Bread Baking (sourdough)

[skaredshtles]

Despite the fuckered oven, I think I got the best batch yet of ciabatti. Really good final proof and some excellent oven spring. Giving it a bit more cooling time, then eating it with ribollita and fresh bread topped with prosciutto and a balsamic reduction.

[KQ]

Producing an open crumb in sourdough bread

[KQ]

Despite the fuckered oven, I think I got the best batch yet of ciabatti. Really good final proof and some excellent oven spring. Giving it a bit more cooling time, then eating it with ribollita and fresh bread topped with prosciutto and a balsamic reduction.

Yum!

[skaredshtles]

Yum!

It really was. The 3 of us ate an entire ciabatta last evening.

[old goat]

It really was. The 3 of us ate an entire ciabatta last evening.

Huh? I could easily eat one of those myself in an evening. Nicely done.

[skaredshtles]

Huh? I could easily eat one of those myself in an evening. Nicely done.

I'm big on fresh bread, but my kid only *recently* discovered how delicious my loaves are. Wife is kinda "take it or leave it" on the bread front. This was a 1st for us.

[pureantigravity]

My wife has gone keto for the last month.
It won't last. She'll be back to eating my bread, pancakes, and pizzas in about 4 months.
I hope!

[DLD in UT]

Sunday loaf.
My standard is a riff on FWSY’s country blond with a bit more whole wheat and rye.
It’s dinner with soup most Sunday’s once cool season returns here in UT.
Soup this week is a creamy carrot using the last of the frost kissed garden carrots.
I’ve lurked here for awhile. Want to start posting more.


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[snoboy]

I've been getting pretty consistent results with my regular loaf, so not posting pics because that might get boring. I did finally get my hands on some proofing baskets, so my loaves are coming out prettier.

Did a new to me recipe to day though, and it turned out great - rosemary, olive, and salt focaccia:

[DLD in UT]

My contribution to the dinner tonight is complete. Double fed levain. This recipe makes the silkiest dough.


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[rideit]

So, this is my fifth loaf. Got the sourness I am looking for, but I still am messing with when to score it. When I do it before it goes in the oven, the scores collapse. This worked, but the scoring is too ‘sharp’.
Any timing tips?



This is the ‘soft’ scoring when done right away

[~mikey b]

I don’t bother scoring mine

[DLD in UT]

If you are making rounds, I do like mikey b and don't score most of the time. Just proof with the seam down so when you flip it out and into the dutch oven the seam is on top. That gives a natural weakness that will allow the bread to open and expand from.
Are you scoring your loaf at an angle or completely vertical?
To cut down on the amount of parchment paper you're using try just cutting out a small "sling" with a circle to go under the bread and two rectangular handles on either side to hold as you lower it into hot the dutch oven.

[KQ]

If you are making rounds, I do like mikey b and don't score most of the time. Just proof with the seam down so when you flip it out and into the dutch oven the seam is on top. That gives a natural weakness that will allow the bread to open and expand from.
Are you scoring your loaf at an angle or completely vertical?
To cut down on the amount of parchment paper you're using try just cutting out a small "sling" with a circle to go under the bread and two rectangular handles on either side to hold as you lower it into hot the dutch oven.

In the books that I've read it is recommended that scoring be done at a 45 degree angle.

I too rely on the seams to give after flipping into the dutch oven.

[Buke]

I score mine right before going in the oven. I've found that if the dough is over proofed or if I don't get a strong tight shape before the final proof then it will collapse but if I get both the shaping and the proof right then it holds up fine. So you might look at how either of those things are going.

Here's the last loaf that I baked.

[snoboy]

Over proof = collapse of loaf when scored. I proof with seam up, then flip over with seam down for baking. Score and straight into the oven.

Yesterday was my best result yet:

[rideit]

Thanks, folks.
Dumb Q, but how do I control if it’s over proofed or underproofed?
Or, more importantly, how can I tell when it’s ‘just right?

[DLD in UT]

You can use the finger dent test. If you push your finger into the proofing dough, I usually put a little spot of flour so my finger doesn't stick, and the dough comes back to original position or just about but fairly slowly, you are ready to bake. If it springs back with energy, more proofing time. If it doesn't spring back at all turn it into foccacia, or reshape and proof.
I do almost all of my proofing in the refrigerator. I shape at night, pop straight in fridge, and bake in the AM. For most of my recipes this makes it pretty fool proof and I like the extra tang from the retarding process.

[rideit]

Thanks, that’s good stuff.
I’ll keep experimenting, and getting fat on Kerrygold butter.

[DLD in UT]

From your initial pics it doesn't exactly look like your first loaf collapsed so much as the score became indistinct. The loaves can expand a lot from oven spring, and the primary purpose of the scoring is to direct that expansion in the directions you want. If the loaf opens a lot along the score the cut itself is less visible. If you look up the page at my loaf from 11/15 all of that opening is from a single score. That loaf was neither under nor over proofed. It doesn't have a great "ear" but oh well.
If you look at Buke's pic from earlier today you can see his two outer scores which served as the axes of expansion for the loaf. The little cross in the middle was most likely done less deeply and since they are shorter cuts will not open as much. If you want the decorative element do the cuts less deep and in a smaller area. A cool way to do that with rounds is make the classic # score and then in the middle section you can do a little design cut less deeply that will be decorative on the middle top of the loaf.

[old goat]

Bread baking in the Instagram era is a whole different problem than our ancestors had to deal with.

[rideit]

I added 100 instagrams of sourdough starter, is that what you are talking about, sonny?
I’ll post about it on twatter.

[old goat]

(not mine. Mine doesn't look nearly that good and even if it did the jar is caked with dried flour so you couldn't tell.)

[pureantigravity]

In the books that I've read it is recommended that scoring be done at a 45 degree angle.

I too rely on the seams to give after flipping into the dutch oven.

I score vertical and don't have the problem in the picture.
Was this done with a dutch oven or in the open oven.
If there isn't enough steam/moisture, then maybe the cut just crusted early and didn't fuse.
I even cut deep, like to the base of the dough, and it generally ears like normal.
What was the hydration level in both doughs?
I've got a consistent bread, rise and taste etc, but not the San Francisco "sour" that I want. I'll have to start using less fancy flours and less whole wheat and see if that helps.

[snoboy]

Foodgeek on youtube just started a series exploring how to get more sour.