Keep getting relatively dense (albeit pretty even) crumbs, wondering if I'm under fermenting?
Feedback extremely welcome! 😀
by FiletM1gn0n
7 Comments
FiletM1gn0n
100g starter 300g water 500g strong bread flour 10g salt
4 stretch and folds (vigorous) Around 6 hours bulk ferment Proofed in fridge overnight
No-Example5998
There’s nothing wrong with it. Sometimes, you prefer an open crumb. Sometimes you don’t. If you want a more open crumb, though, I would suggest you try adding more water (50 g or less). Your hydration is pretty low.
krillen931
It’s absolutely perfect for sandwiches, and for holding butter!
paodin
More likely too long, but I like that crumb
DipperDo
It’s a good crumb. The crumb isn’t overly dense it’s open enough and great for sandwiches and spreads. I like it.
Big_man03
Overproofed but more importantly hows the taste? sometimes these ones taste the best. And yes excellent for sandwiches !
IceDragonPlay
Water
Hydration is 64%, which is going to give you sandwich bread texture.
If you use 335g water that will be 70%, which will start to open up the crumb, and the dough will still be fairly easy to handle, but slightly tacky.
Then the time after that use 346g water for 72%. Do small increments like this until you get the texture you like but still find the dough manageable for handling.
I assume your starter is 100% hydration (equal parts by weight: starter, flour, water at each feeding). I include starter in the calculation so your current dough is (300+50)/(500+50) = .636 In case you want to tinker with the percent yourself.
I typically stick to 70-75% hydration since beyond that the dough is quite wet and sticks to everything. If you don’t mind very sticky dough for the stretch-folds, Chain Baker has an 80% hydration loaf that is quite nice. He puts his videos after the recipe on the page: https://www.chainbaker.com/high-hydration-sourdough-bread/
Fermentation/Proofing
You are going slightly longer than needed. If you have very vigorous slap-folds while making the dough, consider that you are knocking a lot of air out during bulk fermentation. So your visual rise at the end of bulk should be 50-75%, not doubled.
The shape and shoulders you are getting on your loaf are perfect, so you are only slightly over (which in sourdough terms might be an hour or so).
Best Wishes on the perfect loaf as you continue on!
7 Comments
100g starter
300g water
500g strong bread flour
10g salt
4 stretch and folds (vigorous)
Around 6 hours bulk ferment
Proofed in fridge overnight
There’s nothing wrong with it. Sometimes, you prefer an open crumb. Sometimes you don’t. If you want a more open crumb, though, I would suggest you try adding more water (50 g or less). Your hydration is pretty low.
It’s absolutely perfect for sandwiches, and for holding butter!
More likely too long, but I like that crumb
It’s a good crumb. The crumb isn’t overly dense it’s open enough and great for sandwiches and spreads. I like it.
Overproofed but more importantly hows the taste? sometimes these ones taste the best. And yes excellent for sandwiches !
Water
Hydration is 64%, which is going to give you sandwich bread texture.
If you use 335g water that will be 70%, which will start to open up the crumb, and the dough will still be fairly easy to handle, but slightly tacky.
Then the time after that use 346g water for 72%. Do small increments like this until you get the texture you like but still find the dough manageable for handling.
I assume your starter is 100% hydration (equal parts by weight: starter, flour, water at each feeding). I include starter in the calculation so your current dough is (300+50)/(500+50) = .636
In case you want to tinker with the percent yourself.
I typically stick to 70-75% hydration since beyond that the dough is quite wet and sticks to everything. If you don’t mind very sticky dough for the stretch-folds, Chain Baker has an 80% hydration loaf that is quite nice. He puts his videos after the recipe on the page:
https://www.chainbaker.com/high-hydration-sourdough-bread/
Fermentation/Proofing
You are going slightly longer than needed. If you have very vigorous slap-folds while making the dough, consider that you are knocking a lot of air out during bulk fermentation. So your visual rise at the end of bulk should be 50-75%, not doubled.
The shape and shoulders you are getting on your loaf are perfect, so you are only slightly over (which in sourdough terms might be an hour or so).
Best Wishes on the perfect loaf as you continue on!