This is my 4th loaf and from the outside looks the best so far but I can tell something is off. Im thinking underproofed, having a hard time figuring out bulk fermentation..
Here’s what I did:
100g starter, 325g water, 500g King Arthur bread flour. Mixed dough and let rest for 1 hour.
Added 10g of salt on my first round of stretch and folds. I ended up doing 5 sets of stretch/coil folds 30 minutes apart.
Bulk fermentation from start-shaping was about 5.5-6 hours. I skipped the cold proof this time and did a same day bake. Let it sit at room temp after shaping for about an hour. Sprayed a tiny bit of water right before baking at 450F 30 minutes lid on, 20ish minutes lid off.
Any advice is appreciated!!
by Just-Smile3122
3 Comments
It looks underproofed, and someone else might know more, but adding salt on a stretch and fold step isn’t a good way to mix it in.
I add salt after a 45-60 min autolyse, with my reserved water. I mix it in well and then do slap and folds for ten minutes.
I share this link a lot, Claire explains the entire process from starter to baking, while she spends an entire day making bread. Very useful to see and hear someone as they show you what “well fermented” looks like.
https://youtu.be/-JRSF-zDgvk?si=zJIUp3ErDYehU3O2
I’m new to sourdough (and Reddit), and I know this doesn’t help you, but I think that loaf is gorrrgeous. And I mean, based on my own troubleshooting and research I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it! Crust, ear, crumb all look so so good to me.
Just finished my second loaf like ten minutes ago and I’m really proud of it so far, but yours is like… so pleasing to look at. Like it’s my new goal. If it doesn’t feel right though, what kind of result were you looking for?
Its going to come down to preference but for a lot of ppl on this sub, you’ve nailed it. That looks to me like an ideal crumb. If you want crumb that’s a bit tighter, you could try letting it proof for another hour, or knock out some of the gas during shaping.
Edit: last thing to add is that it’s a touch underbaked but this is also preference. I would let it bake another 5 min.