For this loaf I followed The Perfect Loaf beginner recipe fairly closely, and here are some details....Levain 20g starter/20g ww/20g bf/40g water. proofed 3 hours ) 75% rise before mixing (hadn't peaked yet, but close). Mixed with 500g flour (90% bf, 10%ww). Kneaded in bowl for 3 minutes. Bench rest 25 minutes (78 degrees). Into proofing oven at 78 degrees, 3 sets of stretch and folds, 30 minutes apart. pH at mixing was 5.65. At 4 hours, pH was 4.28 and falling fast. I decided to shape at that point. Percent rise of the dough was 25%. 20 minute bench rest after shaping, then into fridge for 14 hours. Baked 450 degrees for 20 minutes, removed lid of clay baker, then 25 minutes more. So, is this under-proofed or over-proofed? Thanks.
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I wanted mention, too, that the texture of the baked loaf shown, is dense and somewhat rubbery, like the feel of the foam you might use for a sleeping bag pad (for you backpackers out there). Thanks again.
I would hazard a guess at under - but not hugely so.
seconding loafrabbit: to me, your levain was probably a bit underpowered (in my experience 3 hours would be too short even at 1:2:2) and this set all your timings off.
Rob
Yes, the crumb looks underproofed.
I’m just a bit confused by the low pH reading after 4h bulk fermentation. Are you sure, the starter was uniformly distributed/incorporated in the final dough, the pH probe is in good condition and your pH measurement was correct? Did you add salt? pH 4.28 after 4h at ±25C with 20% of very very young levain is imo pretty low.
What was the pH of your levain before mixing?
What was the dough(!) temperature after mixing?
The dough temp after mixing was 78. I did add salt. I'll try calibrating the probe, also give the levain a little longer before mixing. I'll give it another try over the weekend. I wanted to give the bulk ferment a little longer to rise, but I panicked when the pH started dropping. Thanks for the input.
Here's a graph of pH vs time I ran some time ago. The dough used 20% starter and had 72% hydration. This was at room temperature, which for me would have been around 73 or 74 deg F. The slight upward slant at the start is undoubtedly the result of natural measurement variations.
Note that if the dough had been yeasted or made with a poolish, there would have been little drop. Also, these graphs can vary a lot from one dough to the next so don't get too wrapped up in the details.
TomP
Mix enough to spread the holes. And don't forget - the mixing and fermentation will create the holes. Enjoy!
Under. Because the levain/starter/mother is not powerful enough I reckon, but either way it's a bit under. Some people call this fools crumb, where it has a very tight structure with a few big holes