Bread Breakdown

etsy.com

Everyone you know and their sister-in-law is making sourdough bread these days. Some of them may have gone to a class, and a lot of others are getting directions over the phone, third or fourth hand. If you are already a sourdough baker, there are so many things that can be tweaked about your end result, but you don’t always have a place to submit those questions. Here, we appointed Chaya Suri Leitner, the real sourdough queen, to identify all your bread problems. We presented Chaya Suri with three open loaves and four closed loaves to analyze, and tell us where each one can be improved. To us laymen, it’s an unsolved mystery; to Chaya Suri it’s a quick fix.

This loaf does not have a proper crust, did not rise enough, and is misshapen.

Poor steam management: Steam is important for producing a good oven spring (the growth of the bread during its initial baking phase, where the loaf is growing before the crust hardens), as it helps to keep the bread moist and allows it to expand. To create steam in the oven, you can bake the bread in a pot or place a tray of boiling water at the bottom of the oven. Alternatively, spray the bread with water before putting it into the oven.

Overproofing (when your loaf rose too much so the air bubbles have popped): Overproofing can result in a loss of oven spring, as the yeast has used up all the available sugars and is no longer able to produce carbon dioxide. This results in it not rising enough during the baking time.

Incorrect shaping: Incorrect shaping can also lead to a lack of oven spring, as the dough may not have enough space to expand. Make sure the dough is shaped properly.