Made my own sourdough starter
But still find when baking the bread is always is soft and wet
Tried baking for a longer time
And different temperature but to no avail.
Could some of you sourdough bakers help me out of this problem please
Ken
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Replies
Hi Ken,
Sorry to hear you are having problems. Often happens early on but don't despair, it won't happen overnight, but it will happen.
Maybe if you give a bit more detail of your recipe and the technique you are using to prepare and develop the dough, it will be easier to diagnose what the problem might be. You should also include observations about the texture and the appearance of the dough at various stages.
Farinam
I would like to say a big thankyou for all the intrest shown on my request on doughy bread.I have been baking bread for only five months and find it very fascinating subject. After reading a book by Lauren Chatton, Home course on bread making.I started out making my own sourdough sartorial, which took about two weeks before it was ready to go.This my procedure for making bread. I make my final build by adding quarter cup of starter,to this I add half cup strong bread flour,2 tsp of rye flour,quarter of cup of warm water.Leave this for 8 to 12 hours. My receipe for baking bread is has follows. 170 grams strong wholemeal Flour, 300 grams strong bread flour,1.5 tsp salt, 250mls water. I mix both flours together,leave for approx 30 mins,add salt,and then the sour dough starter,mix together. I knead by using a Ken wood Chef on speed number 2 for about five mins. Empty the kneaded dough into glass bowl,cover with a damp cloth,leave for 1.5 hours,then turn the dough,leave 1 hour turn again,after three hours I place the on pachment paper for the final prove until it risen twice the size. my gas cooker is set to gas mark 9 for about 1 hour in the I place tile which I bake my bread.place the bread on the stone in the oven spray the bread regular,turn the heat down to gas mark 7 and bake for approximately 45 mins. Sorry no paragraphs this due to me not knowing how to use this tablet. Ken
Hi Ken,
Firstly, can I ask, have you read SourDom's Beginners Blog on this site. It is an excellent source of information about preparing and developing dough and shaping loaves.
Second, based on the recipe that you give, I calculate that the hydration of your dough is about 60% whereas a basic all white dough could easily be made to 70% and, particularly with the amount of wholemeal that you are using, you could easily be aiming for 75-80%. This is because the bran and germ in the wholemeal absorb a lot more water and give a stiffer dough at the same hydration. Also the aforesaid bran and germ affect the continuity of the gluten structure and so can affect the rise and oven-spring that you can get.
Third, I wonder a bit about your baking. Have you checked your oven temperature with an oven thermometer as it is not unknown for temperature settings to be off to a significant degree. I am not sure, but I think that the Gas Mark controllers only work based on the gas flow rate and not an actual thermostat and so are more prone to variation. Also, you say that you spray inside the oven often and this can result in a significant temperature drop, even with a stone in use. So, I would be considering a trial without the water spraying to see what difference that makes. Also perhaps do a trial with high temperature throughout and only reduce it towards the end if it looks as if the loaf is browning excessively.
You also don't mention any shaping of the loaf other than to rise it in a bowl so perhaps you could consider doing a proper shaping and rise the loaf in one go in something like a basket or a colander lined with a cloth that has been dredged with a low gluten flour such a rye or rice. Place it in the couche seam side up so that when you turn it out onto the baking paper the seam is down and then slash as desired before loading onto the heated stone in the oven.
Good luck with your projects.
Farinam
Could be that you have not hit the window of moving on from the first rise - or bulk fermentation - at the correct point in time? Perhaps your doughs have not fully risen, or worse, have over-proofed. I would avoid using timing directions in recipes as guideposts. The variables of temperature, humidity, and flour quality (which can vary from bag to bag even with the same producer) will control when a dough is ready for a final rise or ready for baking. Look at the dough; is it puffy and exuberant, or expanded, but flat? Exuberance is a sign of readiness or near readiness.
Experiment. Worst that can happen is a wasted bread, but you will learn valuable lessons about what to look for and adjust for in your patience with and manipulations of dough.
That happend to me all the time until i got on to Breadtopia and learned to take the internal tep has to be between 107 to 110
I use a 500 degree overn and turn it down after 30 min. I remove the cover set over to 450 o and cook for a nother 15 min I do use a La Cloche Clay baker
nearly 99 % of the time it's Great .
The internal thermometer is a magical tool because so many times my breads appear on the outside to be fully baked, but are even 30 degrees (F) off. This makes a big difference. I got a good one on sale; it was only $35.
Try heating your oven in the neighborhood of 475 to 500 degrees F. I also use a la cloche, which gives you a kind of mini-Roman oven within a modern oven to produce excellent breads.
If you have any doubt about your oven, buy a cheap oven thermometer to make sure your oven is heating up to the correct temperature. Another strategy is to take a piece of parchment paper, put it in your hot oven, and the pattern on the parchment paper after 15 minutes or so will reveal if there is even or uneven heating going on. (I read that in Wild Sourdough, I believe.)