I’m fairly new to sourdough baking as it’s not very common in Nigeria where I live. This is my 5th loaf ever so far. My recipe; 300grams bf, 80 grams starter, 210grams water, 7grams salt. I bulk fermented for a total of 6 hours. Cold proofed for 8 hours and baked in my airfryer oven. Waited an hour before slicing. Judging by pictures of others, my crumb seems tight and I can’t figure out where the problem was. I personally like a more airy and open crumb.
by Small_Weather3983
47 Comments
Allow additional fermentation for a more open crumb
This looks like some good ass bread though tbh
No idea but I think it looks great!
You could try a higher hydration. Maybe go up to 75%.
I would say this is slightly overproved also. Looks really good though!
I think it looks amazing!
I wish my bread looked even like this! I’m jealous!!
Start experimenting with higher hydration and then it’s all about how you handle and shape it. Gentler folds and gentler shaping to avoid knocking out the air and impacting your crumb. FWIW I don’t think this looks overproofed because everything is fairly evenly distributed and your loaf has maintained its shape. Nothing is collapsing.
Shaping was the last thing for me to master. And it took me shaping hundreds of loaves at the bakery to really get it down and feel confident with it. Now I just do the Richard Hart method which is much simpler than the complicated Tartine envelope method.
You did nothing wrong, you made bread
In my opinion? Nothing. Make some sammies and eat it!
Open crumb is nice and all, but I find it hard to eat with much more than butter. It all falls through. Your loaf got a fantastic rise, a lovely ear, and the rest of your scoring came out beautifully! I’d say you should just enjoy the fantastic bread you made, and not worry so much about getting the ‘perfect loaf’
That’s what I go for. I don’t understand why this sub goes for the biggest tunnels possible.
Crumb”s pretty decent and consistent. Why do you think it’s tight? Or are you too much influenced by instagram bread?
You know your mayo,mustard, butter etc will stay on the bread vs leaking everywhere when your bread looks like that. Leave the big hole sourdough for the Instagram crowd and enjoy your bread 😊
This also happens when you push out too much air before or when shaping the dough. Being a bit gentler will give it a bit more air
Absolutely nothing.
Sound like an insult. “ Hey Tight Crumb!”
Looks delicious. I’m rehashing what a few others said here but I am adding some explanation too. Here’s what I’d do to achieve a more airy crumb.
1) To me it looks a bit over-proved – you can tell best after the cut as there tends to be more pockets of air, but it can’t keep it’s shape because the rise becomes unsustainable with too many air pockets. In my experience, it’s better to be slightly under-proved if aiming for the larger, but less amount, of air pockets.
2) Up the hydration of your starter slowly. If you’re doing 50-50. Try doing 60-40. Then 70-30. Adjust your starter time tables accordingly, as a higher hydration tends to be more active. I tend to run a 60-40. Which you’ll also need to adjust your baking times accordingly too.
Really, you’re on a good track. Just make small tweaks towards the above and you’ll get there.
I prefer a tight crumb. Holds my sandwiches together better. Your bread looks really good 😌
Beautiful sandwich bread my friend
Nothing wrong with this
Looks perfect to me. 🥰The key for me is how it tastes. 🤷♀️
I agree that that looks great and you did nothing “wrong”. But I understand the wish for an open crumb. I was able to get an open crumb following [this method](https://share.google/W69M8BAQ5WLtOd9ul)
I would put a serious hurt on that loaf it looks delicious
What type of flour do you use for dusting? I have been using rice flour, but maybe I’m not using enough, yours looks gorgeous 🥰
It’s perfect. I don’t understand.
This is perfect mate, honestly
I’ll take 5 loaves to go please.
Wrong? That looks absolutely stunning
That looks amazing!
Nothing. Too many people focus on making sourdough for looking, not eating. If it tastes great, nourishes your body, and spirit that’s all that matters. Open crumb is overrated. Historically, traditional sourdough breads weren’t about giant holes—they were about nourishment, keeping qualities, and flavor. Enjoy your bread and the fact that whatever you put on it won’t fall through.
It looks awesome. I’d rather my crumb look like this than open airy holes, my butter and jam stays where it’s supposed to. You nailed it in my opinion!
Looks ABSOLUTELY beautiful, I much prefer crumbs like these
That is perfection! If you can get this result consistently then you’ve won the sourdough game.
I’m not sure how one could improve that crumb. It’s excellent.
Lovely crumb! Much better for spreading and filling!
Gorgeous loaf!
Looks perfect to me!
That is exactly what I strive for. I don’t like the huge holes. Good job!
Dude, I wish my loaves looked as good as some of the “what’s wrong with my loaf” posts on here.
I’d take that crumb all day nothing wrong with it
Wow that’s beautiful. I’m surprised at how nice it looks using an air fryer. I don’t have any advice but very nice
Looks perfect for sandwiches
Perfect
It looks delicious and perfect for my preference.
This right here is beautiful bread
This looks fire, I don’t understand why people prefer the super open crumb structure, any fillings will ooze or fall right out
1) That looks absolutely phenomenal, but like some others said a higher hydration level will give you a more open crumb.
2) I never would have thought of using an air fryer for a sourdough boule, but it makes so much sence because they’re just tiny convection ovens!
Looks great to me! It’s possible the air fryer doesn’t get hot enough to have additional oven spring ( of you feel you need that). I’m delighted you have gotten such amazing results cooking in an air fryer. I’ve only done that a couple of times, but was thinking about starting to make mini loaves to bake more often and end up with less leftover bread- I want to do that in the air fryer if I can because my oven is huge and it seems like a waste to heat the whole thing up for a small loaf of bread. Also- if you’d like to experiment with a more open crumb, you can try bulk fermenting for a little longer or keeping your cold proof going longer. Again, looks great to me- I really don’t love it when all the good stuff falls through the holes.
This is amazing crumb. Anyone who says otherwise you shouldn’t be listening to.