December 1, 2010 - 5:17pm
Floury, bland tasting sourdough
I'm working with the Tartine recipe. I get a floury, bland, almost "raw" tasting loaf. Baked loaf is beautiful. Good rise. Nice, expanded slashes. So shaped loaf rise must be on the mark. I know I'm baking long enough. All I can think of is insufficient bulk fermentation. I'm giving it four hours, at which time it is not really bubbly or jiggly. Should it be? Could that be the problem?
RB
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Feeding, temps and rising times. At this moment, sounds like the starter has plenty of yeasts but the lactose beasties are not being allowed to put out. How brown is the crust?
Did you forget salt? It's easier to do that with sourdough recipes. I always taste a bit of dough out of habit just to make sure. Also with salt, are you measuring by weight or volume and what kind of salt are you using?
The crust was golden brown. I am using plain, iodized salt, about 1/2 tsp. per cup of flour. Again, I ask the question, should the bulk fermentation be noticeably bubbly? Does lack of insufficient bulk fermentation produce a floury, bland taste?
RB
Bulk fermentation will add complexity to the flavor, but underfermenting it shouldn't RUIN the flavor. If the textures are good, you're at least in the general area for fermentation.
I do not know what the Tartine dough is supposed to look like at any given time, sorry!
Mini could well be on to something with the lactobacilli being suppressed in favor of the yeasts. Not sure if that would account for 'floury' but it could account for 'bland'.
noticeable expansion of the dough. The usual recommendation is for the dough to double in volume although some formulae may call for less or for more. If you were to press on the dough, you should feel the bubbles under the surface. If your starter is naturally slow, or if the temperatures in your kitchen are below the mid-70s F, 4 hours may not be enough time for the bulk fermentation.
While longer fermentation times are often used to extract more flavor from the flour, the aim isn't to reduce a "floury" taste.
From what you have described, I wonder if the bread is perhaps under-baked. The Tartine bread is a lean dough, so the internal temperature should be in the 205-210 F range at the completion of the bake when checked with an instant-read thermometer. The fact that it is golden brown on the outside only indicates that it is...golden brown on the outside. You may be experiencing an instance where the outside browns up faster than the inside bakes. That might be due to an oven whose actual temperature is higher than the set temperature. Or maybe there's a hot-spot in your oven. I'd suggest taking the loaf's temperature at the end of the suggested bake time. If it's above 205 F, it should be alright. If it is something less than that, give it a few more minutes in the oven.
What is the consistency of the crumb? Does it seem to be still doughy, rather than bready?
Best of luck.
Paul
The bulk fermentation occured at fairly low temps, around 70 or lower. No way did the volume of the dough double. I have always understood (perhaps incorrectly) that with sourdough you do not seek a doubling of bulk. The loaf temp after baking was 210-212. The crumb has nice big holes but was dense and seemed somewhat damp. It was also darkish rather than white. Does any of this info help?
RB