TLDR: 800g flour and loaves are turning out soo big. Why!?
So I was using a 1000g recipe for 2 loaves and it was too much bread to consume (lol too much bread!?). I moved to an 800g recipe and the first few times they were perfectly sized. A little dense but good. No I’m lost. Idk what I’ve done but the loaf is massive. By the time I pull it from the fridge it’s about an inch over the banneton.
See photo of recipe but I basically follow NYT steps. My bulk ferment was 5 hours. When I was shaping the dough feel pretty slack (If I let it sit on the counter for 10 mins it sort of spreads). Also they are quite triangular with a lot of spring in the center and not throughout. ALSO I let this go a few extra minutes hence the toasty look.
Any advice here?
https://cooking.nytimes.com/guides/59-how-to-make-sourdough-bread
by SandwichEquivalent58
17 Comments
I always make bread loaves using a total of 500g of flour
If they were the smaller size but dense and now they’re bigger but less dense, these are probably just correctly proofed. The first few loaves were likely overproofed so they were a bit deflated and had less spring. You can always cut the recipe down by a certain percentage, probably 15-20%?
Unless you prefer the prior loaves, then you can just extend your bulk fermentation so you get a more overproofed loaf, it completely depends on your preferences
What does your crumb look like ?
You could easily make 2 loaves out of that recipe
Just change your amount of flour…I’ve been going with 500g flour for a nice medium/small size loaf that lasts me 2-3 days. 800g is a big loaf.
That’s a two loaf recipe. Total weight should be between 800g and 1000g. Yours is almost 1.6kg. 🙃 Unless you’re halving the recipe and making two loaves? That would be the best next step.
Otherwise, it looks great!
My go to:
100g starter
350g water
490g bakers flour
10g salt
I would skip the step that says “work the dough for 10 minutes.” I’ve never done that (been baking a few years). Give it a good mix for about 30-45 seconds, then leave it. And I do four folds over 2 hours, 30 mins apart. Good luck!
I use 450 g of flour for one loaf and it turns out huge! Youre using so much flour, water and starter there’s no way your loaves can turn out small. I use 450 g AP flour, 305 g water, 90 g starter, and 10 g salt and get huge loaves. Maybe try decreasing your ratios.
Is this a recipe for two loaves?? The recipes I’ve seen for one loaf is 500g flour.
Looks like that recipe is enough for two loaves did you only make one? Must have been a beast to flip!
A typical loaf is 800g.
You made almost 1600g of dough.
I think that recipe was meant to be divided into two “normal” sized loaves of a little less than 800g each.
I see no problem here lol
I will say that I’ve never used a gram more than 500 for a single loaf.
senpai your loaf is so big 😣😣😣
When I first started I followed the King Arthur recipe. It makes two loaves. It calls for splitting the dough at the time of shaping.
More expansion scores, more expansion.
Honestly that is a BEAUTIFUL loaf! The crust and the color chefs kiss! I can’t wait to see how it turns out inside. It’s a lot of bread, but if it turns out perfect and you can maybe give half away I wouldn’t mess with perfection!
I’m chuckling at all these comments. “If I make a big loaf I’m gonna get a big loaf”
I appreciate everyone’s response! The crumb was great so chewy and springy. Moving forward I will use less intervention and split into 2 loaves. ❤️❤️
https://preview.redd.it/nlhdjwagy5td1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47437525a31e91b3b79ff0a236713d72d7bf036d
That sounds like the opposite of a problem. If it’s having trouble keeping, toss some in the fridge or the freezer.