I’m having issues lately with flat loaves. My crumb is consistently good so no concerns there but I can’t decide if the dough if under strengthened or if the shaping is the issue. When baking to dough seems to move outwards rather than upwards.
Recipe:
500g strong white flour – 13% protein
330g water
120g levain (20g active starter 50g flour 50g water)
10g Salt
Method:
I base this on the perfect loaf by Maurizio Leo.
– make levain night before.
– mix flour and 300g of water and autolyse for 30ish minutes.
– add levain and gradually add water while mixing in stand mixer. Once combined add salt and mix at low speed for 10 minutes.
– finish by hand and then add to a bowl and start bulk fermentation.
– bulk lasted 4.5 hours in this case and I did stretch and folds ever 30 minutes with 4 completed.
– pre shaped and left uncovered for 30 minutes in a ball
– shaped into a batard and placed into basket. Covered with a plastic bag and cold proofed I. The fridge over night.
– first thing, preheat Dutch oven at 240C for 30 minutes then bake covered for 20min ensuring plenty of water is sprayed into the pan before closing. Initial score done down the middle and a second done at a shallower angle to help with the ear formation.
– drop the temperature to 210 and bake for another 20-25 minutes uncovered until desired colour achieved.
The bread tastes perfect and the crumb is good, but I just need to get that height spot in.
by LegalSet211
6 Comments
Looks amazing!!! 🤌🤌
Maybe you need to create some more tension while final shaping and get a better height? Your bread other than that looks perf!
The bread looks perfect. You can either bake in a smaller vessel to retain a higher shape, or make the gluten skin more taut. Perhaps even waiting to score, a few minutes after baking so it gets a better shape before deflating this way. Either well, well done!!!
Have you tried different shaping techniques? That’s where I’d start I think. If that doesn’t work maybe look at the stand mixer. Is it possible you mix too long? I don’t own a stand mixer so I can’t help with that part unfortunately.
Edit: Make sure your banneton isn’t too large for your dough.
Might be flattish, but that crumb looks delishhh
Looks good to me,
How does your dough look after mixing/ kneading when you start BF? Is it “taught?” I have had much better luck with dough height when I beat the hell out of it in the stand mixer as my “kneading” step.
Instead of low speed for 10 minutes, try something like:
3 mins low speed mix, 3 mins medium speed “kneading,” rest 10 mins, another rounf of medium speed “kneading.” i use 4 on kitchen aid as “medium.” At your hydration you probably dont even need the 2nd medium round. Just go til the dough fully pulls away from the bowl on all sides and even the bottom.
Then, by the time Bulk ferment starts, I have full windowpane, and its pretty much holding its shape in its vessel. It begins to flatten as the fermentation continues, but then I think of the stretch and folds/ coil folds as a way to “maintain” or “reset” the strength at that point.
Thinking about it this way really changed everything for me.
Also, make sure your starter is reliably doubling in 4-6 hours after a 1:1:1 feeding (preferably closer to 4 hrs).