500g Bread flour
100g active starter after two feeds, doubled within three hours, tripled within 5
11g salt
350g flour
I have been fighting a losing battle against fool's crumb since I have started baking sourdough a few months ago. My starter is very active (I would say vivacious, even) and doubles consistently within a few hours only.
For this loaf I had a bit of a timing mishap, I usually start the process in the morning but this time I had to mix all together around 5pm. Four rounds of coils and a final slap and folds usually helps reaching a tension I deem okay. Left it to bulk ferment on the counter (21-23 degrees Celsius roughly) from 8pm to midnight and then because it still didn't look ready but didn't want to risk overfermenting it, I popped the bowl in the fridge overnight. This morning it looked nicely puffed, bubbly and jiggly but with some good tension on top, and it passed the poke test. I left it on the cpunter another hour and a half to reach room temp, shaped it, gave it another round in the freezer to firm up a little while the oven heated and then baked it in the Dutch oven for about one hour (my oven is VERY slow and old, and it never reaches super high temperatures).
This is a LOT less gummy than what I usually get. My loaves have been looking gummy with big bubbles for the past month, and this to me is definitely an improvement, especially since I have winged this one and thought nothing good was going to come out of it. It is absolutely delicious but the texture doesn't convince me.
Any tips on how to avoid fool's crumb? How does this look to you?
Usually I start in the morning and do a bulk fermentation between 5 and 7 hours, and I have been thinking that maybe it was always too much. This one fermented in the fridge overnight for at least an extra ten hours (I overslept lol).
Just looking for feedback here! What measurable tricks did you use as a beginner to go from bubbly and gummy texture to airy and flaky(?) Crumb?
by exhausted_wombat
15 Comments
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Mix. Knead. Bulk. Shape. Cold proof. Bake.
Yeah so it’s under proofed. Proof it longer. The measurable trick is going for too long then dialing it back, unfortunately vibes win out because the final answer isn’t found on a chart or in a forum.
You have to let bulk fermentation finish. Maybe make a day where you mix, stretch, and fold in the morning so you can see what it looks like after more than 4 hours. Heck, let it overproof on purpose. If everything else is good (hydration, strength) youd be surprised how long you can ferment without going over.
Looks delicious!
“Fools crumb” 😂
That’s terrible. Just throw it away in my bag.
https://preview.redd.it/cb1hnk22s67g1.jpeg?width=527&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48da6edcda3d901cf503357745e9cddc6d1645db
Seriously tho, if you’re worried, use the aliquot method to ensure proper bulk fermentation. I think it looks great.
You didn’t say what your bake method is. Temp, time?
Gummy can be caused by overproofing
Bump up the starter to 150g and try to over proof it. Keep your dough in the oven with the light on between folds and for the bulk and use warm water when you mix.
Would look sexier lathered in butter
You need to proof longer. Are you taking the temperature of the dough while it proofs?
Look up Sourdough Journeys temp vs bulk ferment chart (you can google it, I’m not sure this reddit allows links or not)- it will help a lot. Use a straight sided container and measure your percent rise. This method has completely changed what I create
try doing slap and folds first. Then coil folds. I keep a lot of air and structure in my dough before bulk.
You didn’t let it rise after shaping it? Throwing the shaped loaf into the freezer is the opposite of what you need to do. Give it a room temperature rise after shaping for at least a few hours and then bake. Especially at those ambient temperatures. Also those temperatures are pretty low for a good bulk fermentation, unless you stretch it out another couple of hours.