Hi folks
Hoping to get some help and advice please! I’m getting tearing and what I can only term “sploodging” on my tin loaves, the white in particular.
I’m making simple yeasted loaves and can’t do the end to end process in one, so I’m bulk fermenting in the fridge - adding flavour and time into the process. My kitchen is pretty cold at the moment, 12-15c/53-59f, and my fridge is 3.4/38.
Both doughs use 500g bread flour, 5g yeast, 8g salt, 15g oil, and about 335g water for the white and 370g water for the brown.
I mix the ingredients then knead the dough for 10 mins before covering and leaving it on the counter for a couple of stretches/folds at 30 minute intervals before placing in the fridge for around 10 hours overnight.
The dough comes out the next morning and into the proofer (set at 27 degrees c), initially shaped loosely to try and bring the dough up to temperature – this can take 2 hours at 27 degrees c. Once it’s reached 18 – 20 degrees c, I preshape it, rest for 15 mins before shaping for the tins. The tins remain in the proofer another 2 hours plus before going into the oven at 200 degrees c with steam. The dough rises well about the rim of the tins and feels light and airy but I’m still getting these splits and tears. I’ve tried different flours, different amounts of water, different shaping techniques, I’ve also tried skipping the overnight bulk ferment but every time I end up with loaves that look like the ones in the photos! The bread tastes good but would really like to know where I’m going wrong. Over proofing? Under proofing? Or something completely different?!
Those looks pretty awesome and not over or under imo. I think you have maybe 10% extra dough for the tin size. The mushroom top can’t support itself so it tears a little. I think it’s lovely as is, but if it bugs you, you could try reducing the dough size.
A second possibility is that the dough is sticking to the tin too much and then breaking when the upward pressure becomes too intense. I’m not sure if greasing or lowering the oven temp would help that.
Thank you both for your feedback - much appreciated. I will have a go at those options, the scoring and reducing the dough a little. I’m also very pleased to know I’m in the right ball park with the proofing! Thanks again, I’ll let you know how it goes!
I was using the Eve’s Bread recipe from "The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast’ by Caleb Warnock & Melissa Richardson. I have used this recipe once before using all purposse flour and got two sky high, dead white loaves.
This time I used whole wheat flour, freshly ground. I proofed the dough about 13 hours (too long, I think). I noticed while shaping the loaves that the dough didn’t hold together very well. In spite of this feeling of doom, I put the dough into the pans and let it rise about 2 hours. My picture shows what it looked like just before I put it into the oven. 45 minutes later it was cooked and looked no different from the picture.
The recipe is…
1/2 cup starter
2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 tsp salt
5-6 cups whole wheat bread flour
I used 5 cups of wheat ground by my husband yesterday. These instructions call for mixing in a stand mixer and letting it knead for 10 minutes.
Next time I try this I’ll mix it up first thing in the morning rather than last thing at night so I can keep an eye on it.
Wow! What a difference. Two lovely loaves. If it doubled in 3 hours and you originally waited 13 it explains why the dough was breaking down. Very nice bake and it is my pleasure. I do like to see a success.
