Hey Jacob,
So as you can see my crumb has much improved. It's pretty well exactly how I want it. But I didn't achieve the oven spring again.
My frustrations lie within the proofing times. It would seem that I'm just missing it. This time it was over proofed. My partner and I were baking all day and the oven was cranked, so the kitchen was quite warm and I ended up missing the boat on that one. Crap!! I knew it too, when I checked on it at about 1 hour 15 min.
Also I think that I bulk fermented too long and lost some gluten structure. I bulk fermented for 4 hours and at that time it was a little more than double in size.
Great crumb structure though, due to the added hydration and less handling. Much more even and open with evenly dispersed large and small holes.
New recipe:
300g bread flour
200g Red Fife
312g water
500g starter
15g salt
- 12 hour autolyse flour and water. Take out of fridge 3 hours before mixing
- 5-7 minute mix of dough, starter, salt
- bench rest 30 minutes
- 4 stretch and folds at 20 minute intervals
- 4 hour bulk ferment
- 2 stretch and folds at 20 minute intervals
- 3 tension pulls at 20 minute intervals
- proof 1 hour 15 minute
- bake 20 minutes at 500
- bake 15 minutes at 400
Questions for you Jacob (or any other bread heads out there):
1. When the dough reaches internal temperature of 205, should I keep baking for more flavor and better crust? Does baking too long, without burning, have a negative effect?
- This time at the 35 minute mark the internal temperature was around 108-109. I usually bake for a total of 50 minutes. That gives me a much better crust.
- I didn't get the hollow thump I usually get, and the bottom seemed a little soft. And notice the crust isn't as well formed as my last loaves. The bottom seems under developed.
2. Are my bench rests too long and too many?
