November 5, 2023 - 8:36am
Crust splitting a lot
I follow a pretty simple recipe, and it tastes great, the interior is always really nice. But I get tons of splitting as I hope you can see in the picture.
the recipe is:
1000 g of flour (500 normal AP, 500 bread flour)
700g of water
150 g starter
19 g salt
I've adjusted my stretch and fold routine many times but found nothing has made a difference in the crust. I've tried spraying the loaf right before it goes in the oven with a couple spritzes of water which hasn't made much difference either.
Any ideas and or help would be amazing!
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Wow, that's impressive opening. For the tearing, I'd suggest
1. If you aren't using steam, it's much better than spritzing for keeping the crust cool during the first few minutes;
2. Proofing longer so the dough might be softer and might not expand so vigorously;
3. Scoring technique - if your slash isn't clean and smooth it would promote that appearance;
4. Give up on the one big slash and go to two or more lesser ones.
TomP
1. I use a dutch oven, so I spritz the loaf a few times and then put the lid on the dutch oven and bake for 20 min at 500 then 25 min at 425. When you say steam do you mean using a baking sheet full of boiling water in the bottom of the oven?
2. I could try that, but I have a pretty long proof as it is, my stretch and fold routine is about 4-6 hours and then I shape and proof for at least 12 but up to 16 hours overnight do you think that still isn't long enough?
3. I'll try and make sure the cut is as smooth as I can make it
4. I'll definitely try multiple slashes
I did mean a steam pan in the bottom, but since you are using a covered DO, never mind.
You could get better debugging if you showed the interior structure. From the outside, the loaf looks quite under fermented, but you comment that the crumb is “really nice”, which is unspecific.
I forgot to snap pictures of the interior, but as this happens pretty much every time I bake I'll make sure to snap new ones and post
The fermentation is pretty perfect, so apologies for even implying otherwise. Perhaps the splitting in the slashes happens because the lid comes off the DO before the bloom is completed? Or, alternatively, the lid doesn’t seal well and the crust dries before bloom is complete? You could place a piece of aluminum foil over the opening before putting on the lid to seal it a bit better.