Hello everybody :)
Iv'e been baking bread since the start of this pandemic and using different recipes and changing them.
My biggest problem is oven spring and my dough going flat right before baking.
Iv'e made a sourdough starter 100% hydration, it has great activity (or so I think).
Fed it about 4 hours before starting the process.
The recipe I used is:
900 gr ap flour
650 gr water
180 gr starter
20 gr salt
so about 75% hydration.
Iv'e let it autolyse with the salt for 1 hour, added the sourdough (didn't pass the float test but I read that it's not a must so I kept going), did some slap and fold kneading for 10 min, then started S&F every 20-30 min for about 2 hours and bulk rise in fridge over night (about 8-9 hours, maybe mistake #1?).
Took it out the next morning and divided the dough, pre shaped, and let them rest for 20-30 min.
Shaped them in to a boule and put them inside a bowl with a cotton towel and some flour.
Let them rise for 2 hours (I think this was mistake #2), and then when I took them out to score and bake they just lost their shape and flatten almost completely.. took the second dough and shaped it again while baking the first one so it will have some rest, but I don't think it helped that much...
My oven goes to about 230 celsius and I use a water spray to add steam, I also bake it on a pizza stone at the bottom of my oven.
I got huge bubbles at the top of my bread and a dense crumb at the bottom.
I think the bubbles are because of my shaping and not because of the yeast....
The bread taste fantastic, the right amount of sour for me and the family but I want a better looking bread, a nice rise and a crunchy crust.
Would love to get an insight on what I'm doing wrong.
Thanks for reading and have a great day :)
p.s. English isn't my first language please be gentle hahaha
I would try to let the bulk ferment go longer until the dough has bubbles on top and is domed around the edges. Then shape and put it in the fridge. You can bake it directly from the fridge.
I would agree with this, try the final proof in the fridge instead of the bulk proof. I like doing that overnight, as its less critical when the dough is retarded in the cold fridge. Good luck! happy baking
Yes I agree as well, underproofed. I know some bakers do well with a long cold bulk fermentation, but I’ve never tried it. I always bulk at 74-80ºF until the dough has risen about 50% or so and shows signs of good fermentation, domed top, bubbles, jiggly etc. Try bulk fermentation at room temperature or warmer a while longer, then shape, into banneton and then cold retard in the fridge overnight or longer.
Benny
When your dough is allowed to proof too long it loses its gluten strength and will collapse when you take it out of your banneton... or when you score it.
https://stellaculinary.com/cooking-videos/stella-bread/sb-008-why-my-bread-dough-collapsing
Similar to pita bread. Over proofed would be flat with large holes under the top crust.
Underfermented. Your dough didn’t even barely get started fermenting and then you “killed it” it in the fridge!
Where did you find this recipe? I’m not sure that it will work. You need to bulk longer than that at room temp, cause you’re going to nullify any further fermentation when it gets retarded
You put your salt in the autolyse?
Maybe with salt it is strictly not a autolyse but it works ok for me.
The plus is the salt is easy to mix in and you can’t forget to put it in later.
I would give the dough at least a 3-4 hour bulk fermentation before retarding it in the refrigerator. Personally I prefer to shape it then retard it, the cold dough is easier to score!