November 11, 2014 - 9:41am
Another brick!
I recall someone posting a similar bread recently but can't locate the post so am sharing shots of my own tasty brick.
I've baked the Olde Style Pumpernickel in Pullman Pan
http://breadmakingblog.breadexperience.com/2013/06/olde-style-pumpernickel-in-pullman-pan.html
enough times to think I could make necessary adaptations:
1. I did not have unbleached white bread flour handy so substituted with whole wheat bread flour
2. I put the dough in the fridge overnight for final proofing. THe next morning, I let it warm up to room temperature then popped it in my B & T proofer where nothing happened for two hours, whereupon I baked the bread thinking there might be some oven spring.
The 'brick' is very tasty but it's a brick.
Any suggestions please.
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This one might just be a bit more brick-ish than expected.
Ideas for your consideration:
1. The refrigerated final fermentation probably shut down the wild yeasts, or very nearly so. There probably wasn't much change in the loaf volume between evening and morning, was there?
2. Our notions of room temperature are rather flexible. The loaf probably wasn't as warm (from the yeasts' point of view) as you thought. That it hadn't risen further after a couple of hours in the proofer would seem to support that notion. And, if next to nothing happened overnight in the refrigerator, a couple of hours in the proofer wasn't going to make up for that lost time.
3. The whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than an equivalent amount of white flour, typically. That could lead to a stiffer dough which expands less.
4. Possible difference in volume between your loaf pan and that of the blogger's. If yours has more volume, your loaf cross section is apt to be lower, all other things being equal. The recipe gives very little guidance about actual hydration levels or dough textures, which makes it hard to know whether you've achieved the desired result.
All that said, there is evidence of the crumb being at least partially aerated. You can see bubbles throughout the crumb, which indicates that some degree of fermentation had occurred. If it's just too heavy to be enjoyable, you at least have some altus for the next bake.
Paul
Thank you, Paul. The learning curve is steep and there are so many factors to consider but I enjoy learning.
The reason I resorted to the overnight proof was that we had overnight company. They scarfed half of a brick for breakfast this morning and didn't find it too heavy. I'll bet they won't need lunch!
You're right about the altus