I've been making sourdough bread for six months to a year, and have had some success with both wheat and rye loaves. They tend to be a little denser than I'd like, but I probably don't let them rise long enough. Anyway, here's how I tried to make cinnamon raisin bread:
2c starter (made from equal volumes of unbleached bread flour and water)
2-3c bread flour
3T honey
1c sugar
1c raisins
1/8c cinnamon
1t salt
4T olive oil
1t baking soda
1T butter
I added honey, sugar, salt, oil and baking soda to the starter, mixed well, then added bread flour a half cup at a time until the dough wasn't sticky any more. I knead for another few minutes, then let the dough rise under a damp towel for some hours. Then I fold over the dough, shape it, slit the top, and let it rise a few hours more.
Then I put the loaf in a loaf pan in a cold oven, pour melted butter into the slit, set for 350F, and bake for 45 minutes. Then I remove it from the oven and let cool an hour before cutting.
When I cut I discovered that the crust was nice and crisp, the bread near the crust was a bit dense but tasty and fluffy enough, and also the middle of the bread was very nearly uncooked.
Only the following things are different from my previous succesful loaves:
- 1c sugar
- 1/8c cinnamon
- loaf pan (I usually bake on a parchment-covered pizza stone)
Any suggestions as to what might be causing the center of the loaf to stay doughy and moist? I'm considering making it again, and think I might bake for an hour or more at 250F instead - slower cooking means the center should cook better.
Any thoughts?
Replies
I usally bake my bread around 430 F for 20 minutes (preheated) then turn it down to 400 F and bake for another 15 minutes. I then remove it from the pan, and bake it out of the pan on the oven rack for 5-10 minutes.
I wouldn't have put the pan in a cold oven. For oven temp of 350F you'd have to expect about 10 minutes of heat up. Lower temp baking will had a different affect on the dough than you'd probably want.
Also, like Adam said, I'd expect a higher oven temp, 400F to 450F.
It's probably because this time you baked it in a tin which introduces two new factors, the tin and the fact that it's a different shape. As it's not a very big loaf this suggests that your regular loaf is only just about baked.
It's really worth having a cheap probe thermometer and making sure that the internal temperature is over 90C. You might rarely use it but it's a useful thing to have when you are baking something different.
I like baking 2K loaves which I would normally bake as a boule - that would get baked for 65 minutes at 200C (a lowish temperature but it suits this oven). I baked a 2K in a tin, checked with the thermometer, and it took an additional 30 minutes to bake through.
Mick
www.bethesdabakers.com
http://thepartisanbaker.wordpress.com