February 25, 2019 - 6:42am
Irregular rising, non-uniform color
I've been using this recipe
800 g - King Arthur bread flour
10 g - salt
430 g water
320 g starter
I give it a 8 to 10 minute knead, let it rise for 3 hours, knock it back, then proof it for another 3 hours. Then I bake it at 450F for 30 to 40 minutes with some water in a pan at the bottom rack of my stove.
The 1st time I tried this recipe it came out beautiful. It had correct shape, like a upside down bowl and the color was uniform throughout the crust. Every time I've tried baking it again it comes out like the above photo. It rises weird and the color is not uniform. There is a clear line separating the two colors. I am a sour dough newbie and this is my 1st post. Any help would be appreciated.
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My first thought: Maybe you were proofing just by the clock.
If I decide to cut my grass every two weeks, that might work - at first. Then there's a heavy rain followed by hot sun, and the lawn is growing much faster - but my plan says two weeks, so I stick to it - despite having grass up to my knees, and bugs crawling everywhere. Then comes August, and the grass is brown and crackly - but I keep going out and going through the motions of mowing. Even when there's a foot of snow, I'm out there like clockwork with the lawnmower every second Saturday. ☺️
I'm sure you'd agree that to actually get the desired results, I'll have to pay attention to the condition of my particular lawn, and adjust my schedule based on what I'm seeing. I can also adjust my predictions based on the weather and the seasons. Proofing dough is very similar, in needing adjustments for how the dough is doing, and for the current conditions. If your house is warmer or cooler than last time, if your starter is more vigorous or has become a bit sluggish, if you used water that was 2 degrees warmer... different flour... All these things (and maybe more) will affect the dough, forcing you to do things like adjust proof timing, turn the house's thermostat up or down a little, heat up your oven for some quick extra warmth, ... there are many possible little things to tweak, in order to get consistent results from your dough. Learning when it looks and feels right is a big part of this experience.
My second thought: Maybe you shaped the loaf differently, or worked the dough differently (over-working or under-working both give unwanted results)
Third: That bread is still fifty times better than what I bought at the grocery store the other day, so enjoy it! And maybe, if you're lucky, the third slice from the left looks like my uncle Alf! ☺️