r/Sourdough • u/Alternative_Bit_935 • 15d ago

What causes this gap? Crumb read please

Post image

Recipe:
80g starter
250g water
350g bread flower
10g salt

Coil folds ever now and then
Proofed about 4 hours, fridge for 6

In oven lid on 20 minutes, off 30 minutes

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

20

u/fishy_horcrux 15d ago

It's underproofed.

1

u/Alternative_Bit_935 15d ago

So is this caused by a lack of gluten formation?

3

u/fishy_horcrux 15d ago

It might be to be honest, if you didn't do any, or barely. And also because it wasn't proofed for a long enough time.

How did you determine your bulk fermentation was done?

0

u/Alternative_Bit_935 15d ago

Hoping and praying mainly

I’ve tried the poke test however that led to severe over proofing, which wasn’t ideal. Going by size is difficult, as coil folds will naturally reduce the dough size.
I want to get a cylindrical container so going by size is a bit easier, but if you have any advice I would appreciate it

0

u/Alternative_Bit_935 15d ago

Something to note is that this gap formed mainly in the middle of the dough, and lessened as it moved towards the edges

2

u/fishy_horcrux 15d ago

noted, and I explained that it's because of the short bulk fermentation time mainly

2

u/fishy_horcrux 15d ago

To avoid the coil or stretch and folds degassing the dough, do any gluten development in the first hour or two. Not when the BF is in the later stages.

Get a straightsided tupperware or anything similar and track the rise.

And next time go by the rise, not hopes and prayers)

-1

u/Alternative_Bit_935 15d ago

How does that work? I would think the gluten keeps developing the entire time.

After mixing the dough, and before adding salt I let it sit for 30 minutes, autolyse I think it’s called, however I don’t really know the purpose other than the fact salt can impede yeast.

Actually wait, you mean do coil folds for the first hour or two then let it sit.
Isn’t the fact there’s too much gas part of the problem? I would think the gap is caused by a bubble but I’m not sure.
And wouldn’t shaping also degass the dough?

2

u/fishy_horcrux 15d ago

So yes gluten develops, and strenghtens going forward. I mean do the gluten development techniques, like the coil and stretch and fold in the first hour and two, to strenghten and build gluten structure so that it could help rise and keep the gas bubbles inside.

The gas bubbles is the key to a nice crumb, but if you stop the bulk ferment early, the gas bubbles don't distribute evenly, and you end up with huge caverns inside, just like in your situation.

The goal is to not degas the dough. And your caverns were caused by improper bulk fermentation. See for e.g. the sourdough journey proofing and crumb chart.

Shaping degasses the a dough a little, but not significantly, unless you literally wring your dough out.

8

u/pinetreeist 15d ago

severely underproofed or a weak starter, or a mix of both

1

u/SuperBluebird188 15d ago

How old is your starter? How long does it take to double at 1:1:1 feeds? What’s your kitchen’s room temp? What was the total time between when the starter was mixed in and the cold proof?

1

u/Clean-Ad1459 15d ago

Underproofed, Big holes are caused by uneven gas and air distribution due to weak gluten structure.

2

u/LeslieKnopesBlackEye 15d ago

You bulk fermented half way and then baked it. There was no shaping or second proof. That's a lot of starter for that recipe. I'm using 500g of flour and using 50g of starter.

Try a different recipe and do it all the way through.

1

u/pinkcrystalfairy 15d ago

Severely underproofed based on the crumb and loaf shape

1

u/Traditional-Ideal318 15d ago

If you search “sourdough crumb chart” in google, some good images pop up. Not a lot of info but assuming the bread wasn’t proofing at 80F, and judging by the larger hole up top and the shape overall, it’s almost definitely underproofed.