Been baking sourdough for over a year now, and get inconistent results with dough; sometimes it proves with a sticky surface, which makes it difficult to work with, and then the spring is limited; this week, I made this, which I was really pleased with:
which tastes great (had bacon sandwich this morning..mmmm) but why has it risen so much through one slash, and not the other (to the right in the pic) - is it my slashing technique, or oven temperature unevenness?
Otherwise, I am really pleased. It proved much quicker than usual - mixed at around 0800, bulk fermentation around 5 hours (with some stretches), then shaped & proved for around 2 hours.
Previously, I have proved in the fridge overnight, but mistimed my starter refreshes this week, so started that process 12 hours too late.
I have a customer that normally buys my white yeasted tin bread, (I'm only a small home baker who has a few neighbours & friends that buy) and has asked about sourdough, so I'd like to get it right ...
Thanks..
Replies
Hello Simon,
Probably one of the nice things about sourdough baking is the 'inconsistency' in that every loaf has its own 'personality'. So I wouldn't get my knickers in a knot about it. The other thing is, like so many other things in life, practice makes (if not) perfect at least better.
When the bread springs in the oven, it will always take the path of least resistance, so it would seem that perhaps at least one of your slashes was a little deeper than the other and cut through the 'skin' of your loaf more than the other. Once again, practice will make better.
Keep up the good work.
Farinam
Hello Simon
That's a great looking loaf. Rustic/artisan call it what you will, but it doesn't have to look perfect - it just has to look delicious and you've achieved that in my book. By the way, I'm also based in the UK.