Here's a picture of my most recent loaf followed by the vessel I've baked it in
Recipie for this one was 100g starter, 350g water, 485g flour and 10g of salt.
I have been trying for ages to get that nice ear and big bread belly, but I never manage to pull it off. I was wondering if the size of my Dutch oven was a factor on this. Would it be possible that it's too small for the steam to regulate properly?
I have no idea what I'm on about to be honest, it's just a thought. I'm thinking of investing in something a bit bigger to see if it helps me in my quest for the perfect bread belly. It doesn't matter really, the bread tastes good (I think this load is a bit over proofed), but thought is ask incase anyone had some insight.
by 1nchofdust
3 Comments
One way of testing it might be to do a smaller loaf in your current Dutch oven and see if you get a better result, if so you’ll know if it’s worth getting a larger one for larger loaves. My Dutch oven is 23cm diameter (round) which I think is pretty much the standard in the UK, and I find I get much better results using a 300g flour recipe (I use Elaine Boddy’s baby boule recipe; 300g flour, 30g starter, 195g water, 3g salt)
I started consistently getting a much better ear once I changed my usual oven temperature regime (if scoring went well ofc). Might be worth exploring.
My DO is also on the verge of being too small.
Every oven is different but this worked for mine.
I now preheat DO to the max for 30 min (275 C, prior to that I’ve preheated for 45 min at 250 C) and bake it at 230 C (vs before at 220 C). I’ve also shortened my “lid on” time to 15 min (vs 20 or 25 min before).
Hey, Since your question is so specific and really independent of the process used I am going to approve your post with out the process.
Thank you