' slap and fold, with 2' of rest between them.
I also use less levain than you do, around 20-30% usually, and also a firmer one (67% hydration, or 1:2:3 feeding routine).
I tend to believe that the reason I am not getting great ears is my shaping. That I have come to believe is my weakest point. It has improved a lot, but since I do not get nice ears and all else seems to be ok (I have baked 49 loaves already), it must be it.
Great looking bread, Cal!
I thought you might be interested to know that the hydration is actually 71% when you calculate the 100% hydrated starter. I make the same mistake quite often :-)
Danny
What do you mean? Feeding 1:2:3 means 2 parts water and 3 parts flour. Assuming that this is what you always do, this will be the same hydration of the 1 part levain you are adding: 2/3, or approximately 67%. It is only around 71% if you feed a 100% hydrated levain with 1:2:3, since the ratio will be (2+0.5)/(3+0.5) ~ 71,4%. But this is not what I was talking about. I always feed mine 1:2:3 (or 1:2x:3x).
Thanks for the compliment on my loaf. The crumb is coming out like that consistently and I am happy for that. The ear is the problem, though. Usually very small. I don't know what to do to improve that. It must be my shaping, but it seems just as in the videos I watch.
When I read 1-2-3 my mind went to the bread formula, which includes the starter. Your right and I was wrong.
Danny
Your process looks very good, as far as it is specified. It should result in good gluten formation. If your loaf is spreading, the issue may be shaping. You may need to work harder on that last bit of dough strengthening. Do a pre-shape in a tight ball. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Do the final shape, forming a tight gluten sheath.
As far as ears go, if you really want ears on a boule, that is your privilege, but they are not traditional. They belong on long loaves - baguettes, bâtards, etc. Okay, I'm a fuddy-duddy.
Bottom line, though: Nice bake!
David