June 25, 2024 - 4:44pm
Dense Bread and huge holes at the top
Im only on my tenth bread and having some challenges. I keep getting bread that ends up like this. Huge holes at the top, no ear, and the bread is somewhat dense. My bread is 80% hydration and my starter i think is ok. Not so runny, more like pancake batter. It does take a long time for the bulk fermentation to get going after Ive done my rounds of stretch and folds. Usually start the bread at 7am and in the fridge overnight at 7pm, and bake at 9am the next day. Tips appreciated.
The recipe is use is
- 500g bread flour
- 400g water (80% hydration)
- 100g active sourdough starter (at 100% hydration, meaning equal parts flour and water by weight)
- 10g salt
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Reduce hydration to 70%, knead more and fully de-gas at the start of forming.
I doubt this will impact your crumb, but you should increase your levain to 30% (currently 20% 100/500), or 150g in 500g flour. You may also consider using 10% whole wheat (450 bread + 50 whole wheat), which will absorb more water than BF, make the dough a bit more workable, and enhance the flavor profile. Also your hydration calculation is not a final hydration because you did not add the water and flour from your starter to the final formulation. Your hydration is (400 + 0.5*100)/(500 + .5*100) = 450/550=.81818 or about 82%, not 80. If you increase the levain as I suggested your hydration will be 82.6%. This is a very reasonable formulation and hydration to work with for an excelent Country Levain.
The increased levain % will accelerate the fermation. Make sure your final dough temperature is in high 70's low 80's fahrenheit, which will also ensure a solid fermentation speed. With time and patience you will get the crumb you want. It appears to me you're close.
Thanks for this. Given the temp in my house (about 22C/71F) If i start my bread making at 7am, i should be able to put it in the fridge for overnight proof around 5pm, and bake 6/7 am the next morning. Ill check the dough temp throughout and once it reaches high 70s, ill shape and and put it in the fridge for cold proof.
"Final dough temperature" usually means the dough temperature when bulk fermentation begins, not that the dough is going to rise to near 80 deg F during fermentation, The temperature can be controlled by using warm water, warmed ingredients, or both. Very vigorous mechanical kneading, such as a large mass of dough in a commercial bakery's big mixer, can raise the dough temperate quite a lot, but that's unlikely at home and impossible with hand mixing.
In my house, at around 71 or 72 deg F, I would expect a 100% white flour starter to mature in 5 - 6 hours, bulk ferment to take 7 - 8 hours, proofing after shaping to take an hour to an hour and a half. That would be for a starter amount of 25 - 30% of the flour weight, and a hydration in the range of 70 - 75%. These are rough numbers, of course.
That's why I commented that I was surprised at the duration of your dough. You are using less starter, which would require more time, but higher hydration which would speed things up. Of course, every starter is different.
It sounds like you are putting the shaped loaves into retardation and baking right out of the fridge. Is that right? An alternative possibility, depending of course on your scheduling constraints, would be to put the dough into the refrigerator an hour before bulk ferment would be finished. It will keep fermenting in the refrigerator as it cools down. The next morning, or evening for that matter, take it out, let it warm up for half an hour and then shape (or shape it cold - with a high hydration whole grain bread that would be easier to handle). It will be two or three hours then it will be ready to bake.
Some people think you can get a better crust retarding in bulk than as a shaped loaf. I'm not sure but I've noticed that shaped loaves tend to dry out on top more in the fridge, even covered with plastic.
TomP
I would work on the starter - make sure it doubles in 24 hrs. With these ingredients it should be good - if the starter is good. Enjoy!
A big oops on the starter - my mistake! In 24hrs it should thin out again - if the starter is good that is. Enjoy!
Holes and mouse tunnels near the top are common in high-hydration breads. Examples are ciabatta and glass bread. The standard advice is to turn the loaf upside down when you move it to the oven. This places the large gas holes at the now-bottom where they start to move upwards.
12 hours for bulk ferment - really more like 13 or more since fermentation will continue as the dough cools down - sounds like a very long time. Yet the bread hasn't collapsed into a flat puddle. I'm a little surprised, but maybe your flour isn't malted?
TomP
Firstly bread looks quite nice!
-Jon
There could be a few reasons for that. Maybe your dough didn't rise enough. Your description of it being "like pancake batter" has me wondering. Your starter needs to be active and bubbly. Make sure it's fresh and you're feeding it well. Also check the time and temperature of the fermentation. You might need to let the dough rise longer at room temp before sticking it in the fridge.
This is a bit of a misconception, something I read a lot. The starter does need to have been fed and does need to be active - not still asleep from weeks unfed in the refrigerator, for example - but as long as it's started to respond to the feeding it doesn't have to be bubbly. If it hasn't reached peak volume or doesn't show a lot of bubbles, then bulk fermentation will take longer, that's all. [Ducks the flying crockery].