Mostly it’s a matter of hydration: the higher your hydration the more open your crumb will be. There’s a bit more to it, but mostly it’s hydration.
You want something like a bagel you’re gonna be working with, say, a 60% hydration dough - and the steps and recipe particular to bagels.
Ciabatta, focaccia can have hydration percentages near 100% — considered an "expert" level bread as dough above 70% is difficult.
Sourdough boules, 80% hydration and starting in a very hot steam injected oven will develop those large airy expanses.
I focus on a tighter, more uniform crumb: 65-70% hydration, a 12-24 hour 100% hydration "sponge" rise to develop flavor and beneficial attributes before I add the final measure of flour. Then it’s 4, 5 stretch&folds to develop gluten, a final rise before baking. My loaves begin as 350g boules in All Clad stainless steel mini cocottes, 450° F with steam 15 minutes, then back to 350-375°F and no steam until bread reaches an internal 200°F.
thanks SR. . . well, from your response I can tell this is above my mechanical engineer pay grade; my wife is the bread maker. However, maybe you can bat back a couple of stupid questions?!
-- our oven has no steam capability, just a 2017 GE wall oven. Resistance coils on top, also has heated coils for the convection flow; I think that is it but she can select which coils or use ALL coils.
It seems spritzing water may be the only way she could "steam" her bread.
She has no idea of the hydration level she is using so it is hard to use your info effectively. ?Simple calculation?, just the water wt divided by all solid ingredients in the dough expressed as a percent?
sourdough process for oven: 20 min at 450F covered; remove covering and run 20 min more to completion.
The basic problem is on occasion the bread will have just one or two big ole holes towards the center of mass, the rest will be totally fine "crumb" consistency. I just don't like it when making a sandwich and the dang dressings squeeze through the big holes! Goofy, I know but that is my "thing"!
Have you ever figured out how to bake sourdough without so many damn holes in it?
Yeah, of course 😊
Mostly it’s a matter of hydration: the higher your hydration the more open your crumb will be. There’s a bit more to it, but mostly it’s hydration.
You want something like a bagel you’re gonna be working with, say, a 60% hydration dough - and the steps and recipe particular to bagels.
Ciabatta, focaccia can have hydration percentages near 100% — considered an "expert" level bread as dough above 70% is difficult.
Sourdough boules, 80% hydration and starting in a very hot steam injected oven will develop those large airy expanses.
I focus on a tighter, more uniform crumb: 65-70% hydration, a 12-24 hour 100% hydration "sponge" rise to develop flavor and beneficial attributes before I add the final measure of flour. Then it’s 4, 5 stretch&folds to develop gluten, a final rise before baking. My loaves begin as 350g boules in All Clad stainless steel mini cocottes, 450° F with steam 15 minutes, then back to 350-375°F and no steam until bread reaches an internal 200°F.
Remove, cool, slice if you wish, enjoy.
Give thanks for such a blessing.
thanks SR. . . well, from your response I can tell this is above my mechanical engineer pay grade; my wife is the bread maker. However, maybe you can bat back a couple of stupid questions?!
-- our oven has no steam capability, just a 2017 GE wall oven. Resistance coils on top, also has heated coils for the convection flow; I think that is it but she can select which coils or use ALL coils.
It seems spritzing water may be the only way she could "steam" her bread.
She has no idea of the hydration level she is using so it is hard to use your info effectively. ?Simple calculation?, just the water wt divided by all solid ingredients in the dough expressed as a percent?
sourdough process for oven: 20 min at 450F covered; remove covering and run 20 min more to completion.
The basic problem is on occasion the bread will have just one or two big ole holes towards the center of mass, the rest will be totally fine "crumb" consistency. I just don't like it when making a sandwich and the dang dressings squeeze through the big holes! Goofy, I know but that is my "thing"!
Suggestions for improvements?