Small even holes in sourdough bread?

Hello stantym,

There is nothing particularly scientific about this, it is purely an observation.

Firstly,I would say that I get a finer crumb at lower hydration or should I say a coarser crumb at higher hydration.

Second, I would say that I get a finer crumb the more vigourous/extended the kneading.

My thinking is that during kneading/dough development, small pockets of air are trapped in the dough and the gas produced by the yeasts and bacteria escape into these pockets to give the rise and the crumb structure.

If you use stretch and fold, the number of pockets for a given volume of entrapped air is small and they tend to be larger and have a wider size range.

If you use vigourous/extended kneading there are more pockets for the same volume and they are more evenly sized and more numerous.

Perhaps you could experiment and let us know what you think.

Good luck with your projects.

Farinam

with farinam: low hydration and thorough kneading.

It's interesting that years ago a loaf with big variations in hole size would have been regarded as a sign of poor breadmaking. Now it seems to be what most artisan bakers seek to achieve. The present tendency towards high hydration and minimal kneading (i.e. stretch and fold) definitely seems to produce this result.

My own loaves usually have a hydration of 60% or less. I knead by hand for 10 to 12 minutes and the resultant loaf has the sort of fine crumb that I think you are looking for.

 I second extended kneading... It spreads the sugars in the dough evenly, so the gas produced by the yeasties is also more evenly spread. And the yeasties are redistributed after multiplying, which they do all the time (As instructed in the bible, "Be fruitful and multiply" ) Two cycles of kneading and rising are of course your best bet....

All of the above, and de-gassing the balled dough before it is shaped into loaves....similar to two cycles of needing above. This splits big cells into smaller, more even cells, and redistributes maltose and yeast / bacteria which is like scattering nutrient and seed evenly across a field to encourage an even spread of crops.

Using a lower protein wheat flour, or blending flours to produce flour that is simply not capable of developing big, stretchy glutinous membranes, will also reduce cell size. Wheat / rye combinations are a good example. There is something very nurturing and unchallenging (in the best possible way) about small cell crumb...dipped in soup...such as a classic light rye for instance.