January 2, 2021 - 11:24am
SD bread translucent and too chewy?
Hi, I am new to baking sourdough bread. I have made few loaves, trying to make it more fluffy as seen on instagram posts of others instead of chewy and translucent crumb like what I am having so far.
The recipe I am following is as below:
- 75% bread flour
- 5% whole-wheat
- 20% all purpose
- 72% water
- 20% starter
- 2% salt
- 5% seeds
Perhaps i should increase percentage of AP flour?Or maybe my dough is underproof? Please do enlighten me. Your kind help is very much appreciated.
Share
Yeah, I would try reducing the bread flour and using more AP flour. Try something like 45% bread to 50% AP and see if you notice the difference.
Good luck!
Ah I see. I was just afraid that using more AP will cause a flat loaf. Definitely gonna try this flour percentage you suggested! Thank you!
It certainly looks beautiful.The sheen is from the baked,gelatinous starch and is considered an ideal crumb by many.
Chew in bread generally comes from a higher protein (gluten) content. Keep in mind that pure gluten is used to make seitan- a chewy,meat substitute. Use much less bread flour or possible just AP flour to make your loaf. That will depend on the quality and protein content of the AP flour. If it is properly developed, bread made with Ap flour can be quite fluffy.
Thank you for the kind words and explanation. Oh ya seitan the gluten ball. Definitely will try higher percentage of AP flour. Having a doubt on using just AP flour as our AP flour here usually only 9% of protein content which I realised is lower than most AP flour in the US.
and where i may get a 'chew' the gelatinous texture fades dramatically when i get the proofing right. Just out of experience and not any real knowledge i would say if you are getting too much of a chew then try proofing longer. I find my bread to be fluffy and soft(er) when i nail the proofing time. Also i would say a standard country loaf recipe isnt actually sandwich bread - they are different things and as bread i do think they are supposed to be different. Country loaf is great for toast - for sandwiches, personally, not so much; that chew factor is a little high for me, there are some great sandwich recipes out there however.
Keep baking and giving!
I was suspecting underproofing too because when I cut it, the crumb is a little tacky. As I am having a 30℃ room temperature i kept my bulk proof around 3.5-4 hours beacuse i was worried that the dough turned out like my first loaf (it became a liquidy batter). I guess I should push the bulk a little more. And maybe try more sandwich loaf/enriched dough recipe. Thank you for the tips and advice!