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Dear All,
Everything was going smoothly and bread was coming out well, and then many of the larger loaves started to develop large cavities inside them. Large as in 1/5 - 1/4 of the total volume, so quite large. Otherwise the crumb and the crust are just like in the ones with no cavities (and very tasty.)
The bread is sourdough, baked in tins for 20 minutes and on the hearth for 10-15 (until it reaches 200F internally). It is a highly hydrated dough based on the Moro book recipe.
What has changed? I now use a big Kenwood Major instead of a hand-held (both with dough-hooks on slow revs). Possibly also the flour composition: I keep experimenting (within a small range) with mixing unbleached, stone ground wheat and whole-rye with some malted stone-ground wheat (all organic).
Procedure:
I prepare the first "round" (mixing half of the flour and all the water with the starter) on Friday night, add the remaining flour on Saturday morning and bake in the evening after the heat has subsided following our family pizza ritual. I mop the floor and also put a flat tin of water in the back of the oven for steam. I attempt to slash the loaves in tins, but the dough is so highly hydrated that the 'slash' quickly heals and becomes merely a 'scar'.
Any suggestions what to watch out for or blatant mistakes I am making? Too hydrated perhaps? I noticed that the rye flower (less gluten) absorbs less water, so the dough becomes more runny with higher percentages of rye. Could this be the reason?
Many thanks in advance (from really sunny and Autumnal Cumbria),
W.
P.S. I am thinking (not entirely seriously, but who knows) of installing an oven-cam cum cat-cam, although possibly a oven-roof cam would be better, as the view from up there is great.
Everything was going smoothly and bread was coming out well, and then many of the larger loaves started to develop large cavities inside them. Large as in 1/5 - 1/4 of the total volume, so quite large. Otherwise the crumb and the crust are just like in the ones with no cavities (and very tasty.)
The bread is sourdough, baked in tins for 20 minutes and on the hearth for 10-15 (until it reaches 200F internally). It is a highly hydrated dough based on the Moro book recipe.
What has changed? I now use a big Kenwood Major instead of a hand-held (both with dough-hooks on slow revs). Possibly also the flour composition: I keep experimenting (within a small range) with mixing unbleached, stone ground wheat and whole-rye with some malted stone-ground wheat (all organic).
Procedure:
I prepare the first "round" (mixing half of the flour and all the water with the starter) on Friday night, add the remaining flour on Saturday morning and bake in the evening after the heat has subsided following our family pizza ritual. I mop the floor and also put a flat tin of water in the back of the oven for steam. I attempt to slash the loaves in tins, but the dough is so highly hydrated that the 'slash' quickly heals and becomes merely a 'scar'.
Any suggestions what to watch out for or blatant mistakes I am making? Too hydrated perhaps? I noticed that the rye flower (less gluten) absorbs less water, so the dough becomes more runny with higher percentages of rye. Could this be the reason?
Many thanks in advance (from really sunny and Autumnal Cumbria),
W.
P.S. I am thinking (not entirely seriously, but who knows) of installing an oven-cam cum cat-cam, although possibly a oven-roof cam would be better, as the view from up there is great.
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